During this unique and powerful week, campers will have the opportunity to explore themes of justice through the lens of imagination, kinship, eco-grief and the common good. Together, we will delve into the deeply interconnected justice issues that impact our own communities, our identities, and within the context of a climate-changed world. We hope to honestly engage the world as it is, as well as the world we are longing to make manifest.
While spending a week on Lake Cobbosseecontee in West Gardiner, ME, campers will befriend, honor, and learn from the lake and forest where Pilgrim Lodge is located, while being invited to hold an imaginative posture — expanding their vision from what is, to what if. Campers can expect to cultivate embodied, justice-seeking practices; to learn about climate science as it relates to Maine’s ecosystems and watersheds; and to build deep and supportive peer relationships.
In addition, campers will enjoy all that camp has to offer, such as swimming, boating, singing, crafting, playing games, enjoying cookouts, savoring ice cream, spending time with old and new friends, and so much more!
While Pilgrim Lodge is a camp of the United Church of Christ with deep roots and sacred symbolism from the Christian tradition woven throughout its identity, Justice Together is a multifaith program that has been created for young people of diverse cultural and religious backgrounds to engage in meaningful conversations that respect the spiritual and religious paths of all campers. Pilgrim Lodge has counselors and staff representing a variety of faith traditions, including atheist and agnostic. Each of these pathways are honored and celebrated. Our Sacred Gathering times carve out space to be still, to engage one another’s stories, to sing, and to enjoy the beauty of nature and community.
We are thrilled to invite you to this bold (and fun!) exploration of who we might choose to be in these turbulent times as we work to build communities that protect both people and our beloved planet.
This program is being offered in partnership with The BTS Center, the organizational successor to Bangor Theological Seminary, which focuses on spiritual leadership for a climate-changed world. Visit The BTS Center to learn more. You can read bios for Dean Madeline and Dean Erin here.
Click HERE for a welcome video from your Deans!
Justice Together will include a variety of guests to bring diverse perspectives and workshops for the campers.
Bio: Victoria Rutledge is a tenured yoga teacher and certified death doula, with experience leading group processing sessions, leading workshops and retreats, and hospice volunteering. Passionate about self inquiry and creating an equitable and just world for all people, she finds purpose in creating spaces to hold the vastness of the human experience. She is currently teaching at both The Portland Yoga Project, and Portland Yoga Collective, and is the community outreach ambassador for The Portland Yoga Project, focusing on mutual aid, accessibility, and inclusion as we navigate yoga and movement spaces.
Workshop Description: Drawing from her own intersectional identity and spiritual evolution, Victoria is thrilled to guide us through an exploration of our bodies and minds as we discuss what roles we have to play in our unfolding future. Prepare to move, think critically, sow hope, and acknowledge the grief of living in this world while dreaming into the futures we desire!
Bio: James Cook is a sociologist with published research in community, connection, gender, and political action. He also manages a thrift store in Camden that generates funding for local nonprofit organizations and social work.
Workshop Description: Finding, Tending, and Combining Leadership for a World in Need – Every person has within them the potential for some unique kind leadership to meet the challenges of the world. In this workshop, we’ll each look within to find the seeds of our own leadership, develop a plan to grow that leadership, then practice bringing our leadership styles together to accomplish meaningful change.
Bio: Spencer Traylor is the Co-Founder and Director of Community Development for Samara Strategies. A passionate advocate for community-led transformation, Spencer brings over a decade of experience in education, facilitation, and program design to his work at Samara. After graduating from Colby College, Spencer came to Lewiston as an intern with Tree Street Youth. He later ran the internship program at Tree Street, led the design and development of Next STEP High School for Lewiston Public Schools, and served as a Facilitator and Camp Director for Seeds of Peace International Camp in Otisfield, ME. Spencer has consulted with schools, nonprofits, and colleges on topics ranging from implicit bias to dialogues on race and international conflict.
Workshop description: Spencer will lead sessions with campers about how we discuss identity to help us kick off the week and get to know each other. Campers will reflect and share about their personal values, practice talking about identity with curiosity and openness, and discuss practical boundaries and strategies for navigating conversations about identity. The goal is to reframe conflict as a natural part of human relationships and an opportunity for growth, understanding, and a stronger community and lead to discussions about how to engage with conflict within justice work. Together we will look at what gifts we are entering the movement with, then look ahead to how we might integrate these gifts and newfound skills within our own communities.
Bio: Maya Williams (ey/they/she) is a religious Black multiracial nonbinary suicide survivor who was selected as Portland, ME’s seventh poet laureate for a July 2021 to July 2024 term. Maya received a MFA in Creative Writing with a Focus in Poetry from Randolph College in June 2022. Eir debut poetry collection Judas & Suicide (Game Over Books, 2023) was selected as a finalist for a New England Book Award. Their second poetry collection, Refused a Second Date (Harbor Editions, 2023), was selected as a finalist for a Maine Literary Award. Their third poetry collection, What’s So Wrong with a Pity Party Anyway?, was selected as one of four winners of Garden Party Collective’s chapbook prize in 2024. Maya was one of The Advocate’s Champions of Pride in 2022, and one of Maine Humanities Council’s recipients of the Constance Carlson Public Humanities Prize in 2024.
Workshop description: This workshop is for folks who love talking about the environment, folks who talking about the environment is new to them, and for anyone who recognizes the need to talk about climate change and how that affects our daily living. As a suicide survivor, what helps me choose to stay in this burning world is to find the things I love that are worth staying for. This space is for folks to celebrate parts of our environment that helps us wake up in the morning. Engage in interactive discussion and poetry. How do you celebrate being alive on this earth?
