News
The Passing of One of Our Own :: Ed DeLair
The PCCCA family mourns the loss of Ed DeLair of Ghost Ranch Conference Center. A memorial service will be held at Ghost Ranch (Abiquiu, NM) on Monday, February 6th at 10:30am (with a luncheon to follow). This service is open to everyone. Another service will be held later in Pennsylvania, but details are not yet available. There is a guestbook on the funeral home website if you would like to sign it. We will post more details about the second service and about memorial gifts when the information is available.
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The PCCCA Member Update for February is available for viewing. If you would like to receive these in your email inbox, you can subscribe by putting your email address in the special box on this page.
Compass Points Registration Available for March Courses
After a successful Genesis Event in October, the Compass Points program is making preparations for two certification courses scheduled back-to-back during the week of March 11th-17th. "Biblical and Reformed Theological Foundations" and "Program Design and Implementation" will be held on the campus of Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA. You can take one class or both. To learn more about these two upcoming courses (or the entire certification program), please check out the Compass Points website.
Start the Year Off Right with a 2012 PCCCA Membership
2011 was PCCCA's biggest year ever and we hope that you will start the new year on the right foot by joining or renewing your PCCCA membership for 2012. Using the website, you can pay by check or credit card. As a 2012 member, you will enjoy special discounts with companies and organizations like the American Bedding, Annual Recreation Workshop, Bunk1, CampBrain, Campwise, Camp Craft Charms, Chalice Press, Equal Exchange, Expert Online Training, FUNL Marketing, Internet Brands Camp Directories, Lodgepole, Megasys Hospitality Systems, MySummers.com, New England Camp Discounter, Rope Works, Run River Enterprises, S&S Worldwide and UltraCamp (and there are more to come!). This is just a part of the benefits you receive as a 2012 member, but it is our hope that the discounts will save you more money than you pay in membership dues. You can learn more about member benefits (and join/renew your membership) by going to the member page.
Branches Online Enewsletter :: Winter 2012 Issue
The Winter 2012 issue of Branches Online, the enewsletter of the Presbyterian Church Camp and Conference Association, is now available. You can see all of the latest news and resources by checking out this new issue. You will also find the previous issue here. If you did not receive these issues in your email inbox, you can subscribe by putting your email address in the box below.
Your Site Benefits from BookARetreat.com's New Relationship with Retreat Central
BookARetreat.com took our directory of Presbyterian camps and conference centers to the "next level." With PCCCA's new relationship with Retreat Central, we hope to do that again. This Dallas-based company will soon be offering live assistance to visitors to our searchable directory. Retreat Central can help steer more retreat groups to your site if you are participating in the Connector program. Please take a look at the detailed explanation of our relationship with Retreat Central and see how it can benefit your camp or conference center. If you have not completed the BookARetreat.com listing for your site, please fill out the update page.
Does Your Site Deserve the Green Leaf Seal?
The Green Leaf Seal is a program of the Environmental Ministries office of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in cooperation with PCCCA. This seal is presented to Presbyterian camps and conference centers in the United States and Canada that care for God's earth by practicing sustainability and educating guests about environmental stewardship. To receive a Green Leaf Seal, a site must have completed a total of five projects or activities in the areas of facilities, education/program, operations, and outreach. You can learn about the requirements and benefits of this distinction by going to the Green Leaf Seal page.
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Are Your PCCCA Emails Being Caught by Spam Filters?
In early May, PCCCA started using the iContact email service in order to deliver Enewsletters, Member Updates and Annual Conference Updates to our mailing list. Since we are now able to track these emails, it seems that many of our communications are being caught by spam filters.
If you are on the mailing list and have not received emails from PCCCA over the past two months, we ask that you "white list" the email addresses that iContact uses. These are icontact.com, app.icontact.com and icpbounce.com. If you do not know how to white list addresses for your email server, please go to this help page and see how you can change your settings in order to receive email from these three domains.
Where is Your Site in the BookARetreat.com Search Results?
Some of our Presbyterian camps and conference centers still need to send in their lodging parameters and pictures for the Bookaretreat.com website. This search engine is the new directory for those seeking retreat accommodations in the United States and Canada based on location and lodging needs. Please go to the website and see how your site is listed. Those camps and conference centers who have sent in their information should appear at the top of the search results. Do you need to complete your listing? Please fill out the information update today.
Are You on Facebook?
As many of you know, the Presbyterian Church Camp and Conference Association now has a fan page. If you are on Facebook and would like to receive timely updates related to the association and to new resources, please become a fan of our Facebook page.
Special Brochure for our Canadian Camps and Conference Centres
The Presbyterian Church in Canada asked PCCCA to produce a special brochure to highlight the ministries of their presbytery, synod and national camps and conference centres. This was distributed at the General Assembly meeting and will be part of the special summer mailing to the churches. The brochure is available here.
Our Partnership with Columbia Theological Seminary
PCCCA has an official relationship with the Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Geogia. To learn more about this exciting partnership that seeks to better equip our camp and conference staff and volunteers, please take a look at this flyer.
The Fund for Camp
The Investment Committee of the Presbyterian Church Camp and Conference Association is pleased to introduce the Fund for Camp (also called the Hostetter Fund). Just as the life and service of Donald A. Hostetter touched the ministries of so many of the camps and conference centers in our denomination, PCCCA seeks to aid these sites by providing financial support to the systems that sustain Presbyterian camp and conference ministry. PCCCA intends to undertake a $3.3 million capital campaign in order to raise funds for the support of Presbyterian camp and conference ministries. The Fund for Camp will be structured to support PCCCA programs and our Executive Director position, the visits and events provided by the PCCCA Consultants Network, and the national staff position for camp and conference ministries housed at the PC(USA) center in Louisville. For information on this exciting initiative, please go here to learn more on how you can support Presbyterian camp and conference ministry.
Article Posted on Feb 2, 2012 Read more news...
Who Are We?
Since 1964, staff and volunteers from Presbyterian camps and conference centers have gathered for fellowship, education and the mutual support of their ministries. This organization is called the Presbyterian Church Camp and Conference Association. This close-knit group brings together people who support and represent the 156 Presbyterian camps and conference centers in the United States and Canada. The programs and fellowship of PCCCA (pronounced "P - triple C - A") allow these individuals to hone their skills and to bring knowledge and resources back to their ministries. The PCCCA "family" serves as an incredible source of professional and personal support.
The mission of PCCCA is to equip leaders for ministries of discipleship, community building and the care of Creation. It seeks to provide a common voice and shared vision for Presbyterian camp and conference ministry. The association offers many educational and connectional events. PCCCA also provides a quarterly enewsletter, a directory of camp and conference centers, representation on national committees, consulting services, an online repository of resources, job listings, special discounts on products/services and a network of collegial support.
The organization is open to all persons who value this important ministry. You may be a full-time camp and conference professional, a board/committee member, a summer staff person, a retired camp and conference professional, a volunteer, a student or just an interested person. You are invited to join PCCCA!
