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Reflections with Camp & Retreat Ministries
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Camp and Retreat Ministry Changes Lives
We strongly believe this in Oregon-Idaho Camp and Retreat Ministries. For nearly 100 years we have been welcoming the people of God to these sacred spaces where they might encounter themselves, community, God’s creation, and the Spirit, as they seek to follow Jesus.
This summer is one that will go down as the outlier in our history, as we have had to cease the normal operations of our programs as well as the programs of other organizations that we have supported, and yet we are finding creative and life-giving ways to continue this ministry.
Our sites have welcomed volunteers (a few at a time) to help with the demands of maintaining facilities and grounds that still need attention: the significant "bonus" is that these volunteers have the opportunity to experience the sacred that is in these beautiful sites. Three of our sites have provided essential services to persons dealing with houselessness (Suttle Lake), the coronavirus (Collins Retreat Center), and food insecurity (Magruder--see the article and video link below).
We are reminded through these actions that we still have work we can do to provide for God’s people in ways that change the lives of those who come and find respite at our sites. Please join me in celebrating the blessing of offering the grace of Jesus through our hospitality extended to our siblings in need.
See you on the adventure ahead,
Rev. Todd Bartlett
Executive Director of Camp and Retreat Ministries
*photo: the "food bus" pulls into Camp Magruder, ready to load up meals lovingly prepared by the kitchen staff for hungry folks throughout Tillamook County.
"Camp Food" Takes on Life-Giving
Purpose at Camp Magruder
When it became clear at Camp Magruder that we would not be putting our skill and passion to work in the ways we had expected for 2020, we began thinking about how we could make a difference in these challenging times. Our kitchen staff members, who have not had Magruder guests to cook for since mid-March, have instead turned their energies toward feeding the community beyond Magruder.
Several months ago Camp Magruder partnered with Nehalem Bay United Methodist Church to begin a program we call Community Table, which simply delivers meals to people in north Tillamook County who need meals. Our local Fred Meyer has donated all the food. In our first week, we served around 70 meals.
Nehalem Bay and Bay City UMC’s have a program called Grub Clubs, which serve meals to school children on summer break, and to those on free/reduced lunch throughout the school year. This year’s demand was so high the grub clubs weren’t sure how they would keep up. It was right at that time that Camp Magruder’s kitchen staff, who regularly makes 600+ meals a day, was looking for groups to partner with.
The Mudd Nick Foundation, a local organization supporting community youth, was looking to support causes targeting food insecurity. We all seemed to find each other at exactly the same time. So now, our local United Methodist Churches are doing amazing ministry on the ground to connect hungry families with food; the Camp Magruder kitchen staff is hard at work providing high quality meals at a low cost; and the Mudd Nick Foundation and Nehalem Bay UMC are funding wages to keep the kitchen staff employed through the summer.
Our team is now envisioning ways to serve even more families, to expand farther into Tillamook County, to fund the program for the rest of the year, and to enable the Magruder kitchen to continue to feed the community even after our guests return to the site. This is still a very challenging year for Camp Magruder, but a sense of pride wells up every time we send another vehicle out packed full of meals for the people in our county who need it most, knowing that—just as we do in a normal summer—we are participating in life-changing ministry.
Troy Taylor
Director, Camp Magruder
Watch this one-minute video for a chance to see the bus full of food rolling out of camp!
If you would like to fund these efforts for the Fall and Winter months, email Troy.
Love Your Neighbor As Yourself
Did you miss last week's announcement about the free class on Compassionate Communication, offered by our Camp & Retreat Ministries together with the Southeast Portland Parish? It's not too late to register!
Suttle Lake Quilters Piece Together Community
Members of the Northwest Quilters gather (in this pre-COVID photo) with the quilts they made and donated for Suttle Lake's "Strength for the Journey" Camp in the summer of 2019.
Many quilters and crafters work on individual projects, yet they thrive on community. Community is a place to share ideas, talk about what works and doesn’t work, and even swap some fabric. Right now community looks very different for all of us, without a way to gather at camp. So Jane Petke, site director at Suttle Lake, suggested that we have a virtual quilt (and crafts) trunk show. Eleven of us who have attended quilt and craft camps at Suttle Lake gathered by zoom recently to share what has been going on in our lives and what we have been creating since the last time we all met in person.
We discovered that many of us got more work done in our gardens this spring and some neglected their yards for their sewing rooms. We talked about what has kept us going and how we are managing life these days. Hiking, bike rides, walking, an over-abundance of zoom calls, learning to participate in worship in new ways, finding ways to connect to our communities…
Some of us showed pictures of our projects and others held up the real thing for the camera – table runners, placemats, baby quilts, chair throws, queen-size quilts, and of course, masks. And then we discussed mask-making and shared a few suggestions on the best place to get nose pieces for masks, which elastic works best, and which mask design seems to be the favorite. It wouldn’t have been a gathering of quilters without sharing some ideas with one another!
We ended our gathering in typical camp fashion – sharing our pows, wows, hows of the last few months or the moment – the challenges/not-so-good things, the joys, and how we have seen God in the midst of life. Our gathering closed with prayer and assurances that we will meet by zoom again in a few months.
Rev. Karen Nelson
Interim Chair, Board of Camp & Retreat Ministries
If you're interested in the next virtual quilting event at Suttle Lake, or if you'd like to donate a quilt to the 2021 Strength for the Journey camp, contact Jane Petke.
Blessings Report
- Baby quail running around Wallowa Lake Camp!
- Volunteers painting in Pioneer Lodge at Suttle Lake
- A visit with the Forest Service at Camp Latgawa
Please send your blessings to share in future issues of the e-news. Click on this link
Yes, YOU can make a difference!
We've seen this week how camp & retreat ministry is making an impact even though our sites are closed to normal programs: quilters forming community with computers instead of sewing machines; volunteers donning masks along with shovels and paint brushes; Camp Magruder's innovative community partnership, which is feeding the hungry. Do you long to make a difference? Share your ideas with Todd, or donate money today to support this transformative ministry!
