Due to the pandemic, both our Bible camps were closed for 16 months, a direct loss of over $1,000,000 in lost user fees. Painful furloughs, lay-offs and reduced salaries affected everyone at LRCC.
Our donors and two PPP loans saved us from drastic measures, but we are no longer thriving... just surviving.
H – Help kids get to camp!
Getting kids to camp is a team effort. Parents, grandparents, pastors and adults in churches can change the course of a child’s life by getting them to camp AND helping each family finance the experience. Our donors have made it clear, money should never be the reason a child does not get to Bible camp. Many of our campers get help from their congregations, and ALL of them are subsidized by our donors in one way or another.
E - Encourage youth to serve as counselors.
We have unfilled jobs each summer… can you help us find young adults (18 and over) that can work for a summer at Bible camp. We are always looking for dedicated counselors, but they are getting harder and harder to find! We need your help to find the kindest and the brightest staff each year.
L – Lean in to our financial recovery from COVID.
There are several ways to support us financially. Donate online at lrcchome.com/giving. Create a fundraiser at your church for camp (sell camp T-shirts, host a bike-athon, or copy an idea you’ve seen somewhere else). Consider a legacy gift to LRCC in your estate planning (we have staff that can help you with this). Check out our Amazon wish list (directions at lrcchome.com/giving. Thrivent members get two $250 action team cards a year, give one to a camp project!
P – Pray for LRCC!
Because prayer changes people and circumstances! We boldly pray for the partnership of camp and congregation. When you ‘hit your knees,’ add a petition for your local Lutheran Bible camp!
We’d love to talk with you more, we are here to partner with churches to get kids to camp, find the next wave of counselors, pay for it all and pray for an amazing future. Reach out to us by email at: office@lrcchome.com
The H.E.L.P. CAMP-aign Resolution was passed by the Pacifica Synod assembly in early May, and will be voted on by the Southwest California Synod in early June.
All through the pandemic, the Luther Glen Farm continued supplying camp grown vegetables to a Food Pantry at Faith Lutheran in Yucaipa.
Whereas, Lutheran Retreats, Camps and Conferences (LRCC) has been in faithful partnership with the congregations of the Southwest California Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for more than 60 years; and,
Whereas, more lay and rostered leaders in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America discern their call to ministry at one of our Lutheran Bible camps than any other place in our church; and,
Whereas, Lutheran Retreats, Camps and Conferences (LRCC) has faithfully followed all state and county health department guidelines, causing the Board of Directors of LRCC to close both the El Camino Pines (in the Southwest California Synod) and Luther Glen Farm (in the Pacifica Synod), beginning in March of 2020; and,
Whereas, 70% of the operating income that funds the ministry of LRCC is earned by hosting various user groups at both our Bible camps, and that the real impact of the Covid-19 pandemic closures of our local Lutheran Bible camps has resulted in over $1,000,000 dollars in lost revenue; therefore,
Be it resolved:
That the Southwest California Synod, in assembly, calls on the congregations of the Southwest California Synod to fully support the ministry of Lutheran Retreats, Camps and Conferences with special focus over the next few years as it recovers from the impact of of the Covid-19 pandemic by supporting the HELP Camp-aign, and thus pledging to:
Lutheran Retreats, Camps & Conferences
Administrative Office: 39136 Harris Road, Oak Glen, CA 92399