Our Tent Time project was decorating a bookmark. In our electronic culture, books are being replaced more and more by screens. Yet there is nothing like the satisfaction of holding a book, turning the pages, and discovering the stories and adventures within.
The books that make up the Bible have been read by faithful women and men throughout the ages, first in community and later individually. When Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg created the first printing press with moveable type in 1439, the first work he printed was the Bible. With this printing innovation, the reading of scripture moved from a community practice to a solitary practice. And with this new practice, a host of new problems was created for the Church, including division based on differing interpretations. There have been more than 30,000 splits in the Christian faith tradition, and more than half of those since the dawn of the Internet. As I said, problems!
Today we invited our campers to create a bookmark for their Bible, or other favorite books. Our older campers may use this to mark a place where they have a question. We hope they will seek the wisdom of trusted others in exploring those questions. Questions are an essential part of the spiritual journey. And just when we think we have found “an answer,” we are apt to discover a whole new series of questions to ponder!