Words from your Registrar

Welcome back to July Eliot! I’m eager to reconnect with old friends and make new ones; I hope you all feel the same way. number of our number campers are here at Eliot for the first time, and will find their name tags marked with a red dot. Seasoned campers should help these newcomers find their way around the Seabeck grounds, lead the way into the dining room, and share the scoop on the businesses across the street.

Please peruse the roster booklet - it’s full of Eliot info (such as names and contact info for campers, the Eliot Survival Guide, & a list of upcoming camps.) You’ll have received the roster by email, or you can find printed copies in common areas around Seabeck. I’ll be keeping office minutes at the Eliot Office in the Inn Lobby. Look for me there about 10 minutes before lunch or dinner. You are also 100% welcome to ask me questions whenever and wherever you see me around camp. If you cannot find me, leave your question in the Magic Answer Book on the counter of the Eliot Office, & come back later to see your answer. I will not be reliably reachable by phone during camp.

—Calyn Mcleod, Registrar

Name Tags

Your name tags are important! They help everyone get to know you, so please wear them all the time (except in the shower, because they aren’t waterproof, or in bed, because you should know who’s in bed with you!). Eliot’s first aid and golf cart and chaplain phone numbers are inside your nametag. Whoever is on call for first aid or the golf cart will have the phone in their possession, so you can easily reach them. Parents - you are encouraged to write contact information on your children’s name tags.

AV Office Hours

Your AV Coordinators Chris and Phyllis are hosting office hours on Sunday and Monday at 2 PM in the Meeting House. Stop by to let us know your AV needs for camp. Or, if you are interested in learning more about the AV system, or what is involved with being an AV coordinator or AV assistant, feel free to stop by and ask any questions.

—Chris Struble and Phyllis Adams

Eliot Choir!

It is my pleasure to return to directing July Eliot Choir! Everyone is welcome. Come sing and have fun together every day in the Meeting House from 3:45pm to 4:45pm.

—Gavin Grandish

Firelight – Sunday to Wednesday

What’s Firelight? A fun sing-along, with “great” jokes told by volunteers! We’ll start at 6:50 with songs to appeal to our youngest campers, and continue with all-ages camp songs at 7 pm.

Guest musicians are welcome to lead songs – just ask Ted the day before to add you to his set list if you want to lead a song.

Most songs you can figure out as you go, but if you’d like written lyrics for (most) songs, look here: tinyurl.com/5cnrzskv

Newcomer Orientation

If you have attended other Eliot camps but are new to July, or if you haven’t been to Eliot in a long time, you are also welcome to join. 4:45pm, Meeting House.

—Jacqui Emanuel, Newcomer Host

Social Hour

Social Hour is every day from 4:45 to 5:55 pm, starting Sunday. Food and drinks served at Social Hour are all donated by campers. Please bring your contributions to Juniper starting at 4 pm every day.

—Eva Perjes and Mia Belmear

Plan C

Plan C: How advocates are outsmarting political suppression of abortion in the US. Despite the fall of Roe in 2022, more people than ever are accessing safe abortion care in the US, including in states with total bans. Join me Sunday at 2:30 PM in Upper Pines to learn more about how advocates are sharing information and building systems to give abortion seekers direct control over their reproductive choices, regardless of what courts and politicians say. It’s pretty revolutionary! Free swag!

—Elisa Wells

Co-Chaplains Barbara & Jaco ten Hove

Revs. Jaco and Barbara ten Hove will serve us as Co-chaplains this year. That means between them they are filling one position. While both will attend the morning program and be available immediately after (and during) small group time, for most of the day they will take turns. One of them will be on the boardwalk during the daily Chaplain Hour (2:30-3:30) and you’ll usually find one or the other on the porch before and after meals each day. Texts can work (though not always!) and our phone numbers are included on the back of your name tag. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need a listening ear to help process what we’re learning, talk about a spiritual issue, or think through a life dynamic.

All about the Waterfront!

The swim dock will be open for Polar Bears on Sunday morning at 7:00am. If you are a swimmer who is under 18 years old, either 1) bring an old swim bracelet with your swimmer badge or 2) bring along a designated adult “swim buddy” who is prepared to enter the water as needed. Sunday afternoon, from 1:30 to 4:00, the dock will be open. We expect that a lot of folks will be getting their swim badges. The dock is reserved from 4:00 to 4:30 for lagoon swimmers. Lagoon swimmers will need to provide two spotters: one to paddle a rowboat, the other in the rowboat to look for folks needing assistance and to toss out life jackets if needed. If you are under 18 years old, you must be able to swim the distance without any floats, paddle boards, or other flotation stuff.

—Meredith Jarvis, Waterfront Director

Daily Programming Topics

Day 1: Authenticity: The theme for our morning programming at camp this week is celebrating the glorious diversity of gender and sexuality. On Sunday Alex will kick things off by inviting you to reflect on your own gender. There are so many flavors of gender—what is yours? And what would it be like to live in a world where everyone was free to explore and grow into an authentic sense of themselves unconstrained by restrictive gender norms, expectations, and rules?

Here are the other topics you can look forward to:

• Day 2: Queer Faith
• Day 3: Busting Binaries
• Day 4: Leaning into Care, Letting Go of Correctness
• Day 5: Disobedience
• Day 6: Radical Welcome

Learn more about this week’s program in the Theme Speaker Insert.

—Zr. Alex Kapitan, Program Speaker