... But when I volunteer at Camp Luther for a week every summer, I do count it as vacation. I'm there with my family with one hour a day of responsibilities, for which we get housing, meals, and our run of the camp activities all week. If that were my only contact with the camp every year, a better case could be made that it involved necessary networking in our district, but I'm there three or four times a year anyway. The week in the summer is pure relaxation. Heck, they even pre-print the Bible studies they want the pastors to do. It'd be a pretty tough sell to say I'm up there on official business. Confirmation Camp, on the other hand...
Ahhh... to only have had one hour a day of responsibility! Even in a camp setting, whether or not it is our time or parish time (of course, it is all God's time!), depends upon the situation. While I was able to pick and choose, to an extent, where my energies were spent, I was doing something for the camp for all but 1 or 2 hours a day. Setting up projects for the campers, helping with Bible Study, worship planning, leading games, etc. And, unfortunately, my wife and son weren't with me - he's a bit young to handle resident camp, so he and my wife went to visit her parents.
I second and third what others have said about small-town ministry. If you are awake, you're doing it. There is no escaping, people are always aware that you are the pastor, whether you are in clerics or not.
