Copyright © 2007 The Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee

Bishop welcomes
new executive director

Bishop Charles vonRosenberg has hired Christopher Turner as the next executive director of Grace Point, the diocese’s camp and retreat center in Kingston, Tenn.

“I feel I’m called to a ministry of hospitality,” Turner said in in late March during a telephone interview from his home in Montgomery, Ala. “I’ve been in camping and conference center work for about 20 years and enjoy being around people.”

The center’s first executive director, the Rev. “Bo” Lewis, has moved with his wife, Jan Lewis, from Sunbeam House at Grace Point across the cove to a new home.

Turner says he eagerly anticipates settling in and beginning his new ministry. “I look forward to meeting every member of the diocese,” he said. Two early opportunities to meet East Tennessee Episcopalians were to be his first meeting with the Camp and Retreat Center Board of Managers on April 12 and the diocesan Leadership Conference, which was to occur at May 5 at Good Samaritan, Knoxville.

Turner is a lifelong Episcopalian and a member of Ascension in Montgomery, Ala. He noted that the Rev. Stephen Askew, Bishop vonRosenberg’s canon to the ordinary, was a clerical staff member at Ascension when Turner was a youth.

Turner expressed interest in connecting with the clergy. “Some camps offer an Easter respite, for example, that gives clergy some time to relax after Holy Week; I could see working with the board” to plan particular opportunities for clergy and for their families to enjoy Grace Point.

Turner most recently directed day-to-day operations of the 400-acre Lookout Mountain Camp, a privately owned boys’ camp. He also has worked with Camp Laney in Alabama and served as chief executive officer of Paradise Point Episcopal Camp in McCall, Idaho. He has been a member of the board of directors for Camp McDowell, the Diocese of Alabama’s camp and conference center, and he has coordinated the Winterlight youth event at Kanuga Conferences. He also has experience in political life: He worked as a liaison for two years between Alabama’s lieutenant governor and her constituents.

He acknowledged typical camp difficulties in attracting mid-week visitors and expressed eagerness to work with the board of managers to build public awareness of Grace Point.

“I want to talk especially with the Master Plan Committee – midweek is a challenge for any camp, especially for one that doesn’t have hotel-type housing for adults. When more extensive adult facilities become available, more business groups will come in.”

Programming also will be an emphasis. “I look forward to working with the board and the bishop to develop programming. I built a ropes course in Idaho; that kind of use may or may not be appropriate for Grace Point – and there are other program opportunities such as environmental education. Lookout Mountain Camp leased facilities to an environmental education program that brought in school groups for two to three nights. You’ve got to see whether the market is there” for particular programming.

Turner remarked that a strong summer camping program includes permanent staff members who build community with one another throughout the summer camp season, and he noted that a camp’s staff is strengthened by the involvement of clergy. “I’m excited that clergy are present on camp staff as session directors and as chaplains. That’s the model under which I grew up,” he said.

He will be only the second executive director since the property was purchased in 2001. “I think because Grace Point is so young, its potential is unlimited – from attracting Elderhostel groups to parish weekends. It could be a natural home for Cursillo, and it could be inviting to college ministry groups, who sometimes feel disconnected” from the life of the diocese.

But no matter the group, he said, “if you create opportunities that instill familiarity, you build ownership.”

“I’m excited about the potential of Grace Point,” he said.

New executive director greets diocese

By Christopher Turner

Ernie Reddick may not remember me, but I will always remember him. As my first cabin counselor in Carpenter cabin at Camp McDowell in 1975, Ernie made a lasting impression on my life. Intelligent, patient and talented, Ernie encouraged all of his campers to enjoy their time at camp, make new friends and take advantage of the unique opportunities only found in this sacred space. I learned and believe that any happening at camp or in a conference setting is a gift from God to be experienced as an individual, shared with others in community and passed along to friends and even strangers.

I am very fortunate to have met Ernie Reddick. I am even more fortunate to have had the opportunity to spend so much of my life sharing sacred spaces at camps and conference centers. Somewhere in the foothills of northern Alabama or the mountain of western North Carolina, my own calling found me.

The ministry of hospitality provides me with my pulpit and empowers me to serve others. I have always seen service to others as the highest of callings, for we are told that Christ himself came into the world not to be served, but to serve. My cathedral will never be a beautiful building filled with colored light streaming through stained glass windows. I find great joy in old cabins, open playing fields and waterfronts overflowing with the excited voices of campers, participants and staff.

