Don't Miss Out! Join Summer Staff Now!

Before I joined Silver Lake on year-round staff, I would occasionally volunteer as a summer counselor. Mostly, I worked with Pioneer, a high school program held the week before camp officially started. We would take on work projects to help the summer staff get ready to open for the summer. Usually we were a small group, which made the experience that much more memorable.

I think often of one summer when I was walking from one work project to another with two young men, one of whom was at Silver Lake the for the first time. I was in my early 20s and they were in their early high school years. They asked me some hard questions about faith, and I responded candidly. I said that I didn't have all the answers, but I could tell them about my experience and my journey.

I don't remember the details of that conversation, but I remember those two young men. One went on to become a teacher, and the other, the first-time Silver Laker, went on to become deeply engaged in Silver Lake's ministry, serving many years on summer staff, becoming a summer conference dean, working in Christian education at Connecticut churches, and has now entered seminary.

If you talk with those who have served on summer staff at Silver Lake or those who have volunteered as counselors, you will find everyone has a story like this. Not every camper goes on to ordained ministry, but we all have that one young person who seems to have truly been changed by their time at Silver Lake. And the longer you hang around, the more of these stories you collect.

We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in 2021 to make an impact on campers that will stay with them their entire lives. As we emerge from pandemic lockdowns, we find ourselves hungry for connection and meaning. We feel a need now more than ever to make a positive difference in the world.

Those of you who may have considered applying for summer staff but have not yet done it, now is the time! You have never been more needed. This is your chance to really make a difference in the lives of campers, and to make a real impact on Silver Lake itself. 

It is going to be hard work. I won't try to tell you it won't. But it will be such rewarding work. And you will leave this summer with stories like the one I told, stories that will unfold over the years, but that had their beginning with you in this extraordinary summer.

Don't wait. You don't want to miss this!

For job descriptions and application instructions, visit www.silverlakect.org/summeremployment, or email Jenn KC at jennkc@silverlakect.org. Preference will be given to applicants age 18 and older, though 17-year-olds may apply. Fully vaccinated staff will have opportunities to leave site between camper sessions.