An urgent meeting on Saturday
for Camp Brookwood
A letter from Chris Hayes
Dear friends of Camp Brookwood,
I write to you in the season of Easter, at a very important time in the life of our Diocesan Camp, Camp Brookwood. The camp faces many serious challenges right now, so accordingly a meeting has been set for 10 a.m. this Saturday, April 5, at Trinity Church, in Andover. We will discuss the camp’s current situation, what its future might look like, and what solutions might be found for its current challenges.
From speaking with a number of people from several parishes over the past couple months, I have come to realize that many church-goers do not have an accurate picture of the conditions of the camp itself, or of the board overseeing it. This letter, then, is an attempt to provide an accurate description of the camp right now, as well as what it faces in the immediate, and farther-reaching future. What happens in the next couple of months could decide how long Camp Brookwood continues to exist among us (hopefully for many years!).
Let me first describe the board. The Board of Camp Brookwood was originally set up to oversee the needs of the camp, as well as the preparation work that takes place off-season. Such duties include the hiring of staff, physical maintenance of the camp, preparation and distribution of brochures throughout the diocese, fund-raising when needed, arranging for chaplains, as well as responding to any immediate needs that came up, and processing applications as they are received, just to name a few jobs. It is year-round work, for barely does the board close the books on one season than preparation for the next begins.
The board traditionally has been made up of lay representatives in our Deanery of Woodstock, and its clergy. In the past three years or so, there have been fewer and fewer people willing to serve in this way. Parishes have been unable to elect lay reps to come, and clergy have not always been able to be at meetings regularly. Typically, over the past 12 months, a meeting has consisted of six to eight people; simply not enough people to handle the work involved, especially when half of the participants are clergy who already serve multi-point parishes.
In considering the camp itself, there is major work to be done. Howlett Hall in is dire straits. The electrical system must be improved immediately, or it will not pass inspection for the coming summer. The kitchen needs work to pass health and safety requirements. The entire building itself is beginning to slip down the hill. It has been determined that a concrete foundation ("slab" with frost wall) or basement must be installed. While a plan from a contractor has been presented that would have featured a full basement with washrooms and other amenities, the cost has come back astronomically higher than the camp can afford; the quote from one contractor was $207,000. A more modest proposal came in at $124,000, still more than we have right now.
Camp Brookwood has, from the beginning, been a part of the vision of the Diocesan Camps Capital Campaign and continues to need our support. We have been promised $100,000 from this campaign, and already, $10,000 has been given to fund the recent construction of the chaplain's cabin, and the construction of the new pool house. Diocesan Council remains committed to Brookwood, and is ready to provide the remaining $90,000 once proper procedures and plans have been put in place.
Camp Brookwood's challenge is not just one of money, or facilities. It is more than simply a challenge –– the word "crisis" has been used in some places. The question is one of will. All the money in the world could be thrown to Brookwood, but if there are no people to do the work required to improve the camp, it will fail. If lots of people are there, but do not have the financial means to bring dreams and plans to fruition, the camp will still fail. It might sound hopeless, yet it is my firm conviction, and also that of many others throughout the diocese, that God has blessed the church with this camp for 40 years so far, and that there are still good things to come from it. The faithful witness of so many people to others there does not have to end yet. Therefore, a call goes out to get together, to pray for the camp's mission, and to discern a way forward.
So please attend the meeting Saturday morning at Trinity in Andover (bring your own lunch, or go out). Everyone is welcome to attend this gathering. Please contact me (328-3042/chris.hayes at anglican.nb.ca) if you have any questions.
Remember also that this meeting is worthless if we do not seek God's lead in the time leading up to Saturday. I humbly ask for your prayers for the camp; for additional involvement from faithful, passionate people; and for a plan for the future to be shown to us.
Thank you for reading this letter, and for your prayers.
In Christ’s service
Chris Hayes
The Rev. Chris Hayes is rector of the Parish of Richmond
Diocesan Communications
01 April 2008
