Friendship

There is a lot of talk right now about loneliness among boys and young men. They may be connected all day, but much of that connection happens through a screen.

Camp offers something different. Boys eat together, live together, laugh together, work through hard moments, and spend long stretches of time face to face. Friendship is not an extra part of camp. It is woven through the whole day.

This week’s theme is friendship. Under Servant’s Heart in the Falling Creek Code, boys are challenged to “make friendship a fine art.” Sunday gave us a good look at what that can mean.

Friendship in Ordinary Time

At Church, Program Director and Chaplain Matt Sloan shared from John 15:15, when Jesus tells his disciples, “I have called you friends.”

Later came Sunday Sundaes, an extended Rest Hour, and two blocks of free-choice activities. Boys found cabinmates, trip partners, and friends from across camp and settled into an afternoon together.

Friendship is often built that way, in ordinary time.

On the Other End of the Rope

For Robbie T. from Miami, Florida, and Winston R. from New York City, friendship has grown through rock climbing.

The two sixth graders have been on nearly every climbing trip together since they were old enough to leave camp.

“Rock climbing is what has made our friendship,” Winston said. “You can’t do it by yourself. You need a partner you can trust because it’s a team effort.”

That trust matters whether one boy is climbing or standing below, encouraging him and helping guide the way. When they returned from their latest trip, Robbie came over and sat with Winston at his table.

Their friendship may have grown on the rock, but it follows them back into everyday camp life.

“Robbie is always there for you and will do anything for the group,” Winston said. “He is really funny too.”

Robbie said their friendship includes plenty of laughter and giving each other a hard time, but he has also learned where the line is.

“You have to keep in mind that you are friends first,” he said. “Don’t be mean. You have to keep them more important than the joke. That’s a golden rule.”

Then he summed it up simply.

“Being a good friend is intricate.”

Friendship Over Time

That evening, boys who have spent five summers or more at Falling Creek gathered for the Five-Year Dinner. They ate steak, looked through old photographs, and found younger versions of themselves hanging around the gym walls.

The dinner celebrates time at camp, but it also shows what can grow across those years. Boys return to familiar places, but they also return to people who have become an important part of their lives.

The night ended with Friendship Campfire, when everyone left the benches and gathered in one large circle around the fire. Camper Development Director Mike Nuckles told the boys that many of his closest friends and deepest relationships came from Falling Creek.

Assistant Program and Staff Directors Whit Flickinger and Johnny “Beans” Ervin then shared about their own friendship. Laughter was what first drew them together.

“We joked. We laughed,” Beans said. “But over time, Whit became someone I went to for advice. Eventually, that advice turned into accountability.”

Their friendship still includes plenty of laughter, but it has also grown strong enough to hold honest conversations.

“A friend isn’t just someone to goof off with,” Beans said. “They are willing to say, ‘This isn’t you.’ They trust the friendship enough to say hard things.”

It sounded a lot like what Robbie had said earlier. The joke can be part of the friendship, but the friend has to remain more important than the joke.