Friday, July 4th (oops, I emailed it on the 2nd!)
Camp is fit for a Queen!
Portland's Rose Festival Queen, Marshawna Williams, a member at Fremont UMC in Portland, attended Grand Camp at Camp Magruder with her grandparents, Don and Nancy Jeffery. How fun to have one of our own become royalty! Here is a link to the Oregonian article about her and a link to a video of her coronation. Congratulations, Marshawna!
Do you know of other United Methodist or Episcopal youth who have won honors this year and who attend any of the OR-ID camps? Let me know! We have celebrities who walk among us! susan@gocamping.org
Looking for a ride to Magruder?
Keep in mind that Tillamook has a great bus system with a convenient shuttle back & forth to Portland. The cost is $10 one way and $15 round trip. Just in case you need it, here is the contact info: Tillamook Bus: the Wave. If utilizing this service, please also remember to let Camp Magruder know so they can coordinate transportation to/from Tillamook and camp. Email Anami Mazur, Program Director – program@campmagruder.org
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Friday, June 27th
 Site Director transitions
Nanci Hicks, who has been the director at Alton L Collins Retreat Center for the past 3 years, heads to a new appointment in the North Georgia Conference effective July 1st. Her husband, Steve, will continue as director of the center, completing the calendar year 2008 as needed. Join us in thanking the Hicks for their faithful service; we'll miss you, Nanci.
To read about the Director position now open at Alton L. Collins, click here.
Capital campaign approved!
The Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference approved the Conference-wide capital campaign, following the recommendations of the feasibility study conducted last year. You can find the PowerPoint presentation given at Annual Conference and its script at this link on gocamping.org.
Camps are a Gift for all
The June Gocamping Newsletter is hot off the press. You can read it here!
http://www.gocamping.org/news/June08GoCampingNews.pdf
Wallowa Lake Choir Camp reminder
Six weeks until Choir Camp at Wallowa Lake Camp near Joseph, Oregon, August
1-4. Come and sing under the direction of Dr. Peter Wordelman from Eastern Oregon University. Learn anthems to share with your church choir. Performance will be Sunday night. Click here to register on line or visit this link to learn more about the event.
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Friday, June 20th
Camps designed for the littlest campers:
Do you have a child between the ages of 2 & 5 and want to share the fun of camp with them? Then we've got a fun camp for you! Moms, Pops & Tots is a 4-day camp just for families with at least one child in that age-range. If you have older, or younger kids, you can bring them too. At Camp Magruder, it will be a fairly relaxed camp and give you a chance to share with your kids all your favorite camp activities, donkey rides, campfires, beach and lake time and crafts. The dates are Thursday evening though Sunday, August 14-17. Moms, Pops and Tots happens at the same time as Explorer Camp for 1st and 2nd graders, so if a member of your family is in that age-range, her or she could attend Explorer while you're at Moms, Pops & Tots. You can find more information at http://www.gocamping.org/ or by contacting the deans, Christina Fridel cmf113@gmail.com or Bryn Wittmayer bryn.wittmayer@gmail.com.
The ministry of recreation
Some people brought children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples scolded the people. When Jesus noticed this, he was angry and said to his disciples, “Let the children come to me and do not stop them, because the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I assure you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” Then he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on each of them and blessed them.
Mark 10:13-15 (TEV)
I am sure the disciples thought they had the best of intentions when trying to keep the children from bothering Jesus. After all, Jesus had a lot of important work to do and didn’t have time to be bothered by little ones. What a surprise these followers of Christ had when Jesus became angry at their efforts and gathered the children in his arms and blessed them. I think about the children coming to Jesus. Did they march up in straight lines, not saying a word? I don’t think so. I think they skipped and jumped their way to Jesus and he was touched at their innocent playful spirits. Jesus then says that we all must be as children to enter the kingdom of heaven. We are called to nourish our playful spirits and dance and skip our way to Jesus.
Enter Camp & Retreat Ministries: We are here to nurture your mind, body and spirit. We are here to help you find your way to Jesus through recreation, play and fellowship in the beautiful world God created for us. We are here to provide this avenue for you, your children and grandchildren. We all need to shift gears from school, work, schedules and duties – we need to find time to play and time to be. Time set aside to abandon ourselves into the loving arms of God, to reflect, to pray, to have fun, and to find love and support in a beautiful safe place.
--Beth Dieker, June 18
Annual Conference:
This week, the Oregon-Idaho Conference is holding its Annual Conference at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. The Central Office, including Camp & Retreat Ministries, will be closed on Friday June 20th. See you there!
