Bee Busy at Bayview

(Photos by Victoria Holt and the Rev. Nina Pickerrell)

For two weeks, from Monday, August 10 to Friday, August 21, Bee Busy at Bayview Mission was in session. This is an annual vacation Bible school led by the Rev. Nina Pickerrell. For the first week, the camp was held at Grace Cathedral; the second week took place at the Bayview Mission. Ms. Pickerrell has hosted this camp for about 5 years. A number of kids from throughout the San Francisco community played games, did arts and crafts, took tours of the cathedral, and engaged in a number of activities that would not be possible anywhere else in the city.


During the first week, the Rev. Nina, the 20-plus kids, and a number of youth and adult counselors occupied the dining hall at Grace. This location enabled the group to tour various sections of the cathedral, some of which would normally be off-limits to guests, including the nave, the columbarium, the bishop's office, and various basement rooms. Several cathedral staff also talked about Grace's history and secrets to the campers. The kids were additionally given the opportunity to walk the labyrinth in silence and to sing "Amazing Grace" in the cathedral, the latter being a stunning musical experience! In between these tours, the kids had ample space to do such crafts as beading, drawing, and crocheting, as well as to play with balls, frisbees, and hula hoops in the courtyard. Both breakfast and lunch were provided daily.

In a question and answer session with some of the campers, it was revealed that eleven languages are spoken among ten of the kids. Most of the kids also play at least one musical instrument and participate in multiple sports.

During the second week, the campers of Bee Busy came to Nina's house in the Bayview, otherwise known as the Bayview Mission. Again, the kids engaged in such crafts as beading and painting. Breakfast and lunch were again provided. They also got into a circle everyday and were read to by youth counselors. They additionally partook of some activities that they had not gotten to do at Grace Cathedral. That Monday, the camp coincided with the weekly food pantry at the Mission. The kids all worked together to fill backpacks to be given out to other children from the neighborhood. They also got to keep one backpack of their own. A few of the campers and counselors remained to assist with the food pantry after the day of camp was over. On Wednesday, a family from a farm in Petaluma brought farm animals, which included a small petting zoo of chickens and rabbits, as well as two horses and a pony that could be ridden by the kids-and even a few adults!

The fun continued on Thursday and Friday with an inflatable pool and seven-foot tall slide that the kids made use of enthusiastically, in spite of the cool, overcast San Francisco weather.

The Rev. Nina feels confident that she had the only 7-foot shark pool in the Bayview that day. "It was a joy to watch the children experience water play on a summer day!"