4-day workweeks can boost happiness
At non-profits, and camps, and church organizations, we’re used to doing more with less. What might that look like with actual work days?
Some companies have started exploring shortened work weeks, and not noticing a drop in productivity.
When employees are given a good reason to work harder, they often focus more ruthlessly on their most important tasks. Barnes found that even though weekly working hours were cut by 20 percent, employees’ time spent on nonwork websites fell by 35 percent. It also helped that employees had more time outside of work to manage the rest of their lives, so nonwork responsibilities were less likely to intrude on the workday.
What could this look like in your setting? And what ramifications could a shortened work week have on our retreat centers or camp programs?
At non-profits, and camps, and church organizations, we’re used to doing more with less. What might that look like with actual work days?
Some companies have started exploring shortened work weeks, and not noticing a drop in productivity.
When employees are given a good reason to work harder, they often focus more ruthlessly on their most important tasks. Barnes found that even though weekly working hours were cut by 20 percent, employees’ time spent on nonwork websites fell by 35 percent. It also helped that employees had more time outside of work to manage the rest of their lives, so nonwork responsibilities were less likely to intrude on the workday.
What could this look like in your setting? And what ramifications could a shortened work week have on our retreat centers or camp programs?
Cleansing 2020 and Making Room for Joy in 2021
What objects around your are subtly (or overwhelmingly) causing you to feel regret, overwhelm, stuck-ness, shame, guilt, or anxiety? Consider how to address or remove these triggers from your home or office, and prepare for 2021.
Where to look for stuck-ness in your home:
- Spaces that are unfinished or undecorated
- Art propped up against the walls that hasn’t been framed or hung
- Things you have been saving for a future life that you might enjoy right now (e.g. fancy dishes, family heirlooms)
- Styles or objects that you feel you’ve outgrown
What objects around your are subtly (or overwhelmingly) causing you to feel regret, overwhelm, stuck-ness, shame, guilt, or anxiety? Consider how to address or remove these triggers from your home or office, and prepare for 2021.
Where to look for stuck-ness in your home:
- Spaces that are unfinished or undecorated
- Art propped up against the walls that hasn’t been framed or hung
- Things you have been saving for a future life that you might enjoy right now (e.g. fancy dishes, family heirlooms)
- Styles or objects that you feel you’ve outgrown
Writing Contest: Faith & Technology
The FaithTech Institute has launched a contest for reflections on the intersection of faith and technology. Have you noticed or learned something in your ministry context, specifically related to how we engage through or with technology? We encourage you to share and submit! Details are here.
The FaithTech Institute has launched a contest for reflections on the intersection of faith and technology. Have you noticed or learned something in your ministry context, specifically related to how we engage through or with technology? We encourage you to share and submit! Details are here.
What Would Love Do: Bishop Curry on how love shows us the way during difficult times
Bishop Curry was on the Today show last week, telling us all how love might show us the way during these troubled times.
We’ve all been trying, making mistakes, learning, regrouping, trying anew. I’ve seen it. I’ve quietly read Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Compline online with you. I’ve seen soup kitchens, pantries, and other feeding ministries carefully doing their work in safe and healthy ways. There are Zoom coffee hours, Bible studies, and small discipleship groups. I’ve seen people of many faiths stand for the moral primacy of love. I’ve seen it, even when public health concerns supersede all other considerations, including in-person worship. That is moral courage. Who knows, but that love may demand more of us. But fear not, just remember what the old slaves used to say, walk together, children, and don’t you get weary, because there is a great camp meeting in the Promised Land. Oh, I’ve seen us do what we never thought we would or could do, because we dared to do what Jesus tells us all to do.
Bishop Curry was on the Today show last week, telling us all how love might show us the way during these troubled times.
We’ve all been trying, making mistakes, learning, regrouping, trying anew. I’ve seen it. I’ve quietly read Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Compline online with you. I’ve seen soup kitchens, pantries, and other feeding ministries carefully doing their work in safe and healthy ways. There are Zoom coffee hours, Bible studies, and small discipleship groups. I’ve seen people of many faiths stand for the moral primacy of love. I’ve seen it, even when public health concerns supersede all other considerations, including in-person worship. That is moral courage. Who knows, but that love may demand more of us. But fear not, just remember what the old slaves used to say, walk together, children, and don’t you get weary, because there is a great camp meeting in the Promised Land. Oh, I’ve seen us do what we never thought we would or could do, because we dared to do what Jesus tells us all to do.
Grant Opportunity: Senior Volunteer Programs
Senior Corps RSVP engages older Americans in volunteer service that meets national and community needs and delivers lasting, meaningful results. They have announced a new funding opportunity, intended to increase the impact of volunteers age 55 and older who provide volunteer service in response to local community needs. Learn more here. Note that this is a government-funded opportunity that is also open to faith-based non-profits to apply for.
Senior Corps RSVP engages older Americans in volunteer service that meets national and community needs and delivers lasting, meaningful results. They have announced a new funding opportunity, intended to increase the impact of volunteers age 55 and older who provide volunteer service in response to local community needs. Learn more here. Note that this is a government-funded opportunity that is also open to faith-based non-profits to apply for.
Feeding Ministries & Initiatives at Episcopal Camps & Conference Centers
Food and sundries have served as a unique challenge and asset to our Episcopal camps and conference centers. When COVID-19 hit, most had full walk-in refrigerators, freezers, and pantries, prepared to serve hundreds of guests in the coming months. Immediately, places had to pivot so that food would not go to waste.
Camps and conference centers also have existing, reliable relationships with food distributors, and as the pandemic has continued, they have utilized those to serve their community, when other food and resources were hard to acquire, and as the economic impact of the pandemic has continued to develop.
Camp Washington in the Diocese of Connecticut offers a well-stocked hygiene and food table (including canned goods and produce), as well as fully prepared meals, available at no-cost to its community.
St. Columba in the Diocese of West Tennessee offers take-home meals for community members to pick-up in the parking lot, including barbeque dinners or breakfast casseroles.
Valle Crucis in the Diocese of Western North Carolina opened a General Store for their town, selling flour, toilet paper, baked good, and other items on request.
Ascension School in the Diocese of Eastern Oregon partners with local agencies to provide meals for senior citizens, and to provide school and summertime lunches for students.
Food and sundries have served as a unique challenge and asset to our Episcopal camps and conference centers. When COVID-19 hit, most had full walk-in refrigerators, freezers, and pantries, prepared to serve hundreds of guests in the coming months. Immediately, places had to pivot so that food would not go to waste.
Camps and conference centers also have existing, reliable relationships with food distributors, and as the pandemic has continued, they have utilized those to serve their community, when other food and resources were hard to acquire, and as the economic impact of the pandemic has continued to develop.
Here are just a few of the camps that took those two realities and pivoted into something meaningful:
Camp Washington in the Episcopal Church in Connecticut offers a well-stocked hygiene and food table (including canned goods and produce), as well as fully prepared meals, available at no-cost to its community. Support Camp Washington here.
St. Columba in the Diocese of West Tennessee offers take-home meals for community members to pick-up in the parking lot, including barbeque dinners or breakfast casseroles. Support St. Columba here.
Valle Crucis in the Diocese of Western North Carolina opened a General Store for their town, selling flour, toilet paper, prepared meals, baked goods, and other items on request in April and May. Support Valle Crucis here.
Ascension School in the Diocese of Eastern Oregon partners with local agencies to provide meals for senior citizens, and to provide school and summertime lunches for students. Support Ascension School Camp & Conference Center here.
Camp Stevens in the Dioceses of Los Angeles & San Diego has partnered with a local farm to offer CSA (community supported agriculture) produce boxes to their rural community, supplemented with fresh baked bread or granola. Support Camp Stevens here.
2020 Camp Highlights
All of our camps are getting creative this summer — a few are running programs with very limited campers, others are running virtual camp programs, others have pivoted to solo/family/household retreat offerings, and some are shuttered for the summer to conserve resources.
Keep an eye here for highlights!
All of our camps are getting creative this summer — a few are running programs with limited campers, others are running virtual camp programs, others have pivoted to solo/family/household retreat offerings, and some are shuttered for the summer to conserve resources. Check out these creative offerings, and consider signing up, sharing with a friend, or donating to support them!
Camp Cross in the Diocese of Spokane has summer staff on-site (including one participant from ECCC’s Staff Exchange Program), but no campers or on-site camp program. They are focusing for the summer on service, worship, and relationship. Learn more in this update from director, Father John Palarine and support them by following all their social media, and subscribing to their YouTube channel.
St. Dorothy’s Rest in the Diocese of California also has staff on-site, but no campers. They are filming a reality TV show! Follow their adventures here.
On the shore of Lake Tahoe in the Diocese of Nevada, Camp Galilee, which celebrates its 100th summer this year, is offering day and overnight family camps — and they are sold out all summer long!
Learn more about their program and protocols here.
Check out other ECCC sites offering family/household retreats here. Contact us to find one near you, for a health- and budget- conscious way to vacation this summer.
Camp Capers, in the Diocese of West Texas, partnered with a local non-profit to prepare and deliver 1,900 “camp in a box” kits to underserved youth populations. Support Camp Capers and the DIocese of West Texas’s two other camping and retreat ministries, Mustang Island Conference Center and Duncan Park here.
Paradise Point in the Diocese of Idaho pioneered a virtual-camp.org platform (a partnership between ECCC and our Outdoor Ministry Connection ecumenical partners) and have developed some remarkably engaging online content, specific to each of their traditional camp weeks. This week, they’ll debut some of their 3D programming!
Diocese of Northern Indiana runs a week-long program at a rented facility each summer. They pivoted quickly this year to send each camper an at-home Camp in Our Hearts 2020 kit, with Way of Love-themed activities (and live and on-demand video instructions)., supportive messages, snacks, snickers, and a hat. They led a week of dynamic online program! Check out highlights and videos from the week here.
The Phoebe Needles Center in the Diocese of Southwest is offering online, full-day, and half-day programs, including escape rooms, cooking classes, movie nights, and caricature drawing lessons, and weekly community service opportunities for individuals and households. All of these are being offered at no cost — check it out!
Camp Stevens in the Dioceses of Los Angeles and San Diego has offered weekly virtual Community Gatherings, their summer camp evening singalongs, each Thursday during the pandemic, and introduced an updated songbook, revised with intentionality with an focus on anti-racism and equity. Camp Stevens has also partnered within their local community to offer CSA boxes from their farm and gardens.
Photo: Mandi Mae Photography
Ascension School in the Diocese of Eastern Oregon has started an intern program for the first time and welcomed 20 young adults to live on-site in community for a month, focused on leadership development, spiritual formation, and work projects on property.
St. Crispin’s in the Diocese of Oklahoma offered a Father’s Day Family Weekend, and have started a day pass program for archery, swimming, boating on-site, in addition to their offering Burgers For Bikers meals offered to the mountain bike community who use the 9+ miles of award-winning trails.
Cross Roads in the DIocese of Newark — a camp that’s both Lutheran and Episcopal —is offering family retreats, virtual day camp, an online leadership lab for high school students, and weekly gatherings with a spiritual director.
Follow them on Instagram; their activity and prayer stories and posts are engaging and instructive!
Camp Marshall in the Diocese of Montana is offering virtual camp, including weekly challenges for campers to complete, virtual worship, and this roundtable about summer in 2020 with Presiding Bishop Michael Curry.
Listen to some incredible camper- and staff- produced music from Camp Marshall here.
Lake Logan and Camp Henry in the Diocese of Western North Carolina, have found ways to serve families and individuals in their community, through drive-in movie nights, new tent camping sites, an expanded day pass program for fishing and boating, and day camps at local churches.
You can support Lake Logan and Camp Henry by sponsoring one of their camp counselors, or purchasing one of these incredible watercolors done by their staff.
CM CARES: COVID-19 Protecting the Greater Good Recovery Fund
CM CARES, the Church Mutual Insurance Company Foundation, has established a $500,000 “COVID-19 Protecting the Greater Good Recovery Fund.” This fund prioritizes donations to support essential needs provided by 501c3 religious, education, nonprofit/human services, senior living and camps, organizations that are experiencing increased demand for services and/or supplies caused by the pandemic. Eligible nonprofit organizations can apply for a donation up to $2,500.
CM CARES, the Church Mutual Insurance Company Foundation, has established a $500,000 “COVID-19 Protecting the Greater Good Recovery Fund.” This fund prioritizes donations to support essential needs provided by 501c3 religious, education, nonprofit/human services, senior living and camps, organizations that are experiencing increased demand for services and/or supplies caused by the pandemic. Eligible nonprofit organizations can apply for a donation up to $2,500.
What will summer be like without the usual VBS, camps and youth mission trips?
Featuring the Episcopal Church in Minnesota’s youth and camping programs:
Christian professionals and families partner to experiment with innovative approaches to youth formation in a socially distant environment.
Featuring the Episcopal Church in Minnesota’s youth and camping programs:
Christian professionals and families partner to experiment with innovative approaches to youth formation in a socially distant environment.
10 Tips for Navigating the Future of Leadership
The future is now. No longer a distant concept, what we knew to be true in past seasons may no longer be true. Amid so many unknowns, one thing is certain: This new era requires strong and courageous leaders. People willing to adapt, learn and grow while they lead. People willing to get their hands dirty and lead by example.
The future is now. No longer a distant concept, what we knew to be true in past seasons may no longer be true. Amid so many unknowns, one thing is certain: This new era requires strong and courageous leaders. People willing to adapt, learn and grow while they lead. People willing to get their hands dirty and lead by example.
How to Network When There Are No Networking Events
We all know the typical ways to network: by attending industry mixers, business dinners, and conferences. But of course none of those have been possible over the past few months, with so much of the world in quarantine. And even as various regions start to open up, large gatherings will be slow to come back, and long-distance travel will be limited. How should you be making new professional connections during this time?
We all know the typical ways to network: by attending industry mixers, business dinners, and conferences. But of course none of those have been possible over the past few months, with so much of the world in quarantine. And even as various regions start to open up, large gatherings will be slow to come back, and long-distance travel will be limited. How should you be making new professional connections during this time?
Crowdfunding in a Box: Support to get started from TryTank
From TryTank, a joint project of Virginia Theological Seminary and General Seminary: Join our new experiment: "Crowdfunding in a Box". As we began to think about the church in a post-COVID-19 world, we came up with an idea that can serve a few needs - "Crowdfunding in a Box."
The Need: Many Episcopal organizations have suffered a HUGE financial hit from this pandemic. They need money fast.
Our Experimental Solution: Let's develop an easy to follow system for executing a successful crowdfunding campaign using best practices from the industry.
It breaks down into three main steps: Mission clarity, The Campaign Video, Execution of the campaign
The goal of the crowdfunding campaign is to raise funds. According to Nonprofits' Source, the average amount that a nonprofit organization raises from a crowdfunding campaign is $9,237.55. I'm sure many orgs could use an extra $10K right now.
However, there are two really important side benefits of the crowdfunding campaign. First, going through the relatively simple and quick exercises for mission clarity will help you get to the core of who they are and why they exist. This will help in reimagining what they could become. We will be using Simon Sinek's "Begin With Why" process. Second, the moment that an organization's community start sharing the video and campaign on social media and telling their friends about it they are, yup, evangelizing! And who knows, when I ask my friends to support my camp because it is important to me and it makes a difference in the community, then maybe someone will see the video and decide they might find a home there.
If you participate, here's what that means:
MISSION CLARITY: for this part, we have contracted with Simon Sinek's organization to lead a workshop on "Finding Your Why" for your church. Two members of your organization participate. The date will be finalized soon and should be at the end of June.
CAMPAIGN VIDEO: for this part, we have hired storytellers to show you how to tell your story in video form. The goal is to guide you, step-by-step, through the process of making a 3-minute video.
EXECUTION: For this part, we will provide you with a list of the possible platforms you can use and the best practices on how to use them.
From TryTank, a joint project of Virginia Theological Seminary and General Seminary: Join our new experiment: "Crowdfunding in a Box". As we began to think about the church in a post-COVID-19 world, we came up with an idea that can serve a few needs - "Crowdfunding in a Box."
The Need: Many Episcopal organizations have suffered a HUGE financial hit from this pandemic. They need money fast.
Our Experimental Solution: Let's develop an easy to follow system for executing a successful crowdfunding campaign using best practices from the industry.
It breaks down into three main steps: Mission clarity, The Campaign Video, Execution of the campaign
The goal of the crowdfunding campaign is to raise funds. According to Nonprofits' Source, the average amount that a nonprofit organization raises from a crowdfunding campaign is $9,237.55. I'm sure many orgs could use an extra $10K right now.
However, there are two really important side benefits of the crowdfunding campaign. First, going through the relatively simple and quick exercises for mission clarity will help you get to the core of who they are and why they exist. This will help in reimagining what they could become. We will be using Simon Sinek's "Begin With Why" process. Second, the moment that an organization's community start sharing the video and campaign on social media and telling their friends about it they are, yup, evangelizing! And who knows, when I ask my friends to support my camp because it is important to me and it makes a difference in the community, then maybe someone will see the video and decide they might find a home there.
If you participate, here's what that means:
MISSION CLARITY: for this part, we have contracted with Simon Sinek's organization to lead a workshop on "Finding Your Why" for your church. Two members of your organization participate. The date will be finalized soon and should be at the end of June.
CAMPAIGN VIDEO: for this part, we have hired storytellers to show you how to tell your story in video form. The goal is to guide you, step-by-step, through the process of making a 3-minute video.
EXECUTION: For this part, we will provide you with a list of the possible platforms you can use and the best practices on how to use them.
6 Predictions for How This Crisis Will Impact Small Businesses Long-Term
What can our Episcopal summer camps and retreat centers learn from and prepare for from this article from Entrepreneur magazine?
Whatever the new normal becomes, small-business owners will be at the forefront of shaping life as we know it. Some trends will prove durable long beyond this time.
What can our Episcopal summer camps and retreat centers learn from and prepare for from this article from Entrepreneur magazine?
Whatever the new normal becomes, small-business owners will be at the forefront of shaping life as we know it. Some trends will prove durable long beyond this time.
Lessons from Airbnb: Making hard decisions human
Letters from CEOs rarely move me. They’re often full of corporate-speak and half-truths. The CEO and Co-Founder of Airbnb, Brian Chesky, changed that with his letter to employees… His beloved company will axe 1900 out of their 7500 employees. There is no easy way for a CEO to do that. He took a different approach that we can all learn from, even if you’re not the CEO. He taught us how to do business with people again in this incredibly difficult time in human history.
Letters from CEOs rarely move me. They’re often full of corporate-speak and half-truths. The CEO and Co-Founder of Airbnb, Brian Chesky, changed that with his letter to employees… His beloved company will axe 1900 out of their 7500 employees. There is no easy way for a CEO to do that. He took a different approach that we can all learn from, even if you’re not the CEO. He taught us how to do business with people again in this incredibly difficult time in human history.
Are you allowing guests on-site?
Here are some sample guidelines and/or a release form you might want to borrow from Bellwether Farm to help with contact tracing and liability.
Here are some sample guidelines and/or a release form you might want to borrow from Bellwether Farm to help with contact tracing and liability.
Camp, conference center...internet service provider?
This article about the challenges of working remotely in rural locations got me thinking about the internet infrastructure at camps and conference centers — what does it look like to open up your parking lots or picnic tables and internet access for those working from home without reliable internet?
This article about the challenges of working remotely in rural locations got me thinking about the internet infrastructure at camps and conference centers — what does it look like to open up your parking lots or picnic tables and internet access for those working from home without reliable internet?
An online retreat example from SSJE
From ECCC member, Society of St. John the Evangelist:
If the idea of a day-long “retreat-in-place” seems inviting to you, then it is God who has whetted your desire. What is God’s invitation to you? Prayer is always a response to God’s initiative, and retreat is the same. Retreat, at heart, is simply about making ourselves available to God.
This guide invites you to cooperate with God as you plan your retreat time. Less is more. We hope the suggestions in these pages will set the stage, so that you can receive God’s gift of love in a time of retreat.
From ECCC member, Society of St. John the Evangelist:
If the idea of a day-long “retreat-in-place” seems inviting to you, then it is God who has whetted your desire. What is God’s invitation to you? Prayer is always a response to God’s initiative, and retreat is the same. Retreat, at heart, is simply about making ourselves available to God.
This guide invites you to cooperate with God as you plan your retreat time. Less is more. We hope the suggestions in these pages will set the stage, so that you can receive God’s gift of love in a time of retreat.