Camp and conference centers
Celebrate 2012 Camp and Conference Sunday
February 12, 2012
Use this worship service to celebrate 2012 Camp and Conference Ministry Emphasis Sunday. This year's theme is "wilderness encounters."
Creating space for something new to be born
Westminster Woods and its unfolding calling
By Erin Dunigan
Worshipers gather around music silence and prayer. Photo courtesy of Westminster Woods.
Occidental, Calif.- In the redwoods of Northern California, a Presbyterian camp and conference center known primarily as a summer camp for kids has started a new worshiping community.
Sheila Denton, executive director of Westminster Woods, didn’t necessarily set out to create a new worshipping community out of camp alumni and friends, but in • spire, a monthly Taizé-style prayer service, has grown organically out of this ministry in the redwood forest.
“After 30 years, so many of our campers say we are their spiritual home,” says Denton. “Many of them, who are adults now, are not in church, so we felt that we should meet their needs.” Some of the participants are even driving more than two hours to participate in this new community.
Read more news stories from Camp and Conference Centers
Why Presbyterian Centers?
Camping ministry
Presbyterian camping offers faith-filled encounters with Christ in a spiritually safe environment. True to our denominational Reformed tradition, campers get to experience the saving grace of God in a spirit-filled Christian community. By living their faith, campers get an opportunity to more fully integrate their faith into their daily lives.
Conference and retreat ministry
Presbyterian Conference Centers offer hospitality and welcome to all God’s children in locations surrounded by the beauty of God’s creation. Time away from our busy lives to reflect on our faith, to formulate new mission and vision and to build trusting relationships with others reminds us to keep our faith central to all we do. Presbyterian Conference Centers are also great places to bring meetings, schools and family reunions!
Featuring our staff
Behind the Scenes Can Really Be Out Front
Ben Salazar
Leaning back in his chair in the dining hall, looking not at all unlike the great Buddha himself, Ben Salazar said with a sigh, "Ghost Ranch has been good to me and my family." Ben Salazar, head of the kitchen staff, has been good for Ghost Ranch as well. For the past ten years he has worked his way up from being a part-time kitchen helper which he said is "75 percent cleaning and 25 percent food preparation" to supervising 12 people in the summer and eight in the winter.
'Secrets of the Kingdom'
New Earth Curriculum for Summer 2012
Discover "Secrets of the Kingdom," the New Earth Curriculum for Summer 2012. See the sample overview for your information and planning.
Discover Stony Point
Featured Presbyterian center
Stony Point Center, an ecumenical and interfaith conference and retreat center of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), welcomes people of all faiths and nations to discern, discover, learn and lead.
Located just 34 miles north of New York City, the center offers overnight accommodations for up to 160 with more than a dozen indoor and outdoor meeting spaces for 10 to 200 people. Most of our rooms are fully accessible for people with disabilities and have wireless Internet access. Audiovisual equipment, teleconferencing, photocopying and fax are also available.
Because of Camp ...™
Watch this short video, courtesy of the American Camp Association, in which notable people share how their lives have changed Because of Camp ... ™.
Featured camp staff testimonials
For more than 100 years, camp and conference ministries have been changing the lives of campers, staff and adults through faithful programming and spaces to retreat. Below are testimonies submitted by some of those whose lives have been impacted by our Presbyterian camp and conference centers.
Jennifer Parkhurst
Highlands Presbyterian Camp and Retreat Center
After I had been at Highlands for a while, I began to feel an inner peace that I’d been lacking for so long."
Daniel Howie
Camp Hopewell
"Hopewell takes you in and carves out a little section of your heart where it will stay forever."
Mary Tyler
Camp Hopewell
"Camp Hopewell is just the kind of place where you know that everything is going to be okay."
100 Years of Sacred Space: Called by Name to Reflect God's Grace
100 Years of Sacred Space: Called by Name to Reflect God's Grace was created for the celebration of 100 years of Presbyterian camping ministry by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in 2008.
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