October 4, 2024
Dear Camp Friends,
We remain overwhelmed by the realities of this situation, including what our staff and neighbors are experiencing. Today, we can finally share with you that we have been working closely with LDR Carolinas since Sunday to partner in providing disaster response efforts based out of both Lutheridge and Lutherock. This will be for groups of adults, college students, and youth. This won’t simply be summer groups, but year-round opportunities for years to come – as that will be needed. LDR is in this for the long haul and so are we!
Our goal is to provide a place apart that serves as a base camp for groups to do disaster work throughout Western NC. Logistics are forthcoming, and we are confident it will happen. We have been doing this type of work through our Luther Springs camp in Florida for years through a program called Southwest Disaster Response. This program is in partnership with Inspiritus (the LSC equivalent in Georgia).
For groups interested in this work, we are currently taking group name, contact information, and preferred dates. When the program is confirmed and we are once again able to take registrations because we have power, we will contact groups in the order their request was received, but know that we feel confident we will be able to accommodate all groups in some way. To help us manage requests, we ask that you email Deacon Sue Mendenhall at our Luther Springs site at smendenhall@novusway.org. She is currently taking names for all programs.
Lutheridge Updates:
-We have water in Efird and Kohnjoy now.
-Still no power. Walmart across the street and other housing communities around do have power and water now.
-Our roads are cleared for power workers to get into the community to restore power as soon as they are able.
-We are not yet ready to cancel events after October 16th. We are meeting early next week to determine the window needed to have power to be able to accommodate programs.
Lutherock Update:
-Because we don’t currently have access to housing and the roads sustained more damage, we don’t yet have the roads clear. Groups not only need to be self-contained, but they also need housing close by to stay multiple days. We do have groups starting this weekend. Once we get clear to housing we can do much more.
-Retreats and programs are canceled through October. Please contact Mitzie at mitzie@gsbfr.com to confirm you know this. Once our registration office is operational again, we will contact you to follow up on the next steps.
Again, thank you for your continued support and response to help camp get back on our feet. The coming years will look different with disaster response efforts happening alongside our regular programs, but we are here for our neighbors in Western NC and Florida for the long haul.
Peace,
Mike + Mitzie
