Thanks to Erin “Tye Dye” Dye for this guest post. Tye Die is the camp shepherd this summer: Thursday evenings this summer have been an opportunity for holy moments. Counselors have gotten to know their campers really well by the 5th night, campers submerse in good vibes from the week and excitement to go home, Read More >
Summer is under way and we are excited! Summer 2017 is shaping up to be Bethany Birches’ most attended summer in our 53 year history. You can see the current capacity of camp that remains open and which sessions are full on the 427 page. If you see a session you’d like to attend and Read More >
For the past few months of my Bethany Birches Camp (BBC) WALK, my footprints have trod 20-25 miles of sidewalks in the City of Lancaster, PA, population 59,000. I chose to walk in an environment different from the countryside, suburbia, and township parks I was familiar with. The walk concentrated on 110 acres of Downtown Read More >
Since the last pavi update more progress has been made! A faithful supporter gave $9,000 toward kitchen equipment so we bought the convection ovens and slicer. Huge upgrades! You can see the updated pavilion project punch list below. Here are the ovens being delivered: And the ovens in place! And the slicer: And here Read More >
My wife Anna Mae and I recently completed a driving trip from Pennsylvania to South Dakota. We visited our empty-nest daughter Jenelle Miller (a former BBC camper and years later, counselor) and her husband Craig. This trip allowed me opportunity to exercise “out-of-the-box” activity recently encouraged by my health care specialists for management of my Read More >
Franconia Mennonite Church in Pennsylvania partnered with BBC for the 5th winter in a row. For one weekend, their young adult group brought up a full volunteer staff of cooks, counselors, and shepherds. The counselors dedicated their whole weekend to engaging with campers, running fun events, and building community. The cooks brought up a large Read More >
One of the founding principles of Bethany Birches back in the 60’s was to “provide a camping experience for youth where counselor and camper together can engage in learning relationships which will prepare them for future responsibilities in life.” As you probably know it’s easier to have a learning relationship with someone you trust and respect. Read More >
This past winter has been interesting weather-wise. Another interesting trend is the uptick in attendance for winter programs. For the three overnight programs we saw 168 camper days which is 95% of total capacity. On top of this, there were waiting lists for all three sessions! As many of you know, winter is so busy for Read More >
This past summer a camp supporter, Yogi, noted that the kitchen was not near complete. He asked me what one of the next steps was to finish it. A week later, a friend of his and camp supporter, Mark, asked him what else was needed at camp on the pavilion project. Yogi told him quite Read More >
It is challenging to gauge success when trying to accomplish a mission like Bethany Birches’. We do some surveys after summer and winter seasons to see how we did in a couple different areas. I just LOVE what came from the surveys this past summer. 33% of survey respondents (parents) rated their child’s experience a 10 or Read More >
