Cara Meredith

Hey! Did Towne Center Books work out in Pleasanton? I'm happy to connect you/propose an event/be your conversation partner at Great Good Place for Books in Oakland - that's where I did my launch party.

Church Camp: Bad Skits, Cry Night, and How White Evangelicalism Betrayed a Generation Christian summer camp is where many feel most authentic and at home. But for campers at white Evangelical church camps in particular, camp often became a place to inherit a toxic image of God and of e...

@carameredithwrites.bsky.social preached a wonderful sermon, and then joined us in conversation about her excellent book "Church Camp." Also, we celebrated birthdays from 9 to 95, and sang rounds. Much sweetness. www.broadleafbooks.com/store/produc...

It really was the loveliest of mornings. O, lovely day!

Thanks, Jonathan. It’s a little wild that they ran it at all.

PS: If you liked Church Camp, stick it to the haters and post a positive review on Amazon or Goodreads. We got this!

Don’t Toss Orthodoxy in the Campfire - Christianity Today Cara Meredith wants Christian summer camps to quit evangelism. But her research and theology leave much to be desired.

No press is bad press.

After an unbelievably negative review from @christianitytoday.com yesterday (that missed the point of the book, mind you), sales & subscribers & followers are up! CT editors are (secretly) emailing me, apologizing.

WILD.

GLORY.

www.christianitytoday.com/2025/06/dont...

‘Church Camp’ book calls out conversion efforts, ‘cry night’ at evangelical summer camps | Anabaptist World For many Christian kids, church camp — with nightly s’mores, goofy skits and Jesus-y singalongs — is an oasis that welcomes them each summer. For decades, that was the case for Cara Meredith, who grew...

Grateful for the good people at @anabaptistworld.bsky.social for recently highlighting Church Camp.

Check it out!

anabaptistworld.org/church-camp-...

Is Church Camp Too ... Campy? | Common Good Magazine From cry night to chapel in the woods, a new book deconstructs fear-based gospel messages and transactional evangelistic strategies.

I'm so glad writer Anna Rollins found a home for this hybrid personal essay meets Church Camp book review over at @commongoodmag.bsky.social.

But I don't know, you'll have to tell me: Is church camp too ...campy? Can that even be a thing?

Read it here:

commongoodmag.com/church-camp-...

What Church Camp Taught Me About Relationships and Sexuality And a review of Cara Meredith's new book Church Camp: Bad Skits, Cry Night, and How White Evangelicalism Betrayed a Generation.

I feel like I JUST scratched the surface when it comes to the impact of purity culture at camps (even if "scratching the surface" still made up half a chapter in the book).

I'm so glad Jeremiah over at Sexvangelicals decided to run with it even more!

sexvangelicals.substack.com/p/what-churc...

95: Unpacking Church Camp Podcast Episode · The Thing with Feathers: birds and hope with Courtney Ellis · 05/05/2025 · 39m

Loving the week of podcast episodes? Have no fear, another podcast is here!

I'm so grateful @courtneyellis.bsky.social brought me on her show, The Thing With Feathers. We talked about hope, a lot, but we also talked about my favorite bird.

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/9...

It's podcast-sharing week! Check out this episode with Ryan Walton of the @daringtodad.bsky.social podcast.

Ryan and I come from very similar worlds, so it doesn't take much to find commonality through Church Camp.

www.instagram.com/p/DJozT8TRCsH/

Ep. 305 Cara Meredith - Church Camp, Conformity, and the Call to Something More Today, I’m joined by Cara Meredith, author of the new book Church Camp. We’re digging into the ways camp shapes our faith, our friendships, and our sense of who belongs. We get real about the fun memo...

Joshua Johnson of @shiftingculture.bsky.social Podcast is a PHENOMENAL question-asker. I loved, loved, loved our conversation, which really is rooted in shifting culture.

And isn't that also kind of what Church Camp is about too?

shiftingculture.substack.com/p/ep-305-car...

Episode 301 - Cara Meredith · Welcome, Cara Meredith, back to the podcast! Cara was so kind to join me waaay back in the early months of the podcast and now she’s been brave enough to do it again! The topic in this conversation is...

@alexisbusetti.bsky.social of That Makes Total Sense Podcast was one of my favorite interviews when my first book came out.

It wasn't all that different with Church Camp! Even though it's a TOTALLY different conversation, it's still a good one.

thatmakestotalsense.com/podcast/epis...

Beyond the Campfire with Cara Meredith Podcast Episode · The Expansionist Podcast · 05/19/2025 · 38m

I really loved chatting with Heather and Shelley of The Expansionist Podcast.

They're all about expanding spirituality, the Divine Feminine, & the transforming impact of living attuned to Wisdom, Spirit, and Love ...and I don't about you, but I kind of am too.

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...

‘Church Camp’ book calls out conversion efforts, ‘cry night’ at evangelical summer camps (RNS) — Author Cara Meredith argues white evangelical church camps should be more about encountering God than conversion.

When @religionnews.com.web.brid.gy reached out for an interview of Church Camp, I just SWOONED.

I love them & appreciate what they're putting out in the world when it comes to religious conversations.

A huge thanks to writer Kathryn Post for the interview!

religionnews.com/2025/05/21/c...

Book explores the good, bad and weepy about church camp Years attending and later working at Christian summer camps left Cara Meredith feeling somewhat ambivalent about letting her own children experience what is essentially an evangelical rite of passage....

I started writing for @baptistnews.com earlier this year and have just continued to fall in love with the publication. They're doing good, good things, y'all!

