Last week, I joined my fifth-grade daughter, Evie, on a three-day field trip to Deep Portage Learning Center in Hackensack.

This environmentally focused camp brings the kids to the classroom outside the walls of their building. They participate in hiking, archery, orienteering, canoeing, rock-climbing, and investigating animals and ecology.

As a chaperone, I witnessed the energy within the kids and their thirst for knowledge. The structure meant they were moving on to a new adventure every 90 minutes.

Being at Deep Portage brought the kids outside and into nature. One teacher noted how worn out some of the kids got because they were used to spending hours a day on electronics.

You would think that after long, full days of engaging their bodies and brains, the kids would crash at nighttime.

But they’re still 10- and 11-year-old kids away from home and with their friends.

Allowing them to have fun while also being respectful of the other rooms provided a unique challenge—especially since I had cabin of boys that weren’t my own kid.

Asking them about the day and being patient while they got their giggles out (and the Pandora lullaby station) were the most effective tools. When I saw the fifth-grade teachers in the morning, they asked how the night went.

I joked that I didn’t even have to use my “dad voice.”

My daughter’s teacher said, “Forget the dad voice, use the pastor voice!”

We laughed at the thought of how they might react to a message filled with fire and brimstone. Then, I reminded them that I am an ELCA pastor—we’re not exactly known for that style! I preach about love, compassion, and how we treat our neighbors.

Later in the trip, we talked longer about what was going on with the kids.

I asked them about their biggest challenges as teachers. They lamented how hard it is when parents are disengaged or won’t provide discipline and structure. Some parents are conflict-avoidant and hate to be the “bad guy.”

One teacher explained how much the effects of missing essential social skills during Covid are still being witnessed.

Another teacher said that some of the kids come from homes where families are struggling. They aren’t witnessing healthy relationships modeled on a regular basis.

I asked, “Do you think that faith can play a part in the solution?”

She said, “Absolutely. Having a moral compass and a scriptural foundation to learn how to treat others is a huge part of what will help kids succeed.”

Church matters. I can feel that energy at Faith—there’s a deep desire to support one another and to deepen relationships. We are creating more “open gym” time so that kids can play—especially as the Minnesota winter approaches.

Community matters, and the opportunity to encourage and lift the younger generations is one of our most important tasks right now.

Thanks for being a community that cares.  

Pastor John Klawiter writes a monthly column for the Forest Lake Times. This article appears in the September 28^th issue