Diocesan camps and conference centers are extensions of the ministry of the diocese and diocesan camp should be seen as the heart of the diocese, through which young and old alike flow for education, renewal and inspiration. The executive director is charged with creating an envelope of safety that surrounds the camp and conference center and enables ministry to take place. This is achieved through creative programming, staffing and stewardship of natural and man-made resources. Programming should always represent current interests and needs from across every demographic, not just the young, the established or the senior. An Elderhostel group or an environmental camp or a vestry retreat is as important as summer camp. Not only are these groups as deserving of hospitality, but this provides a necessary revenue stream. The same can be said of lease (or non-Episcopal) groups. Diocesan groups always have priority, but lease groups are vital.

Staffing, whether paid or volunteer, provides opportunities for others to serve and experience community. I have recruited, hired and trained staff for more than 15 years. An open process of application and thorough interview are critical to success. The participant experience is paramount, but the experience of each staff member also is important. A positive staff experience can bind someone to a place as much as a camper or participant experience. The supervision of any staff must be done in a fair and consistent manner, always looking for teachable moments. With recruiting, hiring and training also come reprimanding and dismissing. This is not my favorite part of the job, but it is an essential one.

It must always be remembered that we are only borrowing any sacred space from those who will follow us. With that in mind, every effort possible must be made to preserve, if not make better, any building or trail or piece of equipment. Regular assessment and maintenance should take place. When possible, environment-friendly policies and procedures (recycling, composting, energy conservation) should be enacted and followed.

I have spent more than 20 years in camping as a counselor, head counselor, assistant director, program director and executive director. At Camp McDowell, I was the youngest person ever selected to be head counselor, and then I became the youngest person ever to serve on the Department of Camp McDowell when Bishop Miller appointed me to the board. During my first season at Kanuga, I assisted Mike Norman, director of Camp Kanuga, in establishing Session Six, a camp for inner city young people who would otherwise never attend camp. At Camp Laney, I recruited campers and staff through in-home visits and slide shows, correspondence and by assisting in the creation of marketing materials such as brochures and newsletters. As executive director at Paradise Point in Idaho, I professionalized the staff by hiring the first all-summer crew. We also built a high- and low-element adventure ropes course, raised funds toward a master plan, updated the physical plant, built a water treatment facility and by my third year, recorded more income than expense. This had not been accomplished in many years. At Lookout Mountain Camp, we have stepped up our marketing efforts through advertising and direct mail, added three elements to our high-element ropes course, improved facilities and emphasized safety and staff training. The opportunities I have had to work in the political and governmental arenas have provided me with a greater understanding and ability to create, shape and communicate a message. Nothing, however, may have been more personally gratifying than having served as coordinator for Winterlight at Kanuga, the largest annual conference for young people in the Episcopal Church.

My mentors, the Rev. Glen DeLong, Rob Hammond and Albert Gooch, have taught me well. Camp is an opportunity to practice good citizenship. A conference, retreat or session of camp is an experiment in temporary community.

I must have walked by a plaque in the Kanuga office a hundred times. “Do not forsake strangers,” it reads, “for many have entertained angels unawares.” That lesson from Hebrews is the foundation for the ministry of hospitality. We were all strangers that first day at Camp McDowell in 1975. Ernie Reddick saw to it that we were not strangers for long.

Contact Christopher Turner at 865-376-0589 or gracepoint@etdiocese.net.

Photo by Mike Keene In mid-April, the expansion of the Commons Building’s new porch is taking shape. By the time summer campers arrive, the porch will wrap all the way around the west side, facing the canoe racks. It will be 10 feet deep, roofed and screened, with windows and doors opening into the back half of the building’s first floor. The opposite end of the new porch will be on the end of the building toward the tree house dorms, and it will be at ground level so that folks with mobility issues will have easy access. This great change will mean there’s plenty of room for everybody on the porch. On nice days, summer campers and staff may even take meals out there. “From our earliest days at Grace Point – the parish day camps in April 2001 and the first summer camp in 2002 – the Commons Building has been the center of camp life,” wrote Mike Keene, summer camps director. “For all five summers, that was where we ate, slept, showered, sang, played Uno, prayed and – especially on the porch on the north end – hung out.” He added, “There’ll be more changes to the Commons in the future – look for big improvements to the kitchen and the dining area next!”

By Mike Keene
Summer Camp Program Director

A lot of changes are coming up this summer at camp. Some of the biggest will be seen in the camp’s buildings, including the Shooster house (which is gone), the new chapel (which isn’t there yet, but is definitely in the works), the Commons Building (which is getting a much expanded porch – see above), and Tree House No. 1 (which now has a twin, meaning nobody has to sleep in the Commons Building any more!).

