Divine Day Camp
MIDDLESEX TWP — The Christian Recreation Program started in 1958 in the backyard of an area pastor.
But when the Rev. Walter Kenyon of Deer Creek Presbyterian Church in Allegheny County began organizing games and activities to keep neighborhood kids busy, attendance soon outstripped the available space.
The program moved to the grounds at Bairdford Park and finally settled onto the 85-acre grounds of Gospel Fellowship Presbyterian Church on McFann Road, where it has operated for the last 29 years.
The free six-week day camp runs from 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Thursday. The program, offering wholesome activities for youths ages 5 to 14, started on June 23 and will continue through July.
"It's a wholesome place to have fun in a safe environment," said Eric Dugan, director of youth ministries at the Gospel Fellowship.
"It's a place where youth have the opportunity to use their gifts and talents."
Many of the 45 to 50 volunteers and paid staff who help run the program were once campers themselves, he noted.
That was the case with Rob Olszewski, 34, of West Deer, who has been participating with CRP since he was an 8-year-old camper. He said after attending a vacation Bible school at a sister church, he picked up a brochure on the day camp program.
He became involved, first as a camper, then volunteer, and finally as transportation coordinator, until last year, when he left due to a new job."Our staff and volunteers come from about 14 different churches," Dugan said, "so there is a good bit of variety, and that has historically been the case. Even though the program started as an outreach of the Deer Creek Presbyterian Church, it has always had the support of the community.""The church is committed to sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with everybody. And we are also committed to the community. We have a church of about 200 people that has put up a full-scale gym. Most of our acreage has been used for the program."Dugan noted the camp, with an enrollment of around 300 and an average daily attendance of 200, has been a huge undertaking for the small congregation of 200 members, both logistically and financially. Although the program is free to campers, it costs the church "somewhere in the realm of $30,000 without facility costs," Dugan said."That's why they've invested the money, because they want this to be a place where kids can have a fun time, and a safe time, and share the gospel."More information about CRP, including registration forms and bus routes, can be found on the church Web site at www.gospelfellowshippca.org.
