State of the Church – May 2018

STATE OF THE CHURCH

This month I’m not writing about what is new and newsworthy within our own walls, but rather about an affiliated organization with whom we’ve had a very long-running relationship. Mount Calvary has been a corporate member of Luther Park, (Danbury, WI) dating back to the beginning of the camp in 1958, and the camp has played an important role, not only for the church’s ministry efforts, but also on a personal level for many families in our congregation.

Luther Park might hold a special place in your heart and bring back pleasant memories if you attended a summer camp session, or perhaps your kids have spent time there and reported back that it had a positive impact on them. Or maybe you visited as part of an adult retreat, or just time spent at the camp as a volunteer with like-minded members of our church. Whatever brought you in contact with Luther Park, I’m sure you’ll agree that the camp fills a unique and very valuable role in helping Mount Calvary achieve our overall ministry efforts.

Last year Luther Park took a significant step toward meeting the needs of a broader group of “campers” as they began construction of phase one of their new Bethel Family and Adult Retreat Center. While their existing cabins are well-suited to the needs of the kids attending summer camp, they recognized the need for new spaces to better meet the needs of adults, families, and those with limited physical abilities. The new retreat center adds comfortable, new, group meeting spaces, hotel-style rooms and fully-accessible facilities and is scheduled for a grand opening in Fall 2018. Importantly, Mount Calvary has been a contributor to the retreat center and looks forward to the expanded uses it will provide.

If you’re thinking “this sounds great—how can I help bring it to fruition?,” here are a couple of ideas:
Completion of the interior of the retreat center will rely on volunteers, so if you have appropriate skills, or perhaps just some extra time and a desire to help, your assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Donations are being sought for some of the final details such as furnishings, landscaping, etc.

Some additional and more general information about Luther Park that you should be aware of:

Registration is now open for youth summer camp at Luther Park! You can get information and register at lutherparkdanbury.com. As part of Mount Calvary’s “Serve to the Max” month, Luther Park is having a volunteer workday to get the camp “summer ready” on April 28. If you can’t make that date, watch for the announcement of additional weekend dates in May.

Finally, as many of you know, Joel Legred (yes, Pastor Brenda’s Joel) is the Executive Director of Luther Park. If you have any questions or would like to join one of the volunteer weekends, you can contact Joel by phone at 612-987-6628 or by email at jlegred@lutherpark.com.

Mike Kasprick
Council President