There will be two Session Fives to better serve the many folks who have been drawn to that program, which for lots of kids is their all-important “first time at camp.”

New and familiar faces

We have a new Grace Point executive director, Christopher Turner, but Uncle Bo will still be around some. He’s only gone right across the cove, so after campers go to the point and shout “good morning, God,” they may walk up to the canoe racks, face across the cove, and shout “good morning, Bo and Jan.” Undoubtedly, he’ll show up at Camp now and then, maybe to sit on the nice new porch or to take a group of campers out on the pontoon boats at sundown for Compline.

Frank the Cook will be back to do his kitchen magic for us. Bishop Charlie and Annie, Art Bass and Perry Scruggs will return as session directors, along with newbies Cal Calhoun and Hal Hutchison, plus maybe one or two more yet to be determined.

Wandering troubadour Alex Haralson will be around some, and I will still oversee things as summer camp program director. Nurse Vivian has bowed out this year, but Kim Garrison, who was housemom last summer, will move up to the Retreat House with son, Will, and take over as camp nurse.

A few positions remain open, including adult houseparents of both genders for every week of camp. These great helpers run the tree houses for us at night, and during the daytime they either participate in programs or sit in the shade and read a book. For more info, please call Mike Keene at 865-988-6162.

Finally, Mary Berl, diocesan financial administrator, stands ready to receive donations for the Scholarship Fund. Camp policy is that lack of money should not be the reason a kid can’t attend a Grace Point Summer Camp. So it’s important that those who can do so support the Scholarship Fund, which helps numerous campers every year.

Please contact Mary at Diocesan House, 865-966-2110 or mberl@etdiocese.net, to contribute. More info about scholarships – or virtually any other aspect of the summer camps program – is posted to the summer camps Web page at etdiocese.net/gracepoint/ camps/.

Sweetness of grace

With all these changes, it’s worth asking what stays the same. The Tennessee River, masquerading as Watts Bar Lake; Hurricane Ridge; the sky; the ospreys; the eagles will all be there to welcome campers and make the summer a unique Grace Point experience. As Norman MacLean says in his classic memoir:

“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs.”

Although the buildings and some personnel may change, the river, the sky, the ridge, the ospreys are all part of God’s sweet Creation. All are manifestations of His grace to us. Living in that is what Grace Point is all about.

2007 SUMMER CAMP SESSIONS
Session I · June 5 - 11 Rising 10th- through 12th-graders and those just graduated - Fee: $275
Session II · June 15 - 21: Rising 8th- & 9th-graders - Fee: $275
Session III · June 26 - July 2: Rising 6th- & 7th-graders - Fee: $275
Session IV · July 7 - 13: Rising 4th- & 5th-graders - Fee: $275
Session V-a · July 16 - 18: Rising 1st-, 2nd-, 3rd-graders with a parent - Fee: $80 each
Session V-b · July 20 - 22: Rising 1st-, 2nd-, 3rd-graders with a parent - Fee: $80 each

Complete camp details and all required forms are posted to etdiocese.net/gracepoint/camps/

By Jeannine McKamey
Grace Point ETE Correspondent

After several productive planning sessions, spring is the time for Grace Point Camp and Retreat Center’s Board of Managers to “SOAR.” New and continuing members are retaining the “go to” spirit generated at their annual retreat by concentrating on Grace Point’s Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations and Results.

“Things are really getting exciting,” commented Norma “Butch” Mills, board chairwoman.

While considering past and ongoing research into assets and needs, Master Planning Committee members are preparing to recommend the next phases of renovation and development. Financing possibilities, including grant availability, are being examined. Publicity and other communications efforts are projected to increase awareness of Grace Point among the people of the diocese and the general public.

A cold Saturday in mid-February saw an enthusiastic turnout of board members and diocesan staff at Grace Point for a daylong retreat. New members attending their first meeting included the Rev. Ben Nelson, Ben Alford, Jeanne Claire Jones and Sonya Minarik.

Led by veteran facilitator Liz Workman, participants looked at accomplishments and set overall goals for the new year (see below). Board members chose committees on which they would serve, and several volunteered to serve on more than one. A new committee, governance, was created to better support the executive director and to facilitate decision making.

In all committee efforts, board members agreed to build on things that had “gone well” in the past.

