Executive Director Don Johnson posts reflections as he travels to Lutheran Outdoor Ministry sites. He typically posts them on the LOM Facebook pages first and provides a recap each month on this blog.
On the road again on January 9! After a few weeks at home during the Christmas/New Year holidays, I headed to California and spent time at Mount Cross Lutheran Camp for a Board Development retreat as they prepare to begin their search for their next executive director. In spite of the torrential downpours and losing power for a while, we had an excellent retreat with the participation of some very dedicated Board members. It was also so good to have the participation of Andrea Scofield who was invited by the Board to join in on the retreat because of all the help she's been giving them as a neighboring camp (Lutherwood, OR) during this executive director transition time, especially collaborating with them on summer camp staff recruiting that will begin very soon.
From Mount Cross I headed east (way east) and arrived at Lutheran Camp Chrysalis (part of the Cross Trails Ministries organization) early Sunday evening. Talk about hospitality! - Executive Director Deanna Christensen and all the year-round staff took me to a great restaurant for dinner upon my arrival, so when I finally arrived at Chrysalis it was very dark - I slept very well in the guest room they gave me! That was after some enjoyable and relaxed conversation about life at Chrysalis (a very good life, I must add). And then, the next morning, what a treat to meet early with Adventure Director Fred Klinker for a hike all around this absolutely beautiful site that ended up on top of a ridge (in the middle of Texas!) with a magnificent view of the whole camp spread out in the valley below. It's no wonder that Cross Trails is busy and thriving summer, winter, spring and fall. This summer, alone, they are expecting over 2,400 campers in all of their programs at Chrysalis, Ebert Ranch, and off site in all their day camps (three to four day camps every week!). So to Kelly, Darcey (expecting her first child - due date July 7!), Deanna, Vestal, Jay, Jessica, Fred, Ron, and Courtney (most of whom are well known throughout LOM because of their participation in LOM activities) - thank you for hosting me for a memorable visit and thank you for your ministry at Cross Trails - a ministry that all of us involved with LOM can be proud of!!!
On the road again on January 9! After a few weeks at home during the Christmas/New Year holidays, I headed to California and spent time at Mount Cross Lutheran Camp for a Board Development retreat as they prepare to begin their search for their next executive director. In spite of the torrential downpours and losing power for a while, we had an excellent retreat with the participation of some very dedicated Board members. It was also so good to have the participation of Andrea Scofield who was invited by the Board to join in on the retreat because of all the help she's been giving them as a neighboring camp (Lutherwood, OR) during this executive director transition time, especially collaborating with them on summer camp staff recruiting that will begin very soon.
From Mount Cross I headed east (way east) and arrived at Lutheran Camp Chrysalis (part of the Cross Trails Ministries organization) early Sunday evening. Talk about hospitality! - Executive Director Deanna Christensen and all the year-round staff took me to a great restaurant for dinner upon my arrival, so when I finally arrived at Chrysalis it was very dark - I slept very well in the guest room they gave me! That was after some enjoyable and relaxed conversation about life at Chrysalis (a very good life, I must add). And then, the next morning, what a treat to meet early with Adventure Director Fred Klinker for a hike all around this absolutely beautiful site that ended up on top of a ridge (in the middle of Texas!) with a magnificent view of the whole camp spread out in the valley below. It's no wonder that Cross Trails is busy and thriving summer, winter, spring and fall. This summer, alone, they are expecting over 2,400 campers in all of their programs at Chrysalis, Ebert Ranch, and off site in all their day camps (three to four day camps every week!). So to Kelly, Darcey (expecting her first child - due date July 7!), Deanna, Vestal, Jay, Jessica, Fred, Ron, and Courtney (most of whom are well known throughout LOM because of their participation in LOM activities) - thank you for hosting me for a memorable visit and thank you for your ministry at Cross Trails - a ministry that all of us involved with LOM can be proud of!!!
From Chrysalis I headed north to Ebert Ranch, another outdoor ministry site in the Cross Trails organization. I was met by camp director Steve Krupicka, who is very proud of the ministry of Ebert Ranch, and he has every right to feel very good about this wonderful camp/retreat center and all the programs that take place there. This place is a treasure! There’s close to 500 acres of beautiful land in the picturesque hill country of Texas. There’s great bunk rooms especially well-suited for youth groups and summer camp programs for kids, and there’s an absolutely delightful retreat house that’s excellently appointed for adults and families. They run the site as a true ranch, with horses doing free-roam grazing and to my sense of wonder – their own herd of longhorn cattle. The brand new chapel is absolutely beautiful and they are developing a play area with all the necessities for Lutheran outdoor ministries – including gaga ball and volleyball! I loved my visit here; Steve’s enthusiasm for the ministry is infectious; I wish I could’ve spent more time before heading on the epic ride across the state to get to the brand new Zion Lutheran Retreat Center on Galveston Island – more about that soon.