Reminder: June 27-29: SFTJ Fund Raiser / Garage Sale
9-4 daily
4993 SE Logus Rd
Milwaukie OR
"Strength for the Journey" was started nearly 12 years ago by Barbara Jean Sawyer and a co-staff member for people living with HIV/AIDS and is sponsored by Camp & Retreat Ministry of the United Methodist Church. Barb passed away this year and it was her dying wish to provide for the continuation of this camp. Help us make her dream come true. Come see what bargains you can find! For more information on the camp, contact: Vicki Zook or Kim Sharp at 503-946-8619 or e-mail at inliter@msn.com
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Friday, June 13th
Wallowa Lake Choir Camp
Wallowa Lake Choir Camp is only two months away. Save the dates of August
1-4 on your calendar right now. Share in a wonderful week-end of singing under the direction of Dr. Peter Wordelman, Chairman of the Vocal Music Department at Eastern Oregon University in LaGrande. "In Music God is Glorified" is the music theme. The camp ends with a Concert Sunday night and voices will truly ring out to the glory of God. Click here to register on line or visit this link to learn more about the event. Questions: call the camping office at 1-800-593-7539 X43.
--Ingrid Cook, June 3
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Friday, June 6
Vegetarian cooking for retreat centers
The Alton L Collins Retreat Center in Eagle Creek, Oregon is offering a summer workshop July 7-10th geared toward retreat and conference centers. We aim to equip staff with the skills and confidence to minister through vegetarian cooking. Read the full brochure here. You are invited to join us for this informational hands-on (and quite honestly, fun and delicious) week of training. Our past attendees from across the nation have thoroughly enjoyed flexing their gastronomic senses here at Collins and we hope you will too.
Kitchen Staff Special!! dates: July 7-10
Program Fee: $250.00 per site
Room and Board: $100.00 per person
--Gretchen Doering, May 30
Let there be light
Magruder could use your old candles and candle stubs for candle making craft projects for the kids and families at camp this summer. Bring them to Annual Conference and drop them off at the camp tables at the Ministry Marketplace or take them with you to Camp Magruder at any time through the year. Thanks!
--Anami Mazur, June 3
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Friday, May 30th
Some sad news from Magruder
Dear Friends,
This morning, Memorial Day, at 8:30, after a valiant fight to survive a spring bout of laminitis, Jonah the donkey quietly passed away. Jonah came to Camp Magruder from an abusive home many years ago. For him, each passing day was a new lease on life. He gave joy to thousands of children during his many years at camp. He will be missed. He is survived by Abraham, Caleb, & Jenny who are clearly saddened at the loss of their companion.
---The Camp Magruder Staff, May 26
Fax problems
If you've tried to fax something to the camping office lately, you'll know that something's wrong. The problem appears to be in the phone line to the machine, so until I'm able to get that repaired, please use the Conference Center fax number and clearly mark your transmission for Camp & Retreat Ministries: 503-226-4158. Thanks!
--Susan Delaney, May 28
p.s. As of 2:00 p.m. Friday the 30th, the Fax is back up & running!
Thinking ahead
The recent issue of ACA's Camp Magazine includes an intriguing article (one of many). We all spend a lot of energy getting the kids ready to go to camp, but we rarely think about how to handle the emotions that engulf kids when camp ends! This article, "When They Come Home," gives parents and guardians some idea of what to expect on the other end of the calendar when your child returns from camp.
--Susan Delaney, May 28
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Friday, May 23rd
No printed catalog
The digital age has allowed Camp & Retreat Ministries to publish its catalog of camping and retreat events on line and keep it much more up to date and accurate, plus campers can register for camp directly from your computer. Our biggest problem now: how do we get the information to folks who do not use computers?
If you know someone who doesn't use a computer and needs a hard copy listing the camping events at our six sites, please print one out for them (and a registration form) or email me at susan@umoi.org or have them call me at 503-226-7931 x 46 or 1-800-JWESLEY x 46 and leave a message.
1. A 12 page printable "catalog" (thank you, Beth Dieker). Duplex it front & back to save paper. http://www.gocamping.org/pdfs/08Camp_program_descriptions.pdf
Remember: by this time of year, some of the info has changed and some camps are full, but it's a start!
2. A printable registration form: http://www.gocamping.org/forms/registration.pdf
--Susan Delaney, (May 19)
Where in the world is...
Memorial Day weekend marks the official start of summer! If you're traveling over the next months, it might be fun for you to see United Methodist Camps in other regions of the country. Click here for the map & please be sure to call first to make sure someone is available to show you around! ...and like I tell my kids, "Drive safely!"
--Susan Delaney (May 23)
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Looking for a newsletter from one of our sites?
If our camps have a recent newsletter, you'll find the links on these pages:
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