At the March 1 board meeting, the Rev. Pat Cahill said that trails will be ready for spring hiking. Mike Keene, director for summer camps, said that senior staff positions for camp are almost filled. And the soon-to-be-retired vicar, the Rev. Bo Lewis, noted that the reservations calendar was almost fully booked on weekends through the spring and summer, with only one weekend open.

Accomplishments over the previous year

Environmental Stewardship Committee – The committee and vicar reviewed projects including lumber recycling from dormitory construction and development of wildlife habitat. Data about flora and fauna were compiled, and best management practices were examined to address trail soil erosion.

Master Planning Committee – Two “tree house” dormitories were constructed, and efforts continue to certify their building methods as environmentally compliant. An architect was retained, and drawings were developed for St. Paul’s Chapel. A screened porch renovation was initiated for the Commons Building. Research continued, especially within the Episcopal Camp and Conference Centers organization, on future directions for adult facilities.

Budget and Finance Committee – For the first time, an annual budget was constructed for Grace Point; it identifies the level of financial commitment currently necessary from the diocese.

Fund Raising Committee – Donations of $100,000 and $50,000 were received from individual donors, and additional donations amounted to $10,000.

Publicity Committee – Articles about Grace Point continue to be published in each issue of the East Tennessee Episcopalian. Work is progressing on the mail and e-mail database for target audiences. A presentation and banners were well-received at the 2007 diocesan convention. Last fall saw a well-attended Diocesan Day, which featured a ground breaking for the chapel and blessing of the first tree house. The secular press published information about summer camps.

Summer Camps Committee – The number of summer campers increased 50 percent – from 100 in 2005 to 150 campers in 2006. Five regular sessions were held, and a sixth will be added this year for the youngest campers, who attend shorter sessions with a parent. Nature Lore, new trails, campouts, “homegrown” counselors and well-liked T-shirt designs highlighted the past season’s camps. In addition, the Appalachian Kids Camp and Ulster Project provided Grace Point camp experiences for nontraditional groups.

Year-Round Programming – From Quiet Days to quilters to vestry retreats to therapy groups to “Indian Guides,” Grace Point continues to serve retreat groups. Future possibilities may include Native American studies, nature camps and musical events and workshops. The diocesan Appalachian Ministry Resource Team also plans to host an “Appalachian Heritage Day” at Grace Point in April of 2008.

Committee goals

Environmental Stewardship Committee – Initiate year-round programming

Master Planning Committee – Build a third tree house dormitory; improve and/or increase adult housing facilities; upgrade kitchen in the Commons Building.

Budget and Finance/Fund-raising Committees – Plan for a capital campaign

Publicity Committee – Promote Grace Point to parishes and other targeted audiences; establish a contact person in every parish; identify each camp-age child in the diocese and send personalized invitations to camp.

Summer Camps Committee – Investigate camp accreditation process; increase number of campers to 40 per session.

Year-Round Program Committee – Formally invite parish vestries to Grace Point for retreats and other meetings; offer “homegrown” programs during the week; research how a relationship with a religious order might be established.

Governance Committee – Support transition to new executive director.

Grace Point on the Web: etdiocese.net/gracepoint

Camp and Retreat Center availability

Did you know anyone may reserve facilities for their use at Grace Point, the camp and retreat center of the Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee?

In addition to events such as vestry and youth group retreats, Grace Point has hosted study and hobby groups, family weekends and day meetings.

Grace Point overlooks Watts Bar Lake near Kingston, Tenn. Nearly 270 acres of woods, hills, fields and two miles of shoreline offer plenty of space for activities including boating, fishing, swimming, hiking, camping, picnicking, games, sports, reflection, meditation and worship.

Rates are as follows:

• Diocesan/parish groups, day rate: $50 minimum for 10 or fewer guests; $5 for each additional guest. Overnight: $20 per person, per night, with a minimum fee of $160 per group. Full payment is due upon departure.
• Non-diocesan/private groups, day rate: $50 minimum for five or fewer guests; $10 for each additional guest. Overnight: $30 per person, per night, with a minimum fee of $240 per group. Full payment is due upon departure.
• Rate for diocesan youth events/parish youth groups in the diocese, overnight: $10 per person per night. Full payment is due upon departure.

A $50 deposit is required within 10 business days of making a reservation.

To make your reservation, contact Rosemary Davenport at rdavenport@etdiocese.net. or 865-966-2110.

Grace Point pages on the Web include more facilities information and directions to the camp and retreat center: etdiocese.net/gracepoint/