Diocesan News Releases
• Important Message from Bishop Itty on Triangle Lake Camp and Conference Center
By Deirdre Steinberg, Communications Director
Feb 10, 2007, 06:50

After intense financial analysis, deliberation, and with great reluctance, the Bishop and the Board of Trustees has accepted the recommendations of the Triangle Lake Task Force to suspend all summer 2007 camp sessions and to provide resources for Triangle Lake Camp and Conference Center security and maintenance. These recommendations were adopted unanimously at the Trustees’ February 8 meeting.

Although every effort was made to preserve Triangle Lake camp opportunities for 2007, current budget information and projections suggest that it will not be possible to fund the summer camp program.

The action comes after the Bishop and the Board of Trustees heard a report by the Triangle Lake Camp and Conference Center Task Force, which has been working since August to make recommendations for the future of the camp and retreat center.

The Task Force’s report made clear that Triangle Lake Camp and Conference Center does not have sufficient funds to continue operating this year. The Task Force determined that there was an estimated $118,000 shortfall for 2007 to run a full program. The camp will continue to be maintained and kept secure. Dina Mikesell, Triangle Lake Camp and Conference Center’s executive director, will continue in her position and oversee the on-going and substantial maintenance and security work.

Other Task Force recommendations that were approved by the Board of Trustees were to explore selling 40 undeveloped acres (excess land not used for camp operations) to fund the ongoing maintenance and security of the Center and to help fund children and youth ministries in the diocese. Additionally, the Board of Trustees approved continuing implementation of the 2000 Triangle Lake Camp and Conference Center Timber Management Plan, which includes thinning and selling from a current stand and clean-up of considerable storm damage from a large storm in December 2006. The funds from these timber sales will provide operating resources for the Center’s current activities, which will be limited to security and maintenance.

The Bishop and the Board of Trustees wish to thank the Triangle Lake Task Force leadership, who have labored long and hard: the Rev. Dcn. Janis Hansen, convener; Virginia Bourdeau, Mary Cramer, the Rev. LeRoy Hammon, the Rev. Margaret McMurren, Chuck Martin, Dina Mikesell, and Mike Stone.

They also praise the ongoing work of Dina Mikesell, executive director of Triangle Lake Camp and Conference Center. “Dina has been extremely diligent in providing us with the information we needed to make this difficult and painful decision,” said Bishop Itty. “Her professionalism has enhanced the work of the Task Force team. I am pleased that she will remain on the diocesan staff to oversee the maintenance and security of the property for the foreseeable future.”

This recommendation covers a short-term stabilization effort. In April, the Task Force will present its long-term recommendations for Triangle Lake Camp and Conference Center’s future. Members of the Task Force are in serious and ongoing conversations with an ecumenical group of camp directors to develop a Christian Camp consortium to provide a broader range of children, youth and adult camp experiences.

In making the decision to suspend programming at Triangle Lake Camp and Conference Center, Bishop Itty said: “We asked the Task Force to look at all aspects of the Triangle Lake Camp and Conference Center program and to analyze its viability as a strategic ministry of our diocese.” He continued: “The good news is that this ministry has been wholeheartedly affirmed by the Task Force as being extremely valuable in its influence on youth and the development of their core Christian values. The big challenge for us now is to determine how best to sustain this ministry.”

 To read a FAQ fact sheet, which includes a list of recommended Christian camps as alternatives for the 2007 summer camping season, go here.