In case you missed Dakota’s FaceBook announcement yesterday, our Summer Camp registration is now open! Not sure which camp sessions to register for, check out our Summer Camp Schedule.
It was great to be with those who were able to be there at our Open House Sunday, April 25! The energy in the air of having a group back on site was fantastic. We blessed our new bees, said hello to the horses, and modeled what our summer cabins will look like with our COVID-19 precautions. If you missed this Open House, be sure to check out our website and social media pages for some of what you missed!
When it is spring, I feel hopeful: it seems like new life is bursting forth all around us. Grass is getting greener and growing, flowers pop up anew. But what I have realized over the last few weeks is that I tend to think of spring from an annual, not a perennial perspective. When spring arrives, I tend to think that this is all fresh and new and delightful. In reality, very little of how we usually experience spring is new, growing for only one season as annual plants do. Instead, our spring is influenced by a multitude of perennial plants, which have for a time moved underground to protect themselves from the harsher elements of winter. What we see in spring is not necessarily new life, but the perseverance of life through more difficult seasons. In the same way, what we see in the fall is not plants dying, but preparation. We can give thanks to God for the preparation and perseverance of creation!
Since DuBois Center made the decision that summer camps would not happen in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic approximately a year ago, much has been persevering in preparation for the future. At our last Outdoor Ministry Team meeting, Nancy Wagner, chair of OMT, pointed out all of the ways that our camp, DuBois Center, has ministered to its community and extended our care for creation in this more difficult season. From partnering with Hoyleton ministries, to working on the property, to Green DuBois’ bee project and removal of invasive species around our property, to the tireless work of our marketing team, DuBois Center has persevered and served God’s mission well. In addition, it has prepared for the new possibilities that spring has to offer. Thanks be to God!
The new signs are here. The new signs are here! We have had a project to update our signs at Highway 51 and Youth Center Road and where Youth Center Road intersects with Quarry Road in the works for many years. This project was completed recently. Next time you’re driving down highway 51 or taking Quarry Road from DuBois to camp, check out the new signs.
Many thanks to our Marketing Committee for their efforts designing and printing the signs and to DuBois’s Property Committee for mounting the signs. Thanks to the Outdoor Ministries Team and Conference Council for supporting and funding this effort.
Excitement is in the air as DuBois Center is experiencing a re-awakening!
The Outdoor Ministry Team is hosting an OPEN HOUSE on Sunday, April 25th between the hours of 1pm – 6pm. You are cordially invited to come see what’s happening at YOUR camp!
Advanced reservations are required to attend by contacting 618-787-2202 or dcinfo@DuBoisCenter.org.
For your safety, temperatures will be taken upon arrival. Face masks and physical distancing will be required. Hand sanitizing and washing stations will be available.
Enjoy these possibilities:
Click here for a flier to share.
As I spent my first days on site at DuBois Center over the last weekend, I could not help but be reminded of one of my favorite poems by Wendell Berry, “The Peace of Wild Things”, which reads:
When despair grows in meand I wake in the night at the least soundin fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,I go and lie down where the wood drakerests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.I come into the peace of wild thingswho do not tax their lives with forethoughtof grief. I come into the presence of still water.And I feel above me the day-blind starswaiting for their light. For a timeI rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
I remain encouraged that in this time of unrest and uncertainty that DuBois Center offers something to our slice of the world that is always needed: rest, and the peace of wild things.
If you are interested in becoming more involved with the ministry of DuBois Center, now is a great time! We have many ongoing projects as we prepare for a summer quite unlike any other, including ways to be involved as a volunteer, staff member, or as a financial donor. One ongoing project is the office remodel, details of which are located on our website.
Lastly, I hope that many of you will be able to come out for our open house on April 25 so that I can meet you and we can celebrate what God is doing at and through DuBois Center. Details for this event are on the website. Register by emailing DCInfo@duboiscenter.org.
I pray you experience the abundant blessings of creation and Creator in the coming week!
Hayley Elliott, Acting Director of Outdoor Ministry.
The wait is over. Start planning your DuBois summer camp adventures now. Just starting out? An introductory camp like Camp Quest or Discovery Camp is a great first summer camp experience. Ready for a full week of fun? Horsin’ Around or X-Plore might be right up your alley. Want to experience camp along with your kids? Just You and Me or Family Camp might be the perfect get-away this summer. Get all the details on our Summer Camp schedule.
Registration: If you were registered for Summer Camp last year, we will reach out to you by email next week with instructions on how to re-register for camp this year. Online registration will open for everyone on April 26th.
