Summer camps should be a time of fun and learning for kids. It's the first chance for many to be away from home and be alone with their peers. It can create life time friendships.
However, there are Church of God summer camps where theological indoctrination is trumpeted out as truth. The worst of these cult camps is Philadelphia Church of God's summer camps. Imagine having your kinds indoctrinated at summer camp chanting all summer:
"Next year at the Rock, Next year at the Rock, Next year at the Rock." (referring to Petra) That kind of deviate behavior is just as sick as Harold Camping's lies.
I am reposting the following blog comments from Michael Maynard concerning how his kids were treated at a Philadelphia Church of God Summer Camp. This is the kind of BS that Gerald Flurry and his cult are indoctrinating kids with and how they are being treated.
Some people never check out the comments sections of posts, and this deserves wider viewing.
Michael D. Maynard said...
I had first hand experience with the utter incompetence at the PCG summer camp in Guthrie, OK in 1996 when my son and daughter attended. When we arrived there a day or two before the camp ended we visited with the campers and staff and spoke to Gerald Flurry at length. We were appalled at what we found. My daughter had second degree sun burns covering on her face her lips were seared and infected from being forced to play sports activities for many hours in the scorching sun without being offered any sun screen. My daughters knees had been damaged from these same marathon sports activities. They were treated like they were seasoned atheletes and run into the dirt. My daughter had pain from her injuries form many years after that. She related how they were all forced to go mountain biking in very steep hill country around dangerous boulders and cliffs. At one point they were forced to ride down an extremely steep hill which terrified my daughter who grew up in Florida and never rode on any hills. One of the girls lost control of her bike during this part of the ride and body slammed a huge bolder at a high rate of speed. It was a wonder she was not killed. My daughter said she had a bruise that covered nearly her entire side.
My son's ankles were both so badly sprained that he could barley walk from this marathon of sports. They still wanted him to play in the final softball tournament without any medical attention. We forbade it and made him sit it out. If we had not arrived when we did no telling how bad his injuries could have been. When we first arrived at the beginning of the camp to drop our children off my wife and I were shocked and my daughter very embarrassed at the first sight we observed. Dennis Leap, the camp coordinator, came riding up on his mountain bike next to where we were unloading or children's gear. He was wearing spandex riding shorts that are skin tight. He was carrying a little extra weight so to start with the sight was bad enough, but what was worse was his "package" and you know what I mean, looked like he was very happy to see someone. To be kind it was repugnant, to be honest it was just LEWD. My wife and daughter spun around away from him while he was greeting them and froze wide eyed staring at me. After he left my wife and I had a private discussion out of our children's ear shot and actually had reservations. I had a strong feeling, which I wished I had heeded, not to leave them there for the camp. But we talked ourselves into leaving them because we knew how much both of them were looking forward to this and many of their friends were there. We found out also that the monitor that was in my sons dorm was an immature boy who had no control over his dorm. There were vicious hazings and my son fell off a porch roof and could have been injured though he just had minor scrapes. It took many months before my son could walk without pain in his ankles. My daughter still has slight scars on her face from the severe sunburn she suffered. But that was not the end of it. When we were loading my son and daughters gear into our motor coach for the return trip to Florida all of the campers were crying, hugging, saying their good byes, and all saying something like a slogan they learned from camp. I couldn't quite make it out so I slid a window open to hear better. I usually don't write this kind of vocabulary, so forgive me if you are offend, I apolgize in advance...BUT I was PISSED when I realized what the slogan was...PISSED! "Next year at the Rock, Next year at the Rock, Next year at the Rock." was what they were chanting as they said their good byes. Those worthless BASTARDS had used the two week camp to indoctrinate and brainwash our children into Gerald Flurry's insane prophecies about FLEEING TO PETRA. And told them there would not be a camp next year because they would all be together in PETRA. That is when I fully realized what a 'BOWL OF SPIDERS" the PCG was. When we got back to Florida I started my exit strategy and did not send another dime to them, and I was a rather large contributor. I know they saw that right away and that was a large part of why I was disfellowshiped so rapidly by the regional pastor that I wrote about earlier. My mother-in-law and brother-in-law are still in that group, just as blind as they can be. At least I only wasted two years there. Michael
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