David Hoffmann was also busy re-building the stage at DuBois Center. The Fall Festival will be revitalized this year on Sunday, October 3. So to prepare for the entertainment scheduled there, David got busy to give the stage a facelift. What a difference it makes to the landscape at DuBois Center.
Thanks to the Belleville St. Paul UCC Mission Team, ISC Property Committee (Priscilla Self, Roger Harris, and David Hoffmann), Nancy Wagner, and McCullough Flooring from Belleville, the floors of the DuBois Center office have been re-floored with beautiful flooring that continues throughout all rooms of the office.
Thanks to those of you who donated so generously (with time and money) to make it happen.
Love the outdoors? Want to teach students in an experiential, meaningful way that they will remember for years to come? We are currently searching for instructors for our fall and spring Nature’s Classroom sessions! Instructors will work 3-5 days a week, teaching school groups team building, experiential science, and more!
A full job description is available on our website. Email Hayley (director@duboiscenter.org) or call 815-627-0595.
A few weeks ago, we reported how Tom Krueger chose DuBois Center to complete his Eagle Scout project on July 17-18. Tom is part of the Troop 320 sponsored by Columbia St. Paul UCC, Scout Leader, Chris Neumann. Because of his efforts and 23 volunteers, the three cabins at Deer Run are now ADA compliant. Kudos Tom and friends. We thought you would like to see more photos of all the help needed to complete the project.
If you would like to volunteer time or resources to aid us in continuing to increase the accessibility of our property and program, please reach out or watch the Weekly Connection and the DuBois Center website/Facebook Page for information on how to volunteer in the future.
We are excited to welcome Camp Phoenix at DuBois Center this week! Camp Phoenix is the camp of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri. They have been a community partner for many years and have extended an extremely kind and heartfelt welcome to me as the new acting director! We are grateful to be the site for their excellent work in outdoor ministry for youth within their diocese.
Please join us in praying for their campers, leadership, and all involved in the fantastic ministry of Camp Phoenix!
Hayley Elliott, Acting Director of Outdoor Ministry.
Thanks to Tom Krueger for choosing to complete an Eagle Scout Project on site – building ADA ramps at the Deer Run Cabins! Continuing to increase the accessibility of our site is just one way we live out our call to welcome all people to enjoy God’s creation here at DuBois Center! Tom and a crew completed this project on Saturday, July 17. Thank you, Tom!
by Becky Harrison, Secretary at St. Paul UCC, Lebanon
It was scheduled for Sunday, May 2, 2021. A Jr/Sr High Youth outing to DuBois Center. Lot’s of planning and effort went in to picking a date (no small task), coordinating with DuBois Center staff, deciding on a mission project (thank you, Nancy Wagner), gathering supplies, and coordinating a worship and communion service with Pastor Don. Kids and parents alike were so looking forward to getting back to DuBois, or going for the first time. Weather forecasters predicted a comfortable, sunny day, so all was right with the world . . . until a few days later. The forecast changed dramatically from warm and sunny to cool, overcast and rainy. All the planning in the world couldn’t keep the weather from changing. Then, a couple of people had to cancel. Drat!
When the day finally came, I felt excited, but anxious. Had I remembered everything? Were we going to get all the way down there and get rained out? Were the kids going to bored? Were the adults going to be bored? Could the weather have cooperated—at the very least? Was any of this worth the effort? Should I just stay home and take a nap?
After a 1/2 hour delay getting started due to a miscommunication on my part (another sign, perhaps?) we pressed on, and forty-five minutes later we pulled into the entrance of DuBois Center and saw the sign above welcoming our group. We parked, unloaded our haul and made the short walk to Oak Lodge. Inside the lodge, we parked the wagon full of cleaning supplies, our coolers full of goodies for lunch, and I gave a brief rundown of the plans for the day, still wondering what important items I surely had forgotten. Everyone took a moment to get settled in and visit the facilities before we got ready for lunch and the rest of the day’s activities.
After taking a moment to let out a big sigh of relief, I walked through one of the back doors of the lodge leading out to the huge covered patio. As soon as that screen door “whapped” shut behind me and I had a moment to look out over the lake, it happened. With each step I took, it felt like 50 lb. weights fell off of my shoulders. The anxiety fell away, my aggravation at local weather forecasters fell away, if I forgot something—who cared? That, my friends, is the magic of DuBois Center—in the nutshell. No matter how stressed and anxious I am, no matter how irritating highway drivers were on the trip down, no matter all of the other unpleasant things going on in life, it all just melts away when I step on that back porch!
On Friday, May 20th, a group of amazing Illinois South Conference people answered the call to install new ridge vents on 10 cabins on the rustic side of camp. These roof vents will improve the air circulation and air quality in the cabins for campers coming for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thanks to Roger Harris, Belleville St. Paul UCC; David Shanks, Cahokia Bethel UCC; and Judy Doerr, Marvin Doerr, Cliff Goodfellow, Larry Godare, Rusty Portell, Dupo Christ UCC. DuBois Center appreciates your quick efforts prior to opening the camp to visitors.
Last week while running around DuBois Center making preparations for summer camp, I was stunned to find an eagle sitting above our lake for the third time in about three weeks. Perhaps due to being closed down last summer, our lake seems to have maintained its own healthy ecosystem, which in turn invited this new friend to our property. I am reminded of nature’s resiliency – the beauty of our planet is that it is able to return itself to balance.
These have been times for human resiliency, too. As Illinois announced last week that we are in the “Bridge to Phase 5” – with the promise around the corner of life as we remember it provided COVID-19 numbers continue to decline, I am thankful for all the ways we have persevered as the church through this year.
I am, thankfully, lucky enough to have a sister who lives close to the beach in Florida. This last weekend, after more than a year of not being able to see each other due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, my whole family was able to be together to witness my sister’s graduation, celebrate my dad’s birthday and Mother’s Day, and my and my wife’s anniversary. This was made possible, of course, by all of our measures to slow the spread of COVID-19, vaccines, and commitment to ongoing prevention methods. As my family and I sat on the beach, soaking up the sun and each other’s presence, I no longer had to dwell on the absence we have felt in the last year. It was great to be reconnected in person and be able to enjoy one of God’s most magnificent creations together.
It dawned on me that this summer will be a lot like these precious moments – a time of reconnecting, rebuilding relationships, and centering ourselves in God’s love. I hope you can find a way to be a part of what is cooking up for this summer at DuBois Center! We are still hiring a number of positions, especially counselors/activity coordinators, without whom we cannot provide the programing we desperately want to provide this summer! Please consider if there is a way you can join us, and email the office at dcinfo@duboiscenter.org for more information on volunteering and/or applying!
I hope you and your family experience God’s abundant love this week!
Hayley Elliott, Acting Director of Outdoor Ministry