Early-bird Discounts: Register early to Save $30 on full-week sessions and Save $15 on part-week sessions. Registration and deposit must be submitted online by Monday, May 10th.
If you are unable to join us in person this summer, DuBois Delivered! will come to you.
Hayley Elliott has officially begun her two-year contract as Acting Director of Outdoor Ministry. After an extensive search process which included: Zoom interviews; submissions of candidates’ faith journeys and personal theology; a strategic plan of staffing, programming, finances, and partnerships for the coming year at DuBois Center; checking candidates’ professional references; and an onsite tour of DuBois, the Search Committee unanimously recommended Hayley to serve as the Acting Director of Outdoor Ministry.
Hayley Elliott was born and raised in West Virginia, where love of nature and earth were instilled in her from a young age. She spent most of her formative summers at church camp and has fond memories of learning to swim, making friends, playing games, and learning the importance of faith formation in this setting. As she grew up, she began volunteering at camp and eventually became a camp counselor.
Hayley received a B.S. in Business Administration from Mars Hill University. Her undergraduate capstone project was related to the digital and social marketing of camps and how to reach new audiences and form new partnerships. After completing undergraduate studies, Hayley entered Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville, where she completed an MTS (Master of Theological Studies) degree. While in divinity school, Hayley furthered her commitment to youth education by working at a local elementary and middle school as the lead counselor in their afterschool and summer programs.
After graduating from Vanderbilt Divinity School, Hayley and her wife, Rachel, moved to Denver, Colorado so that Rachel could complete a yearlong CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) residency. During this time, Hayley worked full time as an anti-money laundering analyst while maintaining an additional role as a co-director for youth and children at Sixth Avenue UCC and sharing her gifts at LaForet Conference and Retreat Center, the Rocky Mountain Conference’s camp.
Hayley is very passionate about outdoor ministry within the United Church of Christ and excited about the future of caring for God’s creation and extending God’s extravagant welcome at DuBois Center!
And from all of us at Illinois South Conference… Welcome aboard!
The DuBois Center office needs your help to replace the DuBois Center office flooring so that the new Acting Director, Hayley Elliott can “put her best foot forward” in her new position at DuBois Center.
An office update, started in late 2017, needs to be finished. The Conference Property Committee has undertaken the lead on this project and identified these necessary updates:
Currently the office has four types of flooring, of which all are not level from room to room. Some small areas might be old asbestos tiles and some areas are down to the sub-floor, as you can see in these photos.
Volunteers have offered to provide the labor to do everything except lay the new flooring. Dave Hoffmann, Co-Chair of the Property Committee, has secured a price of just under $9,000 for the new flooring materials and installation. The Conference Council Executive Committee has given approval for this work; however, we lack a big portion of the funds to start with the floor replacement. That’s where you come in – your donations, your intent to donate, or your skill in laying flooring is needed soon to “put our best foot forward” in welcoming Haley to the Illinois South Conference and DuBois Center.
Donations are welcomed from individuals, churches and/or their organizations. Checks can be sent to the ISC office at 1312 Broadway, Highland IL 62249 or donate online. Designate your donations to the DuBois Office Flooring Project.
If your group plans to donate or raise money to donate to this, please contact Julie at 618-357-1809 or email jriechmann@iscucc.org.
If you or your group have experience with this type of work and want to volunteer to help, contact one of the ISC Property Co-Chairs: Priscilla Self at 618-318-0083 or pjj48@hotmail.com or Dave Hoffmann at 618-791-7002 or davehoff95@gmail.com.
Thank you very much for your support.
On Saturday, March 27, DuBois Center sponsored their first events since March of last year. The Girls Scouts of Southern Illinois, under the leadership of Anne Townsend, brought small groups out to the camp for their “My Brownie, My Pony and Me” and “Mommy and Me Paint a Pony” day programs. They have had these programs on their calendar for a year, hoping we might be able to accommodate them this spring. Thanks to the amazing work of the Outdoor Ministry Team in creating good safety protocols and procedures, to the Horse Team who generously volunteered their time and leadership, and to amazing DuBois staff members, the day was a big success.
Anne shared some of the comments she heard from the event:
While this past year has been a difficult year for DuBois Center with countless hours the Conference leaders have spent in designing several contingency plans for programming and creating best practices in order that groups might be able to enjoy DuBois Center this spring and summer, it has been completely worth it!!
Please continue to hold your camp, DuBois Center, in your thoughts and prayers. With your support, we know we can bounce back from this past year even stronger and ready to give everyone who experiences DuBois Center a sense of the special, sacred space it is.
