CAMPFIRE Ethos

A Few Notes on CAMPFIRE | Travis Helms

We all know how formal church can sometimes feel. CAMPFIRE is an effort to bring and translate what's best about the church tradition — it's intentionality and ritual, it's heart-forward and inclusive care and welcome, it's passion and curiosity about things that matter — into a totally new context.

We also know that being in the mountains often allows us to tap into something deeper, and more real. Call it god, transcendence, the sacred, beauty, wonder, or quantum weirdness . . . something larger often seems to meet us when we get to altitude. And yet so much of our lives are lived down in the valley. CAMPFIRE is about finding ways to cultivate deeper conversations around life's big questions — and, we hope, of catalyzing an experience of kindling connection with that something larger — through the age-old power of storytelling. It's about integrating the peak experience into valley living, about reflecting on how those experiences of something larger can translate into the ways we live our lives.

We culminate our gatherings by enjoying a bit of 'communion' over conversation, food, and libations in a way that is unapologetically festal. We also have small groups who meet to read books and articles, watch films, and listen to music created by our presenters — as well as ones who meet regularly to ski and hike in the backcountry — to deepen friendships formed at the monthly gatherings.

Our hope is that the conversations that take place at CAMPFIRE will help amplify spiritual health as a complement to all of the efforts of those working for the physical and mental health of our communities in Teton County and beyond. And we would love for you to be a part of it.

CAMPFIRE is an inclusive, celebratory community that welcomes and affirms the dignity and beauty of people of all gender, racial, and sexual identities, political affiliations and abilities. All are welcome, always.

Want to help stoke the Fire? Email Travis to get involved