Thank you to all who responded to the Urgent Appeal!

The decision to send an urgent appeal letter to the congregations and friends of Crossways was a difficult, but necessary, one. The response was very heartening and affirming for this ministry and the work that is done through your camps.

Through December 15th, 421 separate gifts have been received totaling $119, 127.56. Gifts from individuals who are members of Thrivent Financial and used their GivingPlus supplemental funds benefit resulted in additional funding from Thrivent in the amount of $12,868, for a total response in the amount of $131,995.56 to date! This response has been crucial in ensuring your camps get through these difficult financial times.

As we move through the end of the fiscal year, it is very important that Crossways receives the regular financial support of congregations, organizations, and individuals who have not yet given their annual support. The support of Crossways’ Annual Fund ensures the ministry of Crossways moves forward and reaches out to serve all God’s children. Because of this support, and the support of groups like Golf For Kids (which gave $8,000 this year to help kids get to camp!) we are able to confidently say that no child is turned away from camp due to the financial inability to cover the fees.

Budget planning for 2009 is currently underway and will be presented at the Annual Meeting on February 21, 2009. The challenges of the economy and its effect on families of campers, congregations, and individuals who personally support this ministry are unknown. But we do know that God is good—all the time! We know His constant presence in all our times of joy, sorrow, and challenges gives us strength.

Crossways Camping Ministries would not be here without you and your support. Without your support we would not be able to share the Hope that God’s presence in the world brings.

Thank you for your prayers, your support, your gifts of your time and talents which ensures Crossways continues bringing people together in Christ so lives are changed.

In Christ,
Pastor Wayne Harrison, Executive Director

Dollar-for-Dollar matching funds for donations to Crossways

A wonderful opportunity that has arisen for matching funds, dollar for dollar, for gifts to Crossways that are given through the Community Foundation of the Fox Valley. Donors can live any where in the U.S., but donations need to be given ON DECEMBER 18TH, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. They can be given in person at five different locations in Appleton, Chilton, Shawano, Clintonville, or Waupaca or on line. Gifts given on that date will be transferred to Crossways before December 31st. This is a great way to DOUBLE gifts, especially for those who don’t have or haven’t fully used their Thrivent GivingPlus benefit. Visit the Community Foundation website for full details.

There are some limitations:

1. Maximum match per household is $1,000.
2. Each non-profit is limited to $10,000 through this special 1 day effort.
3. A total of $100,000 is available for matching money from the Community Foundation for this program. Matches will be made on a first received basis, so going on line at 7 a.m. on December 18th gives the best chance to ensure a match.
   

We would be happy to discuss with anyone how to maximize matching fund opportunities with those who haven’t used all of their Thrivent Giving Plus benefit, but are intending to give more than the maximum of either program. Donations to be matched by the Community Foundation must be made directly to the Community Foundation. Donations to be matched by Thrivent must be made directly to Crossways. The same gift cannot be matched through both programs.

All donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law. The donation to the Community Foundation will be reportable to the IRS as a donation to them, but the same donation will show up on your gift statement to Crossways with a note that it was received through the Community Foundation. You cannot claim it twice, however.

This is a wonderful opportunity and we hope we will be able to maximize it. We already have at least $1,700 pledged to our potential of $10,000 (possibly more).

Thanks for your help!
Pastor Wayne Harrison, Executive Director
Barb Wolf, Development Director

We did it! Tents of Hope splashes color and compassion in Washington DC!

Below are excerpts from an email sent from the National Coordinator of the Tents of Hope campaign recapping the event and updating us the efforts and things needed to move forward even further on the project.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Friends,

In June 2007, I began a 40-day train trip around the country to speak about Darfur and ask activists, students and people of faith about an idea for a new one-year campaign called Tents of Hope. We launched the campaign in September 2007.

