“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” – Psalm 34:18
UMCRM is devastated by the catastrophic flooding in the Texas Hill Country that resulted in tragedy for Camp Mystic and other camps in the area. Our hearts are with the staff, camp families, and all who have been touched by this unimaginable loss. While no United Methodist camps were impacted by this disaster, as fellow camp people we feel connected in sorrow, solidarity, and support. As siblings-in-Christ, we join in prayers of lament, hope, trust, and healing.
In the midst of the heavy weight of this grief that we are collectively lifting before God, our camps are still actively doing their sacred work. Camp families are still dropping off their precious children, entrusting them into our care. Camp staff are still leading games, preparing meals, planning worship, teaching crafts, guiding hikes, lifeguarding swimmers, belaying climbers, singing songs. We are practicing safety protocols, enforcing standards, addressing challenges, treating scrapes and stings, mediating conflicts, offering encouragement and compassion. We’re making space for faith, friendships, and fun. This is our ministry in a world that can be tragic, scary, and uncertain. Thank you, camp leaders, camp families, and supporters, for your courage and trust.
Ways to Give
Kerrville First UMC and their Light On The Hill ministry site quickly opened as a shelter over the weekend, providing support and respite for families as they waited to hear about their loved ones at Camp Mystic. https://www.umnews.org/en/news/grieving-church-brings-comfort-in-texas-floods Kerrville First UMC is the home church of Camp Mystic Director Dick Eastland, who lost his life rescuing campers from the floodwaters. Church leaders ask for prayer and for financial support to United Methodist disaster relief. The Rio Texas Conference (UMC) Disaster Response team is already in action in the affected communities surrounding the Guadalupe River. 100% of a special offering will support their efforts on the ground and in supplying flood buckets as the long work of cleanup begins in the coming days, weeks, and months. https://riotexasresponse.org/news/2025/7/6/guadalupe-river-relief-special-offering
Find current updates at www.riotexasresponse.org.
As we join the vast chorus of prayer and giving, the UMCRM community is also collecting an offering of cards and letters for the surviving Camp Mystic staff and counselors. If your camp’s staff and community would like to contribute your messages of compassion and support, please mail to UMCRM at 1550 Lenora Dr, Pittsburgh, PA 15237, postmarked by Monday, July 21. We will send this collective outpouring of camp love from UMCRM to our colleagues in Texas.
A prayer from our colleague Jess Elfring-Roberts, Executive Director of ECCC (Episcopal Camps & Conference Centers):
A Prayer for the Missing, the Fearful, and the Camp CommunityO Christ who calls the weary,Hold close the campers who are still missing.Be their shelter, their guide, their hope.Be with those who search and those who wait.Be with every parent gripped by fear,Every sibling asking questions,Every friend praying for a miracle.Be with the counselors whose hearts are breaking,The staff who gave their summer to joy,And the communities now walking through grief.Strengthen those who cannot find the words.Comfort those who cannot sleep.Heal what feels beyond repair.In your mercy, O God,Gather us close.Bind us together.And do what only you can do.Amen.