A reading from 2nd Timothy, the 1st Chapter:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I am grateful to God—whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did—when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. 6 For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; 7 for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.
Hey Camp Friends,
How to start a letter that needs to include so much information and gratitude? First, we miss you! As Paul shares in his letter to Timothy, we at NovusWay, remember you, our campers, counselors, guests, and donors in our prayers. We long to see you. On Friday, May 22, 2020, the leadership team and Board of Trustees of NovusWay announced that all scheduled summer camp programming for 2020 would be suspended for the health and safety of campers, staff, and guests in light of the risks posed by COVID-19.
The affirmation we received for the difficult decision we had to make and the love and support our camp community poured out on us and on each other in the days that followed was indeed camp at its best. For this, we THANK YOU!
Thank you for the kind emails and encouraging social media posts. Thank you to those of you who were able to generously gift your paid registration fees to the ministry. Thank you to those of you who immediately opened your hearts and made a gift to the ministry. Thank you all for being a spark that will keep the fire of camp burning bright!
We have been asked what this decision means for the future of camp. In answer, the financial loss to the ministry is significant. We were not given a spirit of cowardice, but rather one of power, love, and self-discipline. Therefore, we are officially launching the Light the Fire – Summer Camp 2021 Appeal to raise $1.8 million to offset the loss of revenue needed to ensure the strength of camp and maintain our excellence. You will hear more about this in July, but because the response to the announcement on May 22nd was so generous and positive, we have decided that all gifts given on or following that day will count toward the appeal.
We have also been asked, “what can I do to help?” This is a question of love and concern for camp and again, we are grateful. You can have the greatest positive impact on camp by starting a monthly gift to the ministry. It is like subscribing to camp – the way you would a magazine, Netflix, Hulu, or Stitch Fix to name a few. Including camp in your monthly automatic giving positions the ministry for strength. Any amount you can give adds up to sustainability when our community comes together. As an example, Netflix costs between $9-$20 a month, but adds up to an annual gift of $108-$240 a year. Similiar to how congregations plan from member tithes, camp can better plan when we know what giving will look like for the next 12 months.
To help, we have made the process simple for you. Visit www.novusway.org and click the green donate button. There you can select “monthly donation or subscription giving” under the Type of Donation section. You may now use a checking account, savings account, or credit card that will be auto drafted each month on the date you make your first gift. These can be paused at anytime by calling our office. Our combined $1.8 million goal for the Light the Fire appeal includes 400 new monthly giving subscriptions. You can best help camp during this time by being one of these generous 400 people.
These places apart are amazing and life-giving because of the amazing people who love and support them. We long to see you so that we may all be filled with joy and so that these places may once again be filled with joy. Until then, we can Light the Fire within us and these ministries. Continue to share your camp stories. Continue to be a Spark!
In Christ’s Love,
Boyd W. Harris, IV Mitzie Schafer, Deacon
Executive Director-CEO Vice President for Development
Click HERE to read another impact story.