What a joy to then have them reach out for a review of Church Camp.

Enjoy!

baptistnews.com/article/new-...

LIVE with Cara Meredith: CHURCH CAMP and DISCIPLES OF WHITE JESUS A recording from Rev. Angela Denker's live video

It was a real delight to jump on Substack Live for the first time with friend and author @angeladenker.bsky.social.

Our new books from @broadleafbooks.bsky.social, Disciples of White Jesus and Church Camp, pair quite well together.

Cozy up and listen!

angeladenker.substack.com/p/live-with-...

Learning to Worship at Church Camp A conversation with Cara Meredith about camp songs and faith formation

My new friend Kelsey McGinnis is a kind and generous soul.

Not only does she GET the book, but she was able to guide a conversation between the two of us that really celebrated one of my favorite aspects of camp: MUSIC!!!!

Sing along here:

kkramermcginnis.substack.com/p/learning-t...

Episode 4: The Both/And of Departure A conversation with author Cara Meredith

I know I told you about her the other day, but @hollybfletcher.bsky.social is the stuff dreams are made of.

I loved our podcast conversation, which was about both Church Camp AND The Color of Life (and a whole lot of other things in between):

hollyberkleyfletcher.substack.com/p/episode-4-...

The Best Faith EVER!!!! Cara Meredith's book Church Camp

My buddy, fellow writer, former CIAer, and future author @hollybfletcher.bsky.social is just the bee's knees.

I'm so grateful for her generosity in reading & penning a post that really hits the nail on the head when it comes to Church Camp:

hollyberkleyfletcher.substack.com/p/the-best-f...

Good Soil convinced me that the world needs more books written of the things of the earth and the deep spiritual longings of our soul.

Read it!

Author Conversation: Cara Meredith and Church Camp (Episode 3) — All of This & More Charlotte talks to author Cara Meredith about her new book Church Camp: Bad Skits, Cry Night, and How White Evangelicalism Betrayed a Generation . Learn more about Cara and her book at carameredi...

Writer, podcaster, spiritual director, and author @charlottedonlon.bsky.social and I share in common a love of BELONGING.

I was honored to chat with her about a whole lot of things, including belonging, on her new podcast, All of This and More.

Listen?

www.allofthisandmore.com/episodes/car...

Dirty Rotten Little Sinners Hell, Coercive Conversions, and White Evangelical Church Camp

Doing an IG Live with Brian Recker was so much fun ...but I'm equally grateful for his generosity in featuring this excerpt from Church Camp on Substack.

He's got a book about hell coming out later this year, so this hellish piece fits nicely!

brianrecker.substack.com/p/dirty-rott...

Cara Meredith - Church Camp [Feature Review] - The Englewood Review of Books A Feature Review of Church Camp: Bad Skits, Cry Night, & How White Evangelicalism Betrayed a Generation by Cara Meredith (Broadleaf, 2025)

I've been writing book reviews for @erbks.bsky.social for years. What. A. Joy. to see this come full circle and see Church Camp as a featured review over on their site!

Also, a huge thanks to writer Ann Byle for the generous write-up.

Read it here:

englewoodreview.org/cara-meredit...

Church Camp, Sin, and the Atonement Agenda Guest Post from author Cara Meredith

It was just the DREAMIEST when theologian David Gushee enthusiastically agreed to endorse Church Camp.

For fellow theological nerds like myself, this was a really cool, really big deal.

What a gift that he also shared space with me on his Substack:

davidpgushee.substack.com/p/church-cam...

I'll give you something to cry about *building buzz* with off-the-book essays (featuring Cara Meredith, author of Church Camp: Bad Skits, Cry Night, and How White Evangelicalism Betrayed a Generation)

Freelance writer and upcoming author Anna Rollins is quickly becoming one of my favorite humans on the Internet.

Not only has she taught me a ton about freelancing but she's a comrade in and on this journey of spiritual writing.

Check it out!

annajrollins.substack.com/p/ill-give-y...

Church Camp: Bad Skits, Cry Night, and How White Evangelicalism Betrayed a Generation - The Presbyterian Outlook "Church Camp" is both the memoir of theologian Cara Meredith and a well-researched assessment of the Christian camping industry. — Amy Pagliarella

Where all my PCUSAers at?

I'm grateful for the good folks at @presoutlook.bsky.social for this review of Church Camp. They definitely get it, through and through!

pres-outlook.org/2025/04/chur...

Reconsidering Church Camp Deconstructing the camps (and faiths) of our childhoods with Cara Meredith.

Amy & @zachwlambert.bsky.social are new friends to me, but I'm grateful for their generosity in highlighting Church Camp a couple of weeks ago.

I appreciated Amy's thoughts, interactions, & favorite quotes from the book.

Reconsider church camp with us?

zachwlambert.substack.com/p/reconsider...

On Reading Widely Why engaging with ideas that stretch us is a good thing

My friend and fellow author @courtneyellis.bsky.social reads a wholeeeeeeee lot of books. I'm grateful for the Church Camp shoutout on this recent Substack post!

Read widely with her today:

courtneyellis.substack.com/p/on-reading...

The Empathy List #147: I Miss Church Camp ...but not the exclusive theology that I learned there. (Plus Cara Meredith's book, Church Camp.)

I'm so grateful for the time @lizcharlottegrant.bsky.social took in reviewing, interacting with, and highlighting Church Camp.

Plus, there's a bonus essay from yours truly tucked in there as well.

Check it out!

www.thempathylist.com/p/the-empath...