Dear Holston Family,

Holston Camp & Retreat Ministries has been closely monitoring the COVID-19 outbreak. As we have been watching events unfold, we have been in prayer for the well-being of your family.

After a careful discerning process, and with the health and safety of our camper families and communities foremost in our minds, we have made the difficult decision to not host summer camp this year. This decision included a 20-point risk assessment of our summer programming; daily reviews of published materials from local, state, and national experts; and many conversations with medical advisors, camper families, board members, and staff.

Please know this decision was not reached easily. There have been countless challenging conversations that have led to this conclusion. We felt the risk of unknowingly spreading the illness among campers, staff, their families, and the communities we serve was just too great. 

We appreciate that camp is the highlight of the year for many in our communities, and having to cancel makes us unbelievably sad even though we believe it is the right decision. We are sad for our campers. We are sad for our staff. We are sad for our churches and communities that send campers. And we are sad we are not able to be in ministry with you all as we normally are each year. Nevertheless, even though this decision makes us sad, we know we would be devastated if we held camp and caused harm by spreading the virus.

Finally, although we will not be hosting summer camp this year, we are not done with our work in 2020. We will continue to follow CDC recommendations and find creative ways to connect with our churches and communities in new ways. We will continue communicating our decisions, actions and processes as we discern new ways to be in ministry with you and our local churches. We are here to be a partner with and support you all every step of this new journey. 

Please continue to pray for our camps as we are praying for all of you. Our God is with us!

In Christ,

Jeff Wadley, Camp Bays Mountain Director
Whitney Winston, Camp in the Community Director
Anthony Gomez, Camp Dickenson Director
Don Washburn, Camp Lookout Director
Tony Lea, Camp Wesley Woods Director
Mary Thompson, Holston Camp & Retreat Ministries Executive Director