Workshop: Preparing for the future of retreats
The Retreat Center Collaboration is offering a free, online retreat for retreat center leaders.
Deepen shared values, exchange insights, expand relationships, and support one another in the challenges of reopening. We'll be exploring and exchanging our new understandings of 'retreat,' individual resilience, land legacies, and transformation.
The Retreat Center Collaboration is offering a free, online retreat for retreat center leaders.
Deepen shared values, exchange insights, expand relationships, and support one another in the challenges of reopening. We'll be exploring and exchanging our new understandings of 'retreat,' individual resilience, land legacies, and transformation.
#ThanksToCamp
Beth Allison from GoCampPro shared this litany of encouragement and "The Camp Song" video from Peter Katz with a montage of #thankstocamp moments from Canadian camps. If you need a pick-me-up and reminder of why you do this work, this litany and video may help to reignite you. We have permission to adapt the litany and use it at our own camps. View the litany & video
Beth Allison from GoCampPro shared this litany of encouragement and "The Camp Song" video from Peter Katz with a montage of #thankstocamp moments from Canadian camps. If you need a pick-me-up and reminder of why you do this work, this litany and video may help to reignite you. We have permission to adapt the litany and use it at our own camps. View the litany & video
Rest can be hard work.
Here’s a reflection that I needed to read, personally, and as a retreat leader.
The media and the Scriptures remind us to rest. I feel my shame creeping in as I realize that my body, mind and soul say they need rest. I am not a martyr by any means. I am, however, a pragmatist. The times feel hopeful and hard, and there’s work to be done.
What is rest? How are we offering it? How are we taking it?
Here’s a reflection that I needed to read, personally, and as a retreat leader.
The media and the Scriptures remind us to rest. I feel my shame creeping in as I realize that my body, mind and soul say they need rest. I am not a martyr by any means. I am, however, a pragmatist. The times feel hopeful and hard, and there’s work to be done.
What is rest? How are we offering it? How are we taking it?
Summer Camp Is Even More Vital for 2021 and Beyond
A new article on the American Camp Associaton’s website makes the case that summer camp should no longer be considered optional:
As a mental health professional who works in the camping industry, I am convinced that summer camp is no longer an optional add-on to enrich a child’s experience while they are out of school; it is a vital need for all children and adolescents in 2021 and beyond.
A new article on the American Camp Associaton’s website makes the case that summer camp should no longer be considered optional:
As a mental health professional who works in the camping industry, I am convinced that summer camp is no longer an optional add-on to enrich a child’s experience while they are out of school; it is a vital need for all children and adolescents in 2021 and beyond.
The 7 types of rest that every person needs
I was recently lamenting to a friend that despite my 2021 resolution to get more sleep, I’ve been waking up feeling just as exhausted. While there are likely a few reasons for that (pointing at my dog), this article illuminated something I couldn’t articulate: There is more than one way to rest.
We go through life thinking we’ve rested because we have gotten enough sleep — but in reality we are missing out on the other types of rest we desperately need. The result is a culture of high-achieving, high-producing, chronically tired and chronically burned-out individuals. We’re suffering from a rest deficit because we don’t understand the true power of rest.
Rest should equal restoration in seven key areas of your life.
Science Uncovers the Parenting Style That Creates Better Leaders
There are lessons for our summer camp and youth-facing programs here, as well as the parents among us:
The result is a double whammy: Kids with overprotective parents are less likely to seek leadership roles, and their peers and teachers are less likely to select them for leadership roles.
Which means they don't get the opportunity to learn how to be better leaders.
There are lessons for our summer camp and youth-facing programs here, as well as the parents among us:
The result is a double whammy: Kids with overprotective parents are less likely to seek leadership roles, and their peers and teachers are less likely to select them for leadership roles.
Which means they don't get the opportunity to learn how to be better leaders.
Donor "dating" instead of retention
Funding for Good refers to the donor relationship process as “donor dating.” It’s a great metaphor:
Imagine that you just met your “perfect match.” You went out of your way to get introduced, build some trust, and finally secured a first date. It went well. More likely than not, you shared some personal information, learned some new things about each other, someone paid the bill, and you set up a time to go out for the second date. Imagine that a week goes by, and you get a random thank-you text or call, but then there is silence. You begin to question the connection, the motives, and the future of the relationship. If you are interested in a relationship, you work to build communication, and you establish times to connect and share your needs and joys.
Funding for Good refers to the donor relationship process as “donor dating.” It’s a great metaphor:
Imagine that you just met your “perfect match.” You went out of your way to get introduced, build some trust, and finally secured a first date. It went well. More likely than not, you shared some personal information, learned some new things about each other, someone paid the bill, and you set up a time to go out for the second date. Imagine that a week goes by, and you get a random thank-you text or call, but then there is silence. You begin to question the connection, the motives, and the future of the relationship. If you are interested in a relationship, you work to build communication, and you establish times to connect and share your needs and joys.
Summer 2020: American Camp Association Survey Open
CampCounts 2020 is part of the ACA Research Team’s annual efforts to learn about camps and the communities they serve. We use what you share to expand the value and visibility of all kinds of camp experiences for all young people, adults, and families.
You matter, your camp community matters, and understanding your summer 2020 story is important to how we serve campers and their families into 2021 and beyond. With your help, we can tell the camp story of summer 2020 and chart an evidence-informed path to summer 2021. Your input is critical! Whether you ran on-site camp programs, provided virtual programming, you sent camp in a box, or simply started planning for summer 2021 — no matter what your summer 2020 story might be — you count.
Plan to spend about 30 minutes on the survey. Your responses are anonymous; you and your camp are not identifiable in any way. You will be able to access the results for free at www.acacamps.org in November 2020.
To help you prepare, check out this overview to see what information you might want to have available. You can save your survey and respond at a later time; however, given the length of the survey, it might be difficult to complete on a smartphone. Please submit only one response per camp.
CampCounts 2020 is part of the ACA Research Team’s annual efforts to learn about camps and the communities they serve. We use what you share to expand the value and visibility of all kinds of camp experiences for all young people, adults, and families.
You matter, your camp community matters, and understanding your summer 2020 story is important to how we serve campers and their families into 2021 and beyond. With your help, we can tell the camp story of summer 2020 and chart an evidence-informed path to summer 2021. Your input is critical! Whether you ran on-site camp programs, provided virtual programming, you sent camp in a box, or simply started planning for summer 2021 — no matter what your summer 2020 story might be — you count.
Plan to spend about 30 minutes on the survey. Your responses are anonymous; you and your camp are not identifiable in any way. You will be able to access the results for free at www.acacamps.org in November 2020.
To help you prepare, check out this overview to see what information you might want to have available. You can save your survey and respond at a later time; however, given the length of the survey, it might be difficult to complete on a smartphone. Please submit only one response per camp.
Healthy Camp & Retreat Ministries: Best Practices Guide
The United Methodist Church has made it our mission as a connected church to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. There are many ways in which God works through us, as a church and as individuals, to plant the seed of faith. One way God can meet us where we are is through camp and retreat ministries.
The Church is blessed to have an expansive network of camp and retreat centers throughout the denomination. Currently, we have over 190 United Methodist Camp and Retreat Centers in the United States and more are present or forming in other parts of the world. This is an important ministry of the Church and one we hope will continue in the years ahead.
In recognition of the changing landscape of the denomination in terms of membership and economic factors, and in an effort to preserve the long term ministry of United Methodist Camp and Retreat Centers, Discipleship Ministries, the General Council on Finance and Administration, and camp and retreat leaders and annual conference treasurers across the denomination have come together to identify best practices for healthy camp and retreat centers. This guide is a resource to start the conversation and, one we hope, will serve all camp and retreat centers and annual conferences as they plan strategically for the future.
Download the Guide, and accompanying presentation slides.
The United Methodist Church has made it our mission as a connected church to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. There are many ways in which God works through us, as a church and as individuals, to plant the seed of faith. One way God can meet us where we are is through camp and retreat ministries.
The Church is blessed to have an expansive network of camp and retreat centers throughout the denomination. Currently, we have over 190 United Methodist Camp and Retreat Centers in the United States and more are present or forming in other parts of the world. This is an important ministry of the Church and one we hope will continue in the years ahead.
In recognition of the changing landscape of the denomination in terms of membership and economic factors, and in an effort to preserve the long term ministry of United Methodist Camp and Retreat Centers, Discipleship Ministries, the General Council on Finance and Administration, and camp and retreat leaders and annual conference treasurers across the denomination have come together to identify best practices for healthy camp and retreat centers. This guide is a resource to start the conversation and, one we hope, will serve all camp and retreat centers and annual conferences as they plan strategically for the future.
Download the Guide, and accompanying presentation slides.
2018 OMC Directors Survey: UMCRM Report
The founders of Outdoor Ministries Connection (OMC) committed themselves to research as one of several ministry priorities. The first director survey was conducted in 2014 as part of a grant-funded research initiative called The Confirmation Project. This initial survey focused almost exclusively on summer camp ministries. Four of the OMC member organizations (including UMCRM) were included in The Confirmation Project and took part in the research. Following the success of this initial survey and hoping to establish a benchmark survey of Mainline Christian camp and retreat ministries, OMC funded a follow-up survey in 2016, including all of its member organizations and expanding the survey to include items related to conferences and retreats. The 2018 survey, again funded by OMC, represents the third bi-annual survey of directors in Mainline camp and retreat ministries. With data from three surveys over a span of five years, we can begin observing trends in the data.
This report presents data specific to ministry centers affiliated with United Methodist Camp and Retreat Ministries (UMCRM). The data are at times compared with other OMC camps that responded and other times compared with past survey data from UMCRM respondents. The report is divided into 5 parts, corresponding to the sections in the survey. All survey items are included in the report. Additionally, multiple survey items were combined to create indices that give a more concise picture of certain aspects of camp and retreat ministries. These indices and other survey items include written interpretation and comparison with previous years of the survey in order to observe trends.
The founders of Outdoor Ministries Connection (OMC) committed themselves to research as one of several ministry priorities. The first director survey was conducted in 2014 as part of a grant-funded research initiative called The Confirmation Project. This initial survey focused almost exclusively on summer camp ministries. Four of the OMC member organizations (including UMCRM) were included in The Confirmation Project and took part in the research. Following the success of this initial survey and hoping to establish a benchmark survey of Mainline Christian camp and retreat ministries, OMC funded a follow-up survey in 2016, including all of its member organizations and expanding the survey to include items related to conferences and retreats. The 2018 survey, again funded by OMC, represents the third bi-annual survey of directors in Mainline camp and retreat ministries. With data from three surveys over a span of five years, we can begin observing trends in the data.
This report presents data specific to ministry centers affiliated with United Methodist Camp and Retreat Ministries (UMCRM). The data are at times compared with other OMC camps that responded and other times compared with past survey data from UMCRM respondents. The report is divided into 5 parts, corresponding to the sections in the survey. All survey items are included in the report. Additionally, multiple survey items were combined to create indices that give a more concise picture of certain aspects of camp and retreat ministries. These indices and other survey items include written interpretation and comparison with previous years of the survey in order to observe trends.