The groundbreaking, 1950.
Where it began.
In 1950, eight-year-old Shirley Katzenmoyer Maney turned a shovel of dirt to dedicate the site where Lutheridge would be built. She was there for the children of Grace Lutheran Church in Hendersonville. Efird Hall stands on that spot today.
“I didn’t understand what a groundbreaking was, but I got a new dress for the occasion, and I thought that was good.”
Shirley Katzenmoyer Maney
Then came the people who made it home.
1976
Mama Cline
Romania Echerd Cline joins the staff, later serving as hostess of Thornburg Hall. To a generation of summer staff she was Mama Cline, with a motto to match: “Do it right, or do it again!”
1994
Pastors Tim and Mary
Pastors Tim and Mary Canniff-Kuhn begin their shared calls as Program Directors. Years later, Pastor Tim named what never changed: “For me, that is the cabin group.”
2025
Lutheridge turns 75
Karen Kester Areheart, whose father helped open the first book store at camp, gives to the 75th Birthday Capital Campaign. Her gift names a porch on the new hill cabins.
You are welcome here.
We welcome all who seek God's love and grace in an outdoor ministry setting. We welcome all as God welcomes all, regardless of race or culture, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, family status, socio-economic circumstances, physical or mental abilities, or citizenship. Our unity is in Christ.
One of three NovusWay camps.
NovusWay Ministries is an independent nonprofit outdoor ministry organization rooted in the Christian faith. A ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, we bring people together through summer programs and year-round gatherings at three camps in North Carolina and Florida.
