Joyful Immersion
Isaac Iverson experiences the waters of Fortune Lake for the first time.
A few summers ago, Pr. Joe Iverson watched his then one year-old son Isaac experience a lake for the first time. Isaac crawled through the wet sand to reach the water’s edge and then relentlessly splashed and sputtered, seemingly fearless, giggling the whole while. His family was nearby, soaking up Isaac’s pure joy. Had they not made the commitment to set aside a week of their summer to be at camp, they would have missed this opportunity for renewal through immersion in the faith community – and the waters – of Fortune Lake.
Although Joe’s wife Brianna had attended intergenerational programs with their children for many years, this was the first time Joe was able to come along as a camper. Like many young families, the Iversons lead a very full life. Joe serves as a pastor at Zion Lutheran Church in Galesville, WI. Brianna is Zion’s Youth and Family Ministry Director while also working in the synod office. Together the two of them parent Mary, Nora, and Isaac. Their family is very intentional about faith formation, yet like many of us, they struggle to truly be together in the day-to-day busyness of life. Joe states, “We are with our kids, but we’re often mentally somewhere else: doing housework, or thinking about our jobs. At camp, we were able to truly be with our kids, to watch their joy as they experienced camp in ways that we remember as being so special to us as kids.”
Joe and Brianna were shaped through camping at other Lutheran Outdoor Ministry sites, both as campers and staff members. When Joe was assigned to the Northern Great Lakes Synod as a pastor, the growing family quickly claimed Fortune Lake as one of their camp homes. We’re so glad they did! Joe acknowledges that being a camp counselor is probably the best job God ever created. For him, the next best thing is to be able to share the beauty of God’s creation and immersion in the intentional faith community of camp with his own children. May we all find those moments of reckless abandon at the water’s edge to sustain us through the busyness of life.
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