The Cost of “Priceless”
David Popham

Sunlight filters through the pine bows dappling all below. A breeze rustles through the woods. The group stops, closes their eyes, and open their hearts. A nearby stream rushes on, but for the participants the moment has slowed down. Wrapped in the warmth of a summer day it is as if the world has ceased and all that is, is concentrated in this moment. Eternity breaks in and brings with it the awareness that life is much larger and deeper and holier than previously imagined. Such serendipitous moments of a camp or retreat breaths life: echoes of the breath of God into the nostrils of a limp and motionless figure.

Priceless! Like Moses before the burning bush and the disciples before a transfigured Christ we are transformed at the deepest level of our beings where the soul finds expression in unconditional love.

However, this is not an article about the transcendent quality of outdoor ministry. This is an article about the cost, the hard economics of maintaining and resourcing our camps and retreats. The beginning for this discussion must be the hurtful, albeit truthful, acknowledgement that Our Church’s Wider Mission, the money our local churches send to the Conference for the funding of our joint ministries, falls short. There is not enough OCWM money to fund and support all that this Conference seeks to accomplish.

We can celebrate that OCWM funds a position of which 2/3rds is set aside for coordinating outdoor ministry events. We can also celebrate that OCWM buys the paper and envelopes, and supplies the postage for the various mailings promoting our camps and retreats. It is OCWM that purchases space on the internet for accessible information and provides for on sight medical staff. But that is where OCWM runs out. OCWM no longer covers lodging. OCWM no longer covers food. OCWM no longer covers program supplies, nor camp staff transportation cost, etc. Present day OCWM giving is like the Colorado River which travels far and accomplishes great things. Yet, in spite of its best efforts, the Colorado no longer completes its journey to the ocean.

The Conference Board of Directors, acknowledging this short fall, provided over $8,000 dollars in scholarships for this past summer. Local congregations, recognizing the intrinsic value of a camping experience, gave over $9,000 in scholarships, and our Associations gave $1,500 in order that youth and children could have the opportunity for a transcendent moment. All total over $19,000 in scholarships were provided for the people of our Conference. Still, the fees set for the retreats are the primary means to cover the cost of these events. There is no extra OCWM money to underwrite them.

Compounding the issue of OCWM giving is the way we adults think in terms of what it cost us as youth to attend camp. Nostalgia never adjusts for inflation. In reality for this year parents paid no more then $2.52 per hour for their child to attend La Foret, less then half the minimum wage. Of course that $2.52 is multiplied by 139 hours during which the child is provided 24/7 care with a nurse on site, 17 meals, 6 snacks, and materials for crafts and programming. In comparison the day camp my children attended cost $4.10 an hour and served only 5 meals, no nurse included. A local YMCA day camp costs $4.71 an hour sans lunch.

As the mighty Colorado River’s journey to the Bay of California belongs to another time, so does the idea that there is enough OCWM money to underwrite camp costs. The day may come when a flood of OCWM giving will renew the parched riverbed of our budget. But that time is proving elusive and so we must rely on all inclusive fees to provide for the “priceless” moments of camps.

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