St. Paul's Episcopal Church issued the following announcement on May 19.
FROM THE RECTOR
In many places, the diocesan camp and conference center is the heart of the diocese that beats across the generations. Children grow up going to summer camp where they learn about our faith and make friendships with children from other parishes. Youth return each year, both in the summer and for special conferences, where that formation is deepened and those relationships are renewed. College students attend discernment retreats, and young adults enjoy a weekend away with peers. Vestries go off on their annual retreat, where some of the members tell stories from their childhood about going to that sacred place every summer.
Although I did not go to an Episcopal camp as a child, I did grow up going to a Christian camp every summer, where I experienced some of the most important formative influences of my life. I learned how to start and finish each day with prayer. I discovered that reading the Bible was something I could do outside of church. I found ways to give voice to my burgeoning faith. Actually, my parents had also shown me all of those things, but camp was the place where I learned to enjoy them. Camp was the place where we swam in the river and climbed the rock wall and shot .22-caliber rifles and made s’mores and learned that we could do all of those fun things while learning how to become disciples of Jesus.
Camp Mitchell is one of those places where we go to learn about God and experience the richness of community while enjoying ourselves so much that we want to come back year after year, even for the rest of our lives. After a two-year pause in operations because of the pandemic, Camp Mitchell is open again, and it needs our support.
During these two years, we have taken a hard look at what is needed to keep Camp Mitchell going. Instead of being run directly as a ministry of the diocese, Camp Mitchell is being established as its own independent non-profit, which will continue to receive support from the diocesan budget but, as an independent entity, will also be eligible for a wider variety of grant and other funding sources. These two years have also given us the chance to examine some deferred maintenance issues that desperately need our attention as well as some structural improvements to the property that are necessary to meet expectations for a modern camp setting.
Thankfully, Camp Mitchell has received a generous outpouring of financial and physical support, enabling it to reopen in time for the summer. Children, youth, and adults will laugh and sing and play at camp in the coming months. But our camp is more than a location for summer-time gatherings for Episcopalians. It is a place where the children of incarcerated parents will come for a week of fun. It is a place where adults with physical and mental disabilities can enjoy being a camper. It is a place where people who have no other connection with the Episcopal Church can experience the unconditional love of God in Jesus Christ as we proclaim it. But all of those things will require more of our support.
This year, our vestry included $5,000 of support for operations at Camp Mitchell in our annual budget because we understand that what happens at Camp is an extension of our own ministry. Camp Mitchell is our camp, and we expect that our financial support will grow in the years ahead. In order for Camp to resume and be sustained in full operations, it will need support from many sources, including individuals like you. Last Sunday, we heard from Adam Simmons, who spoke about how Camp Mitchell was responsible for shaping him into the Episcopalian he is today. This Sunday, we will hear from Molly Rawn about why it matters to her and her family. They are two people among many in our church who love Camp Mitchell and want it to flourish.
Stop by the Camp Mitchell table in the Welcome Center this Sunday and ask them about Camp. Consider making a donation directly to Camp Mitchell by dropping off a check at that table or making an online gift through Camp’s website (https://www.campmitchell.org/). Trust that by supporting Camp Mitchell you are supporting a ministry that matters throughout our diocese and beyond. This is one way to invest in our church’s future, and I hope you will.
Yours Faithfully,
Evan D. Garner
Original source can be found here.
Source: St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Alerts Sign-up