Camp New Ground, launched to help children process their feelings and heal from September 11, rolled out without a hitch July 8 at six sites throughout Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island and Long Island. More than 40 churches and schools will host the week-long day camp throughout August 16 in the greater New York Metropolitan area.

New Ground is funded by Lutheran Disaster Response through Lutheran Disaster Response of New York (LDRNY), and run in conjunction with Koinonia, a joint camping ministry of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Based on tried-and-true Lutheran model of camps for kids following disaster, New Ground provides a balanced mix of faith activities, emotional support and fun in the wake of September 11. Campers participate in Alpha and Omega morning and afternoon worship and songs, along with arts and crafts, Bible lessons and recreational activities.

Campers are also assessed by a counselor from the Lutheran Counseling Center, equipped to provide mental health resources and extended help, if needed. At St. Jacobus, Queens, where camp was held July 8-12, mental health counselor Kelly Kean, M.A., said that early indications show that children are doing fairly well emotionally.

“I’m finding at St. Jacobus that kids aren’t that affected,” said Kean. “They’re doing fairly well, all things considered.” This is a big compliment to parents, said Kean, in that they’ve listened and answered questions for their children. “Parents have been open and truthful with their children,” she said. In doing so, parents have let their children know that they are safe.

Kean will work at other camp sites throughout the summer, and predicts that children there may show more emotional signs of trauma. It’s very much a case-by-case situation, she said.

Sherri Gordon, a college junior and camp counselor, agrees. “New Ground camp gives kids a chance to talk about their feelings,” she said. So far, conversation has been limited, according to Gordon, but she did say that all kids agree that “terrorists are bad.”

“All the kids wonder about the future, and we tell them that we’re all in this together and that the church is there for them.”

Abby Weise, team coordinator of counselors at St. Jacobus, said that the curriculum of New Ground really helps children understand how God loves them. The curriculum tells the story of the Old Testament Joseph, and how God wrapped him in love. Children learn the parallels between how they feel now after September 11 and how Joseph felt, according to Weise.

The Lutheran Counseling Center (LCC), with administrative offices in Long Island, has resources available for parents on ways to talk to their children about terrorism. For more information, go to www.LDRNY.org, or call the LCC at 800-317-1173.

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