Well, it’s almost that time of year again, Camp Time!

If you had the opportunity to go to church camp when you were growing up, you know what a powerful, life-changing experience it can be.  I know it was for me, it was something I looked forward to on an annual basis as my parents did everything within their power to make it happen.

Church Camp is one of those events that stay in the mind and hearts of people for years and often is what is needed for them to become “rock solid” in their faith.

Everything we do here at Hanging Rock year around directly affects camp. The reason for Hanging Rock is first and foremost to have a place in the summer for young people to go where they are able to disconnect from life and reconnect to Christ and others. 

To make camp happen we need volunteers. Every camp session needs volunteers to work directly with campers, teach classes, lead worship, provide activities and supervision. 

I understand this is a tremendous sacrifice.  To volunteer precious time and talent to pour into the lives of our youth is no easy task, yet I believe the rewards far outweigh any sacrifice of the present moment!

If you can help in this area, all you need to do is to fill out a faculty volunteer form on our website https://www.hangingrock.org/summer-camps/faculty.html.   As you can appreciate, there are background checks performed on all volunteers who work with the children.  These are a standard procedure in the day and age we live. Once you fill out the faculty application and list which camp you would like to help with we will forward your information on to the Event Coordinator and they will get in touch with you as to how they could use your help. 

Start praying now, for all the campers lives that will be affected this summer with the Gospel of Christ. 

Gary Baker

garybaker@hangingrock.org

March is upon us already and the tack barn project is getting closer. This month we have lots of prep that needs to happen before we start ripping the floors out.

We are going to need to remove all of the tack and anything else that is on the floor. 

We would love to have some help this month to help us make this happen. We have a contractor that is going to help us with this project to raise the floor and then put new flooring down.  

The plan is to start with that in April. So, March is going to be very busy getting everything prepped. 

This is for the Terry Evans Memorial Project. This project is to honor Terry by making sure that the building that he built will continue to last for years to come . 

Please email me if you have time to come this month to help. caseyisdell@hangingrock.org

Casey 

Back in December we kicked off a new campaign to start raising money for the dining hall extension.  Our campaign is called Come to the Table, Gather Together. 

I hope you have noticed from our Facebook page that we have intentionally taken pictures of how full our dining hall has been.  If not go back and take a look to remind yourself of the need for this project. 

Over the years, Hanging Rock has diligently cared for its facilities and periodically undertaken new projects to address specific needs.

As Hanging Rock has reached record breaking attendance during camp and retreats the one facility that has caused the need to be creative in making room is the dining room. Our current dining room was built when the camp purchased the property in 1946. Currently the dining hall can hold 140 for the retreat season and 160 for summer camp. Our total bed capacity is 250. We really need to add another 150-200 seats for dining.

Currently, campers eat in shifts, which is both inefficient and logistically problematic. The serving areas are also undersized, which causes congestion and impacts Hanging Rock’s commitment to hospitality.

The board is currently reviewing bids from construction companies. We hope to make a decision soon on the financial scope of this project.

In the next few newsletters we will be giving updates on where we are and hopefully will be sharing a design as well. We ask that you begin praying for this project and if you would like to partner with us in this endeavor go ahead start donating funds. 

We will need a lot of people to come to the table and help with this project. Please begin to be praying how you and your family can help us make this happen. 

We have been getting some items delivered to the camp from our Amazon Wishlist and want to thank you so much for your support in that!

There is still time to make those donations, so please consider how you could help bless the camp by purchasing an item or two off the list! Some of the items on the list are paper towels, basketballs, cordless drills, Ziploc bags, laundry soap, drink coolers, and first aid items.

Other ways you can bless the camp are by volunteering, praying for our staff, campers, Event Coordinators, and faculty, and by promoting camp in your churches and communities!

We have countless ways you can volunteer around camp. We need people to come mow grass each week, help in the kitchen prepping, serving meals, and cleaning up, fixing things that have broken, spending the week as faculty, helping with registration on check-in days, helping lead worship, etc. If you have a gift of service, we can use it here at camp! We cannot do what we do without the help of our supporting churches and individuals giving of time, talent, and treasure. From the bottom of our hearts thank you so much for helping bless the ministry of Hanging Rock!

Todd Blair

toddblair@hangingrock.org 

Last July we had a storm come through and take out a powerline. It fed the field restrooms, garage, and some camp hookups for camping. Because the pole was ours and not REMC we were responsible for it.  We have paid REMC for 3 poles and a new 400amp transformer. But, to finish the installation of everything it will be another $7,400.  This is an expense we were not planning for.  We are asking for donations to help get the electric back up and running in this section of camp. If you are able to donate toward this, memo the donation electric work. 

Thank You.