Camp Wesley Woods will once again host a Wilderness First Responder Course, May 13-20th.  The W.F.R. course will give you the skills and knowledge to respond to and manage patients in rural, back country, or other settings where transportation to a medical facility will be delayed. 

In addition to the full W.F.R. course, we will also offer a Wilderness Refresher Course, May 16-18th.  This 24 hour class should be repeated at two-year intervals for all Wilderness First Responders. This will also meet the National Registry First Responder renewal requirements, & will include CPR renewal. Learn the new protocols & techniques that may have come along since you took your initial course, plus review & practice old skills & techniques.

Instructors will be from Roane State Community College. Their program is recognized by the American Camping Association and accredited by the Southern Association for Colleges.

For more information or to register, please download the brochure below. You may also call our office at (865) 448-2246. 

With just 54 more days until Summer Camp 2013 starts, our sessions are filling up fast! Be sure to sign up soon to secure a spot in one of our great summer programs. A week at Camp Wesley Woods is filled with fun, adventure, great friends and growth, and we can't wait for you to join us!


 

For rising Kindergartners - 3rd Grade
For rising 4th - 5th Grade
For rising 6th - 7th Grade
For rising 8th - 12th Grade

If you haven't registered for summer camp yet, you still have 3 days to register and receive the Early Bird Discount! Hurry and register now to save $15 on each summer camp session! The FINAL deadline is Thursday, April 4th at 11:59 p.m. Don't miss this great discount! Register Now! 

There are just a few days left to sign up for Camp Wesley Woods and receive our special Early Bird rate. Save $15 on EACH session of summer camp that you register for on or before April 1st! 

To register by phone, call our registration office at 423-929-9037, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 



You can browse our session offerings by using the "Summer Camp" links at the top of this page, or you can view or download our summer brochure by clicking here and scrolling to the bottom. 

Or, you can register online! Simply hover over "Summer Camp" at the top of the page, then select the grade level the camper will be starting this Fall. Links to the online registration page for each camp are available. 

If you have questions or need assistance, call our office at 865-448-2246, or email camp@campwesleywoods.com.

If you haven't clicked over to our summer camp pages lately, you're missing out! Registration for Summer Camp 2013 is LIVE online, and we don't want you to miss out on all the fun coming to Camp Wesley Woods this summer! We offer programs for children entering Kindergarten through 12th grade this fall: from Day Camp to Grand Adventure to Basecamp to Leadership Development. There is something for everyone! To find which sessions you or your child is eligible for, hover your mouse over Summer Camp, then Programs, and select the camper's grade as of this fall. We can't wait to see you this summer, for Treasures of the Heart! 

It's only December, but planning for Summer Camp 2013 is in full swing. If you've worked at Camp for several summers, or if you've never even considered the possibility, we'd love to have you apply! 

Working at Camp Wesley Woods is more than just a summer job. We offer great opportunities for outstanding Christian men and women to be part of a ministry where you’ll find: 

Important Mission - Be part of a ministry focused on helping kids grow in faith.

Strong Christian Community - Live, work and spend time in an environment centered around Christian Values.

Commitment to Excellence - Use the gifts God has blessed you with to be the best you can be each and every day for the young people we serve.

Outstanding Staff - Spend the summer with an awesome group of young adults who passionately care about the kids we serve, each other and their faith.

Chance to Make a Difference - Lead a small group and build relationships with young people that help transform their lives in positive ways.

If you want to make a difference, to be part of an amazing community and to do God’s work this summer, then consider the opportunities at Camp Wesley Woods. It’ll be a summer that changes lives...both the campers’ and yours. 

How to Apply: 
Please download, complete, and mail in the form below to apply to work at Camp this summer. We have separate applications for new staff members and returning staff members, so please be sure to fill out the appropriate one. You can also find more information about working at summer camp here. 

Thank you for your interest in Summer Camp Staff 2013 at Camp Wesley Woods! We look forward to hearing from you. 

When Minister in Residence Mandy Flemming arrived at Camp Wesley Woods this summer, it was the 13th year she’d set foot on the grounds. 

As a rising 3rd grader, Mandy’s friend Jenny invited her to spend a half-week at Camp Wesley Woods.  Mandy said, “those first 48 hours here, I completely fell in love.” She even got bit by crawdad during a hike, but still thought Camp Wesley Woods was wonderful. 

The next summer, Mandy returned for her first full week of summer camp. She was excited for Camp, but when her first night hike approached, she lost her cool a little bit. Though she was nervous for this first trek through the woods in the dark, she heard her first barred owl on that hike, and learned that she could trust the world around her. “People make the world scary,” she said, “the world itself is not scary. God made it and called it good.” 

The very next day, she had to test this new trust she’d developed: It was time for her group’s campout. “I didn’t want to,” Mandy said. “There was just something about it that seemed very unsettling and unnerving to me.” As they were preparing to leave, a thunderstorm rolled in. “I was just flat out terrified,” she said. “But my counselor talked me down and reminded me that they would never do anything that was unsafe, that in fact it’s kind of cool when it rains on your campout, because you’re just in the middle of it.” After this conversation with her caring counselor, Mandy picked up her pillow and her sleeping bag, and admitted that camping out in the rain was indeed wonderful. 

After that, Mandy said she just never stopped coming to Camp Wesley Woods. She would show up every year and wave to all of the familiar faces. She was a camper for 7 years before taking one summer off, and then she returned to camp as a support staff member. That summer, Mandy received her call to ministry. 

