Executive Director Don Johnson will occasionally post reflections as he travels to Lutheran Outdoor Ministry sites. Here is his latest entry from his travels in December 2015:
I’m still behind in posting blogs about my travels, but no less enthusiastic about my travels. Just before Christmas, I made a trek to Chicago for a couple days at ELCA Churchwide Headquarters and then a visit to a few outdoor ministry sites closest to Chicago. It was a very valuable opportunity to open up some good channels of communication and collaboration throughout all of the ELCA.
I’m still behind in posting blogs about my travels, but no less enthusiastic about my travels. Just before Christmas, I made a trek to Chicago for a couple days at ELCA Churchwide Headquarters and then a visit to a few outdoor ministry sites closest to Chicago. It was a very valuable opportunity to open up some good channels of communication and collaboration throughout all of the ELCA.
- I was at ELCA Churchwide for a multitude of meetings December 14-15. Thank you very much to Mark Burkhardt for setting me up to meet with the churchwide staff who report to him – the Congregational Centers for Mission Team. This group included: New Start Ministries - Ruben Duran; Congregational Renewal - Neil Harrison; Stewardship - Keith Mundy (He also heads up Lutherans Restoring Environment, which is of course of keen interest to outdoor ministry organizations. Currently looking for a camp director from the West Coast to join this group and I’m working on that. Keith also invited me to represent LOM at the Mission Interpreters Conference at Joy Ranch in SD at the end of August which I intend to do); Ministry with Children - Janelle Hooper; Youth Ministry - Paul Amlin; Campus Ministry - Don Romsa; Youth Gathering - Molly Beck Dean. Mark Burkhardt was very generous to let me have virtually the whole agenda focused on LOM. A good learning – how compelling it is to tell stories. We need to do more of that and I hope we can collect stories to tell about outdoor ministry throughout the whole church.
- I had a number of individual meetings while at Churchwide. One was with Stephen Bouman, Executive Director of ELCA Congregational and Synodical Mission. He had some insights that I think can be clues for LOM and each of our organizations as to the kind of collaboration opportunities the ELCA is looking for. He is concerned that congregations are losing connection with the communities in which they are rooted. Race and immigration are also issues that are of a huge concern. In his view, camps and retreat centers can be places where the kind of connections congregations need can be encouraged and cultivated. Outdoor Ministries know and are experienced at what welcoming communities look and feel like. He also feels that colleges, LSA, and LOM are abundant with possibilities for joint internships, and, I will personally add my reflection about the possibilities we have with seminaries. Stephen feels that congregations need spiritual renewal – ways to re-encounter our faith and discipleship in ways that are relational (that’s what we do!!!). He feels that individual outdoor ministries should explore the possibilities for collaboration with Area Mission Strategies. He offered to spend a day with us the Annual LOM Conference to make a presentation focused on LOM involvement in Area Mission Groups – an honest invitation for us to be involved in some of the cutting edge stuff that’s going on in the ELCA right now. I think we should take him up on that.
- I met with Doug Haugen, Executive Director of Lutheran Men In Mission. They are looking for places like camps and retreat centers to team up with them to provide programing for men. They are particularly interested in developing their “One Year to Live” retreats, developed by our longtime OM friend and advocate, Rollie Martinson. This is an excellent opportunity for outdoor ministry organizations to expand programs with very willing potential collaborators.
- I had a meeting with Gordon Straw, Program Director, Lay Schools for Ministry. Gordon is eager to connect outdoor ministry sites with the Life of Faith network and there are some excellent opportunities for collaboration with this organization.
- I met with Don Hallberg, who was at our Conference in November representing the Mission Investment Fund. Don has committed to being an advocate for LOM to receive another commitment from MIF for support of our next conference.
- I met with Paul Amlin, Program Director, Youth Ministry. One of the most promising ways for YM and OM to work together, in Paul’s view, is to collaborate on synodical and regional mission trips. Paul and I agreed to collaborate on using OM and YM media channels to get messages out about each other’s programs.
