From the Camp Director:

Thanksgiving Greetings!

Most of us who have or have had children started teaching them the basics as they were in their formative years. We taught them to say “please” when they wanted something, but we also taught them to say “thank you” upon receiving a blessing.

It wasn't something they were born with, but the more we taught them not only with our words but also with our examples, they began to use these powerful words. And for that, we are thankful!

The Bible tells us in Psalm 107:8-9 – 8 "Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things."

On behalf of the staff and leadership of Hanging Rock, I wanted to take this opportunity to wish you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving Season.

Without a doubt, we could spend much time focusing on the many things going wrong in our Nation, but I want to remind us of the tremendous importance and calling we have to be a people of Thankfulness!

1 Chronicles 16:34 (NKJV) "Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever."

I am not just saying thank you because it is Thanksgiving season, but because we could not do what we do without you. You are important to Hanging Rock, from giving to serving. We appreciate you so much. We hope you know we do not take you and your support for granted. 

We are so excited about the progress of the dining hall addition. The footers have been poured, the walls have been poured and now the floor has been poured. The electrical and plumbing are in place. This building is going to be such a huge blessing to this ministry. Just this weekend, we have 180 here for our Illinois Jr. High Retreat.  With our current building it creates such a crowded atmosphere for dining. 

The total cost of the building will be $375,000, We are anticipating needing another $50,000 for furnishings.  

We have $195,050 on hand for the building not including the Paddle the Wabash fundraiser. We will give an update after this fundraiser. We are also trying to raise money for chairs. We need 200 chairs for the new dining hall. We are at 168 of the 200 needed. Very exciting! The chairs are $40.00a chair.  

We have our fundraiser banquet with Tommy and John Thomas Oaks in December. Our goal is to raise $50,000. We would love to have all the chairs bought and $250,000 raised by the end of this year. Please pray about helping us make this possible. 

https://www.hangingrock.org/support/ways-to-give.html

Gary Baker, Executive Director

garybaker@hangingrock.org 

Exciting things are happening around camp! As you have heard, we are moving right along with our dining hall extension, and I couldn’t be more excited for it! When we started talking about adding on to the dining hall, we were thinking that it was going to be summer of 2026 before we were going to be in the new building, but it is crazy to think that we are scheduled to be in it a whole year early! The Lord has had a hand in planning all of this and helping guide the staff and board down this path. It has been neat to watch all the pieces fall into place on this project.

I am starting the process of figuring out all the logistics of managing 2 dining halls at the same time and what all that looks like. One of the challenges that we face is having to staff 2 serving lines. This is a good challenge to have and one we knew we would face, but it poses a challenge, nonetheless. You may be asking yourself what does that have to do with anything? And that is a great question and where you could come in to help.

We are going to need volunteers to help serve meals this coming summer. In my tenure in the kitchen, we have been able to just utilize our staff, faculty, or sometimes campers to help serve the meals, but with 2 lines that may be too big of a challenge. So, we are hoping that we can get volunteers to come in, just during mealtimes, and help serve the campers and faculty to alleviate some of that pressure. If you can help fulfill that role, please reach out to me at toddblair@hangingrock.org and I would love to get you plugged in. We can’t wait to see what summer 2025 holds and would love to get your help in making it an amazing experience for all!

Hey y’all! 2024 is winding down and so we begin to look forward toward 2025. Starting off in 2025 we have our winter retreats coming up in January & February. The one I am so excited to do this year is Ice breakers for 1st -2nd grade on January 4th. We haven’t had an Icebreaker since 2011 and we are so excited to bring this back. The whole point of a day camp in the winter is to get our younger kids introduced to camp. 

The picture above was me, at Hanging Rock, as a CAMPER! Back in 2008 I attended ice breakers for the first time & my first ever time at camp! 16 years later and I have a full-time job here! We are so excited for all of our winter retreats happening here at camp. The dates are posted below.

The Camp Committee met at the beginning of October to start the process of planning for Summer 2025 and in that meeting decided the theme.  Drumroll…. Wait for it….  “Road Trip: Experience God Along the Way”. We want to help campers understand their journey with the Lord and that there are times the world will influence them to get off the path, but God will always be there to reset the “GPS” to get us back on the path. The passage that goes with it is John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”.

It's been awesome to see the leaves change colors. We are so blessed to be able to see the beauty of God throughout nature on our property. 

"The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made." -Psalm 145:9

6988 South State Road 263

West Lebanon, IN 47991

www.hangingrock.org

therock@hangingrock.org