“When I was in high school, things were kind of falling apart at home in really bad ways,” Mandy said. She decided to apply to work at Camp Wesley Woods when she was 16. When the camp director interviewed her for the job, he asked if she had any special skills. Mandy responded, “Well, I own a guitar.”

Mandy learned to play her guitar quickly, and that summer started working for Camp Wesley Woods. She said, “When I got here, I think the combination of just being so glad to be in this place, so relieved to have gotten the job, so overwhelmed with how many friends I’d made so quickly, I felt more blessed and grateful than I knew how to say. Right about the third week of camp, the MIR for that week, at Morning Watch, sent us out and said, ‘Just take three minutes. Go sit beside the creek; find a spot alone; don’t throw rocks; and pray.’ ” 

As she sat by the creek that she had spent so much time beside as a camper, she felt overwhelmingly blessed. Mandy felt compelled to find a way to maintain a connection to Camp Wesley Woods, and she found herself asking hypothetical questions. She tried to picture herself as the Camp Director, which she quickly realized was not her calling. She then wondered about being the MIR, an idea that she had a hard time grasping, as she’d never seen a female pastor or a female MIR.    

“My brain, which I suppose is God’s voice, and the way that God’s voice works, said ‘You know, you could do counseling, and that’s ministry,’” Mandy said. She then thought of the woman who ran the Christian counseling center at her home church, Bearden United Methodist in Knoxville, and realized that Christian Counseling was an option for a vocation, and could open the door for her to come back to Wesley Woods as the MIR. “That very brief conversation with God was my call to ministry.”


When Mandy finally returned to Camp Wesley Woods this summer as a MIR, she was fulfilling the dream God placed in her heart by the creek bed that morning.

Mandy earned a degree in psychology and Christian thought from Oglethorpe, then attended seminary and pursued a degree in Christian Counseling. Eventually, she found herself serving a church for a 10-week summer appointment, and she discovered that all of her passions came into play as she served as a pastor and planned worship. That summer, the calling she felt 8 years earlier on the banks of the creek at Camp Wesley Woods suddenly made sense.

Two years ago, Mandy was ordained as an elder in full connection in the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church, and she currently serves as an associate pastor at Saint Mark United Methodist in Midtown Atlanta.

In October 2011, Mandy returned to Camp Wesley Woods with the youth group from Saint Mark, and she said the experience was “completely like being back home.” She said, “The magic and mystery of it was still here. Which, having not been back for a while was so exciting; that the Holy Spirit had not left this place…The Spirit is here. It is very vital, and very active, and very beautiful, and very palpable.”

As Mandy served as a MIR, she was struck by how sharp & engaged the campers were. “They’re getting it, and not just from here. But clearly, you can see how powerful God’s love is because of how willingly and how openly and how carefree they are to speak about their faith. And it’s still fun. All the things that I remember were fun and exciting are still fun an exciting.”

When campers leave Camp Wesley Woods, Mandy hopes that they take with them the knowledge and experience that it is easy to fall in love with God. “Because God is so present. I hope that campers are able to remember that God’s love goes with them when they leave, and that God’s presence is not just in this place, but is everywhere they may go.”

On Sunday afternoon, not only can you enjoy some wonderful chili and fierce competition, but your little ones can trunk-or-treat! Please join us at Concord UMC on Roane Drive in West Knoxville for the Oak Ridge District Chili Cook-Off, Trunk-or-Treat & Fall Festival. It will be a great afternoon for the whole family! Festivities start at 4:30 p.m.

As the temperatures drop, it's time for Chili! Our Chili Cook-Off season is about to get underway, and we need your help! If you love to make chili or if you love to eat chili, we hope you'll join us! Full details and entry forms for the Chili Cook-Off and Dessert Contest are available here. 

Dates for the Chili Cook-Offs are: 

• Wed. Oct. 10th - Panther Springs UMC in the Morristown District, 5 p.m.
  
• Wed. Oct. 24th - Fountain City UMC in the Knoxville District, 5:30 p.m.
  
• Sun. Oct. 28th - Concord UMC in the Oak Ridge District, 4:30 p.m.
  
• Wed. Nov. 7th - Maryville First UMC in the Maryville District, Time TBA
  

To enter a pot of chili or a dessert into one of our cook-offs, just email ashley@campwesleywoods.com to let us know you're interested! We'll make sure you have the right registration materials. Cost to enter a pot of chili is $25, and it's $10 to enter a dessert. Trophies will be awarded to the People's Choice Chili, Judge's Choice Chili, Best Table Decorations, People's Choice Dessert & Judge's Choice Dessert. 

To come and taste chili and desserts, there is NO entry fee! Participants can "vote with your dollars" to choose your favorite pot of chili or dessert. 

For more information or to register, email ashley@campwesleywoods.com! 

IGNITE, our middle school retreat, begins Friday night, September 14th at 7 p.m. We'll have worship, adventure activities, small group time and more! Cost is $25 per person, and includes lodging, a snack on Friday evening and three meals on Saturday.
Groups of all sizes are welcome, as long as you bring a chaperon! To sign up today, call or email Mollianne at (865) 448-2246 or mollianne@campwesleywoods.com.

The Camper Scamper 5K starts at 8 a.m. on Saturday, September 15th! Registration starts at 7 a.m., and walk-up registrations will be accepted. The race will take place at Sandy Springs Park in Maryville. If you're not a runner, you can sign up to be an "Armchair Runner" and still support Camp Wesley Woods! Cost is $30 if you register before Thursday, September 13th, and $35 if you register the day of the race. The race will be timed by the Knoxville Track Club. Register now!