Would the campaign take off? I wasn’t sure. I had many discussions with Darfur activists about low morale in the Darfur movement and I spoke about my concerns with Elly Simmons, a brilliant Marin artist with a long history of social activism. We thought the idea of painting tents would work because it could bring communities together in a creative and fun way. But the task of organizing Tents of Hope was daunting. We had no office, no staff and no money. We only had an idea. I was very discouraged and wondered if we should give up.

Then something remarkable happened. In January 2008, we began to receive calls from dozens of small towns across the country. Youth directors at churches and synagogues and teachers at K-12 schools wanted to use the tents as a way to teach young people about the world and social responsibility. In the end, over 400 cities in 48 states and 8 countries had joined the campaign.

The “Gathering of the Tents” at the National Mall in Washington DC on November 7-9 was incredibly successful. Almost 400 tents were on the National Mall! The tents are beautiful works of art and a powerful message of our solidarity with the people of Darfur.

We did it! In the coming weeks, we will post your stories, photos and media coverage on the website. (www.tentsofhope.org) I encourage everyone to continue this creative dialogue of hope and compassion as we work together for an end to the genocide in Darfur.

The campaign still faces some challenging financial hurdles. We will be sending hundreds of tents to Darfur through the Darfur Peace and Development Organization. We need your financial help to ship the tents to Darfur. Please consider making a donation online at www.tentsofhope.org. Small donations are welcomed just as much as large ones because Tents of Hope has always been about people everywhere pitching in to help.

My understanding of the Darfur Movement has been radically transformed. I used to think that hope would arise from a change of policy toward Sudan by the international community. In other words, I thought that hope for ending the genocide in Darfur rested in the hands of governments. It doesn’t. You are the hope. It may take many years for peace and justice to come to Sudan. At times, we may get discouraged and want to give up. The only thing that will keep us going in this movement to end genocide in Darfur is the strength that we get from one another. We are a community of compassion. Compassion is a powerful force for change. It allows us to see that we all belong to one human family and that we have a responsibility to one another. When you look at the images and messages on the tents, you will see this consciousness of global solidarity in every color and every language.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your decision to act on your compassion and desire for peace and justice in Sudan by participating in the Tents of Hope campaign. Remember, you are the hope.

With gratitude and joy,
Tim Nonn
National Coordinator
Tents of Hope

The Patchwork Tent

One tent that had an exceptional story was a patchwork tent. Half of the squares were painted by elementary school children in California, and the rest of the squares were done by children in Darfur. The differences in the images painted on the squares were shocking. The squares done by American children were pretty typical, spread with images of flowers and butterflies, however the images on the squares by Darfuri children carried some images that were difficult to absorb. Rather than showing images of butterflies and rainbows, the squares depicted pictures of men with guns, and houses being burned....everyday images in their lives.

Here are some of their pictures...

The way the tent was constructed was quite interesting as well. There were more squares from American children than were Darfuri children. With that unbalance, the Darfuri squares were all in a strip in the middle of the tent, with the American squares surrounding them. Those who put the tent together did that to symbolize how those in Darfur are constantly being thought of and prayed for by people in America.

Tune in later to see the full story of this tent through video!

What a huge day today!

We arrived on the National Mall shortly after 9:00 this morning. By that time, the hustle and bustle of the day started to pick up and both tourists and locals were out in full force. Since we had thirteen tents all packed into a fifteen passenger van, we were given a super cool permit thingy to put in our front window that allowed us to drive on the National Mall. Not many people can say they've done that before!

Once we checked in and were given our assignments on where we were supposed to set up, we began the long process of unloading the van, and getting the tents where we wanted them. It was quite the site to see what our space (which was very large) looked like before and after setting up the tents! Naturally, after setting up thirteen tents, we had things down to a science. We also had a lot of extra people come help us out, since we had so many tents. They were AMAZED at how many tents came from one area, and enjoyed walking around and looking at them all.

After getting all the tents up and situated, we then took some time to walk around and see what other tents looked like. Yeah...they were pretty amazing. It was fascinating to see the tents done by professional artists, and also tents that were done by children. They all carried the same message, but all had a different way of depicting it.

Arrival!

