Yes, Kampmeeting!

It's sometimes hard to imagine how things change from year to year. I saw a movie the other day set in 1988. I mentioned to my wife, "Look, no cell phones."

The iPhone I carry has a camera, a GPS, a recorder, a digital wallet, it plays music, picks up radio signals from the internet, and enables me to send emails and text messages almost instantly to anywhere in the world.

As hard as it is to remember life without smartphones, it's equally hard to remember when being gay, lesbian, or transgender was considered an illness or a crime. People were forced to be "in the closet" or risk the loss of families, friends, and employment. Local laws and statutes prohibited intimacy between same-sex couples. Same-sex marriage was a fantasy.

A little more than 40 years ago Kinship began to create safe spaces in which LGBTQ+ people could meet, share experiences, and draw strength from one another. Forty years ago it wasn't unusual for nearly 100 people to travel from across the United States and Canada to attend Kampmeeting, the one place where they could be authentically Adventist and queer at the same time.

In the four decades since, in most cases LGBTQ+ people don't have to be afraid of being condemned or marginalized. More than 60 percent of people in North America support same-sex marriage. Ironically, that means that attendance at Kampmeeting has declined. People can be their authentic selves without the support of Kinship.

But Kinship Kampmeeting still has this important function: attendance is a pathway to making connections with those who share similar stories and experiences. The writer to the Hebrews may not have had Kampmeeting in mind when these words were written, but they certainly apply: "Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds" (Heb. 10:24).

We can do that at home. But wouldn't it be great to revive a great Kinship tradition and do it at Kampmeeting? Bring your cell phone and update your contact list.

- Stephen Chavez

Director of Church Relations

churchrelations@sdakinship.org