Camp Luther Report

Camp Luther 2018 – Synod Assembly Report

Camp Luther 2018 was held on June 17-23 at Camp Caesar in Cowen, WV. This was our 73rd year and we met under the theme “This Changes Everything.” We were blessed to welcome 280 campers and 88 staff members for our week of camp.

The financial report for 2018 follows the written report. This year, due to rising costs associated with operating camp, we made the difficult choice to increase the cost of camp for the first time in 5 years. All applications and payments received by May 1 were charged $215, and all applications received after this date were $230. Once again, all campers received a Camp Luther T-Shirt with their registration.
This year we have one leadership change after the resignation of Functional Staff Dean David Alfred. We are excited to have Rick Crummitt (First English, Wheeling) serving in this position beginning in 2019. Camp Luther continues to be blessed by its all-volunteer leadership and staff, and all of them go above and beyond to plan a great week for the campers.

This year we had five exchange campers, four from the sister congregation of First, Parkersburg located in Vaanta, Finland and an exchange student from Italy. In addition, the Finnish congregation sent an adult who served on camp staff in Senior Program. These campers brought so much to our group, and we were blessed to meet them and share a week with them. Many of our stateside campers have kept in touch with these international friends throughout the year.

I always enjoy seeing campers around the synod and at other events outside of camp. It is humbling to hear how much a week at Camp Luther makes a difference in their faith and their year. These conversations and messages keep me hopeful for the current life and future direction of our church.

In closing, we are blessed to have supportive congregations and pastors in our synod, and we thank you! We thank our bishop, Synod Council, and the Synod Assembly for your monetary support and prayers for a good week of camp. Please remember us in your prayers this year during the third week of June!

Respectfully submitted,
The Rev. Jason Felici
Director, 2016-2020