Well, the tents have made it to Washington D.C.! After battling traffic for quite a bit, the tents arrived in D.C. at about 5:00 last night. Throughout the day we passed through Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and finally D.C...lots of time in the car, but well worth it.

Because of the traffic we missed registration and set-up time, so we will be wandering over to the National Mall first thing this morning to get the set-up process under way.

Late last night we went over to look at the tents that are already set up, and about the only word to use to describe it is: WOW. The amount of tents that were up, along with the tents still sitting waiting to be set up was amazing! It was evident (even without people around) that this project was a HUGE stand against the genocide in Darfur. It was very cool to see all the different designs on the tents, and to see the tents done by artists. Since it was dark out, we did not get many good pictures....so check back in later today to see just how many tents are up!

13 tents & 6 states!

Hello Everyone!

We're writing you from the great state of Pennsylvania. Yesterday morning we packed up the tents, and left Appleton with Ohio as the destination. After a nine-hour drive, we made it to Camp Mowana--an ELCA camp in central Ohio. The weather so far has been fantastic, and traffic has had its slow moments, but for the most part has been GREAT! We're hoping to make it to Washington D.C. later this afternoon, to register and set up the tents.

Stay tuned for pictures of your tent set up on the National Mall!
Dara

Journey of the Tents!

A number of ECSW congregations and campers at Crossways
have been working on painting tents for Tents of Hope,
a project designed to raise awareness of the genocide happening
in Darfur.

The time has come for the final culmination of this nationwide
project with the Gathering Of Tents event on the National Mall in
Washington D.C in November. This weekend of prayer and education
will be the sending event for the tents before they travel
across the world to Darfur, Sudan to be put to use in providing
shelter for refugees in the region.



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Welcome back to Crossways, Mike!

After spending nine years in the gorgeous state of North Carolina with Agape + Kure Beach Ministries, Mike Henning returns home. Mike grew up in WI, living most of his life in Merrill where his father served Our Saviour's Lutheran Church. He spent many summers at Waypost and Village as a camper, then began as a counselor in the summer of 1991. Mike was known to have said, upon receiving his first summer paycheck, "Oh, yeah, we get paid to do this." Two summers later, he met his wife-to-be, Betsy (they married in June of 1996). In 1994 both Mike and Betsy transferred to Village for their summer service. Mike joined the full-time staff in August of 1995 as the Program Specialist. In November of 1999, Mike and Betsy moved to NC, where Mike became Program Director at Camp Agape and Betsy continued in her teaching career. Five years and one son later, Mike's job shifted, handing off most program duties to a new program director, taking on marketing tasks and also functioning as the site director. Four years and one daughter later, the Hennings return home where Mike will apply all he has learned, as Director of Imago Dei Village, Grace Place, and Adventure Programs. Mike also serves the greater camp community as a member of the Professional Standards Committee for LOM, Inc., the national organization of outdoor ministries professionals.

Betsy is an accomplished 1st grade teacher, being named in 2006 as "Teacher of the Year" at her school and advancing to the top 10 in her district, one of the best school districts in the nation. CJ, their almost 7 year old son, enjoys school as a 1st grader and loves his LEGOs. Their daughter Ellie is just over a year old and has started walking, making chasing her down more difficult.

Summer Staff Commissioned

Bishop Jim Justman and Rev Joy Mortensen-Wiebe commissioned the summer staff at the East Central Synod Assembly in Appleton and sent them out to serve God as they play and pray this summer at camp.

Crossways Welcomes Summer Staff

Our Summer Staff have arrived! Over 90 college-aged young adults have arrived at camp and are in training for the next two weeks! They're learning all the things they'll need to know to counsel to over thousands of campers this summer. They'll spend these two weeks learning games, singing songs, preparing skits, planning worship, learning Bible Studies, and much much more! They're also learning the very important policies, procedures, basic first aid and so much more information on how to keep their campers safe this summer!



Please pray for our staff during this time as they learn about themselves, each other, how to care for their campers and wait excitedly for their first campers on June 8th!