On Monday, January 9, I left Ebert Ranch in Harper, TX, at about noon, and headed east, past Austin, past Houston, and on to Galveston Island on the Gulf Coast. There, at around 6pm, I found my way to the newest outdoor ministry site of LOM – Zion Lutheran Retreat Center, part of the Lutherhill organization. I’m so happy I had the chance to stay at Zion because the LOM Education Committee met there, January 9-11. We had a great time at this brand new retreat center, made possible because Zion Lutheran Church donated their building upon closing the congregation and donating it to Lutherhill. They’ve done a super good job of renovating it to a first-class retreat center with hotel style guest rooms, a fully functioning kitchen and dining area, and a spectacular meeting area where the sanctuary used to be. They have all the bells and whistles for technology supported meetings. Plus, it’s hard to beat being just a few blocks from a beautiful and long seaside beach when the January temperatures were in the 70’s every day.
As for the Education Committee meetings – it went very well – evaluating the 2016 LTE and BTE, making plans for the 2017 LTE, and digging into the strategic plan goals of reviewing the full scope of educational needs of LOM and making recommendations to the LOM Board for how best to organize LOM for what will soon be an expanding menu of educational opportunities provided by LOM. Thank you so much to the Education Committee for staying on task in such a fun place (pictured, clockwise, from the bottom) Phil Geleske, executive director, Briarwood (TX), Randy Youngquist-Thurow, executive director, Agape/Kure Beach (NC) and LOM events coordinator, Mariane Brock, director, Camp Nawakwa (PA), Andrea Scofield, executive director, Lutherwood (OR), Don Johnson, LOM executive director, Jenny Frantz, director, Camp Luther (OH), Matt Kindsvatter, executive director, Lutherhill, and LOM Education Committee chair, Gretchen Bachman, director of operations, Voyageurs (MN).
The LOM Education Committee meetings concluded after dinner on Tuesday evening, January 10. After a restful night in the very comfortable accommodations of the Zion Retreat Center, and a sunrise walk on Galveston Island’s beautiful beach, I headed back to the west to La Grange, TX, and Lutherhill Camp and Retreat Center, the flagship site of Lutherhill Ministries. There I met up again with executive director Matt Kindsvatter and I think just about every one of the Lutherhill year-round staff. Most of them I had already met about three months earlier when all the outdoor ministries of Texas met at Briarwood, and it was good to reconnect with all of them and meet a few who weren’t at the earlier gathering. They are such a fun-loving and enthusiastic group! Their energy is infectious! And what a great place the Lutherhill site is! The site is dominated by rolling hills, acres of fields, lots of shade trees, and an absolutely beautiful Chapel that overlooks the whole valley below the camp. Once again, I was totally impressed by the beauty of this campsite, the array of programs being offered by Lutherhill, and the friendliness of the staff. Another treasure for the whole church!
Friday January 20 – Saturday, January 21: I flew out of Portland, ME, and into Louisville KY by mid-morning. Went to the Galt House Hotel, site of the 2017 Youth Ministry Extravaganza to set up the display for LOM. Ten of our outdoor ministry organizations also had displays at the Extravaganza. Once I got everything set up (with the help of Korey Breutzmann, Krista Blair, and Jacqui Goering from Carol Joy Holling Camp, thank you!) I set out for Morgantown, in southern Indiana, to Lutheran Hills Camp (a camp of the LOMIK organization – Lutheran Outdoor Ministries of Indiana-Kentucky). This place is astoundingly beautiful. The camp is set on 750 acres of beautiful rolling hills, fields, forests and streams. They encompass their own 17 acre lake! The buildings and grounds are impeccably clean and well cared for. It’s the first camp I’ve seen with a full-blown wiffle ball stadium complete with bleachers and press box. Mark Radloff has announced his retirement as executive director at the end of 2018 – he will have served in that position for 27 years. The LOMIK Board of Directors invited me to lead a retreat to help them think through and plan for the transition. They invited the year-round staff and several young adults with summer camp staff experience to join them for the process. It was a very productive and worthwhile time of reflection on where their organization has been, the state of their affairs now, and how they want to continue to develop over the next several years, and the qualities they will be looking for in their next executive director. This is a group that also has lots of fun together and enjoys life to the fullest. The Friday night social time had great snacks – including venison sausage that originated from deer on their own property. And the steak lunch on Saturday, prepared by Mark Radlof, was a great send-off for me as I headed down the road back to Louisville. Thank you, one and all, for a great time at Lutheran Hills Camp.
Sunday, January 22: The Youth Ministry Extravaganza is an excellent opportunity to network with colleagues and collaborators throughout the ELCA. Today I had the good fortune to enjoy brunch high above the Ohio River with Tim Canniff-Kuhn, Lori Bode, and Kara Beck, all from NovusWay (Luther Ridge), NC. We had a great conversation with lots of good ideas for outdoor ministry shared.
Sunday January 22: The Youth Ministry Extravaganza presented an excellent opportunity for quite a few outdoor ministry folks to connect with each other. We had a great time. At the Extravaganza this week were these organizations: Lutheran Retreats, Camps, and Conferences (CA), Lutherans Outdoors in South Dakota, Nebraska Lutheran Outdoor Ministries, Lutherhill (TX), Luther Heights (ID), Lutheran Outdoor Ministries of Ohio, Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp (MT), NovusWay (NC), Sky Ranch (CO), Camp Frederick (OH), and Living Water (MI). Many of us had dinner together this evening. We were joined by new LOM Board member Jake Sorenson (of the Effective Camp Research Project) and Hans Wiersma, professor at Augsburg College and one of the keynote speakers at next year’s LOM Conference.