PRESBYTERY
OF EASTERN VIRGINIA
Makemie
Woods/Stone House Project Report
One is roots, the other
wings.”
Now,
that is exactly what we have been doing in our local churches and our
camp/retreat facility at Makemie Woods for 40 years. They tell us
that nearly 3 out 4 people who accept the call to
Christian ministry can point to and describe in detail a profound
retreat camp
or retreat experience in their youth or young adult life.
Well, we have
reached the critical fork in the road in our consideration, our
planning and
investments in Makemie Woods as a camp for kids and potentially a site
for
adult retreats and conferences.
(As Yogi Berra
would advise, “When you reach that fork
in the road, TAKE IT!”)
We are now
ready to take the appropriate road to move aggressively forward to fund
and
implement a $ 5 million vision for constructing a modern adult
conference
center, a multi-purpose activity building, an improved secure entry to
the
site, and improved roads and utilities for the full camp and conference
facility at Makemie Woods. And, through
this campaign, we will have assisted with the development of the
neighboring
new Stone House Presbyterian Church. You
will be
hearing a lot more now about the “ROOTS AND WINGS…BUILDING ON THE
MAKEMIE
LEGACY” campaign.
We envision
three stages:
(During this period, a quiet
witness major and leadership gift campaign
will be implemented.)
By now, each
church has been asked to name a Church Campaign Minister to be the
point of
contact and coordination for the church’s participation in the campaign. These people will receive special
orientation, training and materials in the coming months.
The April
Presbytery meeting theme will be stewardship with a special speaker and
panel
to provide motivation and the tools to have spiritually-based
stewardship
campaigns in all our churches by fall for their own local church needs.
To take the burden
and the expense of distributing materials and processing and accounting
for
multi-year gifts and pledges from the responsibility of local churches,
a
central database will be created containing all Presbytery-wide
households. Each church is asked to
provide to the
Presbytery office their most current and accurate directory of members.
If your church
is planning to execute a capital campaign in the near future, we will
be happy
to make our Presbytery fundraising counsel available to assist you in
combining
your effort with the “Roots and Wings” Presbytery-wide campaign. This could be a significant savings of money
and energy for you. Contact the
Presbytery office if you would like to know more about this assistance
for your
need.
We have had
the benefit of an extraordinary steering committee of Presbyterian lay
men and
women from throughout the Presbytery who have demonstrated that they
are not
afraid of tackling a “big idea” and this project is a “big idea”. They have done an excellent job of due
diligence in taking on a venture already in motion and figuring out the
best
approach to articulate the need, the vision and the path to
successfully
achieving the dream of creating a modern adult conference center and
improved
camp facility at Makemie Woods that would be truly ours --- an
extension of the
ministry of every church in the Presbytery of Eastern Virginia. We will be transitioning from a planning
mode to a campaign mode in the coming months and the make-up of the
campaign
steering committee may change somewhat in the process.
So, we are
coming to you with a solid campaign strategy, experienced fundraising
counsel,
a strong case for support and the opportunity to assist you in meeting
local
needs. The success of this effort will
depend as much on your engagement as our leadership. We have a
wonderful opportunity to have a profound conference/camp/retreat
experience in
the life of our members for many, many years to come.
What a legacy to leave.
To God be the glory.
page created 2/5/04