Camp and Retreat Center
Now Has a Name, 'Grace Point!'

To trumpets and fanfare, the Manleys (a.k.a. Mary Hannah and Abram Jones) opened the envelope and announced the winning name for the Diocesan Camp and Retreat Center at a luncheon during Convention. The name, Grace Point, was submitted by members of the Youth Action Council..

Abram and Mary Hannah, in their roles as the Manleys, first introduced the diocese to the property which is now the Camp and Retreat Center via a video tape of the Manley Property, as the center was then known.

Since that time, the Diocese has bought the property, hired a director (the Rev. Bo Lewis), held camp sessions and conferred with an architect (Kent Cooper). Naming the place was the logical next step.

The Rev. Hugh Jones, Chairman of the Board of Grace Point, said, “On behalf of the entire Board, I want to express my great appreciation to the people and groups who put so much thought into the names they decided would best symbolize what our Camp and Retreat Center will mean to us for generations to come.

“We received 146 very creative suggestions from people of all ages and from all over the Diocese. Deciding on the right name was an extremely difficult task.”

He added, “The name Grace Point conveys the essence of the love of God and suggests that the nature of that love will be experienced vividly through relationships with others and the sacred ground God has given us itself.

“Perhaps the most beautiful spot on the land is the Point - where, surrounded by the water of Watts Bar Lake, we first gathered last summer as the people of this diocese to celebrate God's gifts in the Eucharist.”

As winners, the Youth Action Council will be honored with a plaque at the Camp and Retreat Center.

· More about Grace Point