Spring Manuscript Discovery Camp has proved to be an asset to the christian community and has added to the resources of many churches. Manuscript Discovery Camp is an opportunity for adults to spend time together discovering God's word. We ran a camp during the Easter school holidays where we read the book of Timothy. The camp was run over five days from dinner Thursday 1st April, 1999 to Monday afternoon 5th April, 1999 at 'The Landmark', Mangrove Mountain one hour's drive north of Sydney.

As the Bible is central to understanding our faith it is important for Christians to be able to read it with confidence and in a manner which is true to the ideas which the original author was trying to convey. At Discovery Camp we read a book of the Bible using the 'Manuscript Discovery' method at this particular camp we read 'Ruth' in 1998 and '1 Timothy' in 1999. This involves using a book of the Bible in manuscript form without chapters, paragraphs or verses and working together in a mixture of large and small groups discover the author's message. The MD method is very much a group activity where we have equal access to God's word and we are working together and sharing our discoveries. One of the aims of MD is to go away better equipped to discover God's word and therefore have a closer, deeper relationship with God.

There are a lot of children's and youth educational and recreational opportunities but not many for the over 18s. This is where our camp offers unique opportunities, as we provide an atmosphere where adult Christians can have a relaxing holiday, interact with other Christians and learn or improve skills in Bible study. We provide a children's programme which runs at the same time as the study groups. Our camp will compliment training in the areas of Youth Fellowship Leadership, Bible Study Leadership, Theological Studies and Home Groups as well as personal Bible study.

The primary aims of the camp are to:

• allow time for thorough studying of a book of the Bible,
• allow time to relax in a Christian community,
• teach the M.D. method of studying the Bible,
• allow people who have had some experience of the M.D. method to refine their skills.

Manuscript Discovery Camp is a temporary Christian community where the support and care of each other is encouraged. The M.D. method works best in this environment, where people feel free to ask questions of the manuscript and to bounce ideas around their small group.

Each day we have two M.D. sessions in small groups; with sufficient time free for social/family activities and plenty of free time. These are also sure to help you relax and unwind from the pressures of everyday life.

Adults who come to Manuscript Discovery Camp are anything from 18 to 80. Children are welcome and have their own programme during study sessions.

• time together in the morning including singing and worship.
• activities such as walking.
• afternoon M.D. group work for three or four hours.
• evening activities for all ages.

M.D. camp has been part of the Sydney Anglican Youth Department programme for over 20 years. No longer feeling we could claim to be 'youth', we who between us have been on that camp every year since its beginning, have established a camp for the benefit of people of any age and Christian understanding. We have studied many books from the Old and New Testaments. If you would like further information, please contact us. Members of the team are available to speak to churches, Bible study groups, young adults groups, youth leaders and anyone else who is interested. For more information on what Manuscript Discovery is click here!