- I met with Albert Starr, Director of Ethnic Specific Ministries. It was the start of what I hope will be fruitful conversations leading to more ethnic diversity throughout the outdoor ministries of the ELCA.
- I had a good meeting with Molly Beck Dean, Director of the ELCA Youth Gathering. Molly is representing a significant amount of openness to serious collaboration with LOM in regard to the Youth Gathering. We've been in conversation for some time about the idea of coordinating the theme of the Youth Gathering with the theme of LOM curriculum. Molly has invited LOM to send a representative to Houston, April 22-24, 2016, to be part of the group developing the theme for the 2018 Youth Gathering. We have accept the invitation and our representative will be Jesse Weiss who is a member of the Curriculum Committee. Molly has also indicated interest in having an outdoor ministry person on the main stage for a presentation at the 2018 Gathering. Another idea – how about all 100 OM organizations being invited to have one staff person from each to serve as servant companions at the next Gathering. Agreements have already been signed for hotels for the 2018 Gathering, but Molly has agreed to do what she can to schedule the 2021 Gathering to a Tuesday – Saturday, reducing time away from summer program staff to just one week as opposed to two weeks as it has been.
- I followed up my time in Chicago with visits to Lutherdale in Elkhorn, WI; Bethel Horizons, in Dodgeville, WI; and Lutheran Outdoor Ministry Center (LOMC) in Oregon, IL. Great visits to very exciting camps/retreat centers.
- Lutherdale is amazing. Executive Director Jeff Bluhm was my host and such a gracious provider of hospitality. He even cooked dinner for his wife and me. David Box, Kathy Dittmer, and Maggie Atkinson also joined into showing me a great time. They have so much going on there that is cutting edge in terms of Outdoor ministry programs serving both traditional clientele of Lutheran camps and people that have not traditionally perceived as likely participants in our programs. They, like so many of our camps, have beautiful and comfortable facilities for people of all ages all times of the year. A couple of things that especially caught my attention – a toboggan run down to the lake that looks like an Olympic luge run – amazing. Their chef, Mike, was very enthusiastic in showing me all the food that has been prepared from produce grown on their own farm and then frozen for use all winter; all of their guests are getting food grown on the Lutherdale farm all year round – as Yogi Berra would say “AMAZIN’ “!
- Bethel Horizons – what can you say?! Another amazing place that’s hosting incredibly important ministry. I had a great afternoon getting shown around by fabulous hosts Phil Bramley, the Adventure Program Director at Horizons, and Patrick Tenney, the new program director. They have an absolutely astounding adventure area at Bethel Horizons. The Nature Center has a display of native wildlife that would rival any natural history museum. Eric Volden has done a wonderful job as the environmental education director. And if that weren’t enough, the Arts Center with accompanying retreat center (extremely high comfort) and extensive art studio with huge adjacent pottery kiln – I was blown away by the creativity and relevance of this unique and powerful ministry. Kudos to Jennifer Mally, Art Ventures Director.
- And then on to the Lutheran Outdoor Ministry Center (LOMC) in Oregon, Illinois. What a great evening I had chatting over dinner with executive director Russ Senti and his wife, Susan. Chatting about all things church and outdoor ministry and LOM and everything in between. I hadn’t been to LOMC since sometime in the 70’s, and what drastic growth they have had in their programs and the facilities to support those programs. It’s truly paying off, because they have lots of campers all times of the year – providing outdoor ministry for a wide array of groups in the Lutheran community and interfaith community. On my grand tour of LOMC, my attention was particularly captured by a zip line that’s almost a quarter of a mile long, and by the first human foosball court I’ve ever seen. Yes, LOMC is cutting edge in human foosball, for sure, but that’s simply a symbol of how cutting edge they are in reaching out to all people with programs that we all know have such a positive and powerful impact on the people served by these programs.