St. Francis House Staff Serves
While the students of UW-Madison are away, the St. Francis House staff kept busy in June serving and participating across The Episcopal Church at EpiscoWisco Camp and at the Young Adult & Campus Ministry (YACM) Conference.
EpiscoWisco Camp’s Senior Camp Session (serving high school-aged campers) took place June 10-17. As the session director, St. Francis House office coordinator and house fellow Bekah Scolare was charged with oversight of the programming for the week. Bekah assembled a daily schedule that included typical summer camp fare of food, fun, and activities, as well as daily formation programming including topics for faithful conversations along five themes: Identity, Calling, Healing, Paying Attention, and Remembering. St. Francis House chaplain, the Rev. Bobbi Kraft, served as chaplain along with Jackson as therapy dog.
After a FULL week at camp, you might think Mother Bobbi and Bekah headed back to Madison for some well-deserved rest. Instead, they headed to the YACM Conference in San Diego, California. The event brought together nearly fifty individuals from across the Church who serve alongside young adults, including fellowship, workshops, and networking. Author and Thistle Farms founder, Becca Stevens, who began her priestly vocation as a campus minister, was the keynote speaker (you may recall that Becca was our keynote speaker at last year's Diocesan Convention). Our own Bekah served on this year’s conference planning team.
Isaiah 55:12-13 served as the guiding theme for this year’s conference. "For you shall go out in joy and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands." The staff of St Francis House returns refreshed and ready to prepare and serve students in Madison.
The Rev. Bobbi Kraft (she/her)
Chaplain, St. Francis House Episcopal Student Center - UW Madison
Young Adult Missioner, Diocese of Milwaukee