We've sent D, the littlest Knickertwist, to a church day camp this week. Why would we set a little pagan among a sea of Christian children? My good friend, and the mom of D's bestest buddy, asked if D could attend a day camp offered by the church she teaches Sunday school at. I have to admit I had some reservations (and so did Mr. K) but it's turned out quite well.
Under the theme "Rain Forest Adventure" the kids learn about the rain forest, the animals that live there, and yes, some Christian teachings. While the songs and bible passages aren't exactly up my alley, the messages are the same as what we already teach him. To share, to be kind, and to be thankful to god... or in our case, gods. This isn't Fundamentalism, or an aggressive ploy to 'save' my child. It's a demonstration that to most people, what is really important, is being a decent human being who cares about the world and people around them.
This experience has been pretty positive for us. D's beliefs have not changed, he had fun, made some new friends and even learned some new things. I could do without the christian kids music cd he brought home, but if that's my biggest issue, it's one I can deal with. Most enlightening was that D's beliefs have been more thoroughly challenged in his every day life than they have been at church camp. I'll take that as a big wake-up call. The best thing that has come out of this is our confidence that D is strong in his beliefs, and that being a good person is really the most important thing of all.
