Shabbat Shabblog: Reflections on Staff Shabbat

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 by Carol Clopper, Camper Care Coordinator

10 for 2. At Crane Lake Camp, we often say the campers live 10 months of the year, waiting for the 2 months (or so) of camp. Truthfully, the campers aren’t the only ones! Many
returning staff live 10 for 2 as well. Year after year, we come back to this sacred place.IMG_9870

The Crane Lake staff just celebrated its first Shabbat as a complete community. For the past three weeks, staff members have been arriving to plan, prepare, and train in preparation for Summer 2016. We are all here now, over 200 of us. Specialists and area directors, general counselors and support staff, kitchen staff and nurses, directors and office staff – our voices rang out as we welcomed Shabbat with song and prayer and ruach (spirit)! The birds even seemed to be adding their voices to our prayers. As I joined my camp family in familiar melodies and looked up into the trees above, my heart felt full. I am home.

Yet, somehow, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Something was missing. As much as I have loved being here for the past three weeks, this place is not complete without the campeIMG_9592rs. The campers are the heart of Crane Lake Camp, the reason the staff works so hard to create this kehillah kedoshah (sacred community). We want them to feel safe and whole and silly and special and brave and true and loved – just as we do within this bubble. I know I’m not the only one who feels this way. All evening, beginning during our Shabbat Walk, through dinner, t’filah (services), and Israeli dancing, I heard over and over again, “I just can’t wait for my kids to get here!” Monday can’t get here soon enough.

This is Carol’s third summer in the bubble of Crane Lake Camp. During the summer, she is the CLC Camper Care Coordinator, and during the rest of the year she is a preschool teacher. Her educational background includes special education K-12, elementary education, and early childhood education. She is married to Rabbi Jeff Clopper, an enthusiastic CLC faculty member. They have three amazing kids, two of whom are happy to call Crane Lake their second home.