by Geoff Fox
In 1990, members of the Hancock United Methodist Church recognized a need for helping hands for local residents, and met that need by beginning a ministry called Camp Joy.
For these last 36 years, youth groups from all over Maryland have been serving in the Appalachian region of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia by providing home repair to those who don’t have the means to take on the repairs themselves.
Recipients of the help include elderly residents physically unable to do the work themselves, and/or those on a fixed or limited income.
When considering a theme for this year’s Camp Joy, Pastor Becki Wessinger of the Hancock United Methodist Church said the youth on the planning team felt it was important to consider the state of the world and the need for hope.
They also noted building relationships with the homeowners and how it brings forth hope.
With those in mind, Wessinger said the theme for this year’s Camp Joy was “Building Hope… with enthusiasm.”
The foundation scripture for this year is “Render service with enthusiasm, as for the Lord and not for humans…” – Ephesians 6:7.
“We are building hope through service that reflects the God we serve,” Wessinger said. “We aren’t looking to impress others.”
This year’s Camp Joy has 91 campers forming 12 work teams from six churches – Hancock United Methodist Church; Hiss UMC, Parkville; Hollywood UMC, Hollywood, Md.; St. Matthew Presbyterian, Silver Spring; Emory UMC, Street, Md.; and St. John’s Norwood Episcopal Church, Chevy Chase, Md.
This year, there were 35 applications for Camp Joy to do work for homeowners in Hancock, Berkeley Springs, and Paw Paw. There are only plans to do 28 of those projects.
Wessinger said the work includes repairing and building steps, wheelchair ramps, decks and railings, painting, replacing windows and doors, and repairing gutters.
Camp Joy is more than just repairing homes as the mission ministry provides transformative service experience for youth and their leaders.
“We have first-timers and those that return to Camp Joy as leaders who participated in Camp Joy when they were a teen,” Wessinger said.
Relationships are formed with each other and the homeowners as the teams serve, stories are shared and the love of God is experienced, she added.
“We see smiles on the tired faces of the work teams and the faces of the homeowners when a project is complete knowing that they would be a little safer, a little warmer, and/or even a little drier!” Wessinger said.
Last Tuesday, July 14, a group of seven teens from St. John’s was working at a home on Crone Road in Berkeley Springs to make the deck safer.
It was their second day of working.
The team of teens learned how to properly and safely use saws to cut the wood and make sure deck components were level.
Liam Jackson was participating in his first year at Camp Joy.
He said he had a lot of friends taking part in the camp and it’s through his church, so “it just made sense.”
Jackson said it’s been great and has been doing more construction work than he has done before.
“And we’re helping people,” he said.
On the day they were out working, it was in the heatwave that was over the area last week.
Jackson said the kids were drinking a lot of water and taking breaks in the shade for a few minutes every hour.
His favorite part about working with Camp Joy has been knowing he can do these things.
“At school, it’s mostly mental work and learning that I’m able to do physical work,” he said.
While Jackson was the rookie of the crew, Maddy McMahon was the veteran of the group, as this was her third year participating.
McMahon said when she first started, it was because they were helping people and her church hadn’t participated in a long time, but one of the adults had in the past.
“She just described it as a really grounding experience,” McMahon said.
In her three years, McMahon said there have been a lot of skills learned like carpentry and construction, and there’s the satisfaction of connecting with people.
“It’s also a great experience for people, especially from where we live, you don’t see a lot of this type of situation,” she said. “It’s a really good eye-opening experience.”
McMahon said her favorite thing about doing Camp Joy has been at the end of the job and seeing all the new wood and being able to say “yeah, we did that.”
Even though they focus on doing the work and getting it done, McMahon said the kids also have a lot of fun with Camp Joy.
When they aren’t working on a project, the youth groups tent camp at Camp Harmison in Berkeley Springs.
Their days begin with the sun rising over the mountains and breakfast cooked and served by the ministry team.
They then gather and pray before heading out their worksites.
Each evening, the work teams are fed by a different church in the region with dinners this year provided by Mt. Zion UMC in Berkeley Springs, Hancock Presbyterian Church, Hancock Assembly of God, Hancock UMC, Union Chapel in Berkeley Springs, First UMC in Berkeley Springs, St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Hancock, and Trinity-Asbury UMC in Berkeley Springs.
Vespers services are held each evening at God’s Open Window, a peaceful outdoor chapel that includes the kids leading spirit-filled singing, a time of prayer and devotion as well as reflection on the day, and sharing where they saw God present and working.
Vespers on Friday is held around a bonfire and all who participated in Camp Joy are invited to share how this experience has impacted them.
That evening is a time of powerful testimony to God’s transformative power and love, Wessinger said.
Camp Joy for 2027 is scheduled for July 11-17.
For more information on how you, your youth, and/or church can participate, contact Pastor Becki Wessinger at pastorbecki@hancockumc.org or by calling 301-678-6440.
Homeowner applications will be available beginning in February 2027 at the senior centers in Hancock, Berkeley Springs, Warfordsburg, and Paw Paw; Loaves and Fishes in Hancock; the Hancock Library, and Hancock United Methodist Church, Wessinger said.
