The "C" and me

Growing up with two working parents, I spent a lot of summer holiday time at the YMCA. Naturally, one day on the way to the Y, I asked my mom what the letters in YMCA stood for. She informed me that it stood for the Young Men's Christian Association. To me, this was puzzling; nothing about this description seemed to fit into my experience at the YMCA. Seeing my quizzical expression, my mom quickly explained that the Y was named a long time ago, and that it was for everyone now. While this answer is technically true, certainly it is true in the case of the "M" in the YMCA, it only approaches the surface of the nuance behind the "C."

About a decade later, I found myself involved again with the Y. Working at a summer camp operated by the Visalia, California, YMCA, I approached my childhood paradox once again. Had the YMCA removed the "C" as a cost of inclusiveness? There is rarely anything overtly Christian about the YMCA. There are no prayers, no communion, and no bold evangelical statement. I found it troubling to think that an organization with such a strong Christian heritage could simply become secular. It seemed to be analogous to a passionate preacher waking up one morning and deciding that her mission no longer matched her faith.

The more I considered the place of Christianity in the YMCA, the more I came to find the flaw in my logic. Everything about my summer job at the Y fit perfectly into my mission as a Christian. I was serving others, particularly those who were most in need. I was promoting the ideals of equality, spirituality, respect for nature and health, and, most importantly, love. If there is anything that the Bible makes perfectly clear, it is that we are called to love one another. If we accept that God calls us to love and serve universally, anything which limits the provision thereof is a violation of that highest Christian ideal. The YMCA is a Christian organization whether the explicit chief mission of the organization includes a reference to Christianity or not. It is an organization which promotes love, and all love is Christian love.

At the end of each week at camp, a lakeside campfire would bring closure to each week's session. A tradition at Camp Tulequoia, everyone would sing "One Tin Soldier." Standing together amidst a cool breeze, the final verse would ring throughout the mountains: