FRIENDS OF MECHUWANA

Together we’ve come a long way in our first half-century.  The next half will be both exciting and challenging. Click here to learn more about the "Friends of Mechuwana" program and how you can help.

What has Mechuwana meant to you? 
This is a question that we asked many Mechuwana alumni and here is what they had to say:

Mechuwana has been sacred space for the Ives family for four generations.  I was a child dragged there by my counseling parents and then went back every year, Jane and I courted at Mechuwana and there I decided to enter ordained ministry. Having heard the call to "remember" I have "come back someday" as waterfront staff, counselor, committee member, director, and also as parent and grandparent of campers.  Mechuwana is my spiritual home.   
– Bishop Cliff Ives

Mechuwana is a sacred place:  sacred because it radiates the beauty of God’s Creation, but sacred especially because for generations, children, teenagers, and young adults have encountered Christ here.  There is a powerful spirit of love and joy at Mechuwana that exists almost nowhere else I’ve been, and it’s that spirit – the Holy Spirit – that has transformed lives for almost 60 years.  I want my children and grandchildren to experience those gifts.     
— Rev. Allen Ewing Merrill

There are few places and people that are able to reach out to today’s youth and actually receive a hand in return.  Mechuwana is that place for so many people including myself.  A place filled with people who understand the magic of reaching out, and saying I care.  My life would be unbelievably different if at age eight Mechuwana hadn't reached its hand out to me.
– Ashley Lacognata

Mechuwana has been my home when I didn't really know what a home was supposed to be. It has been a place that I can escape to when troubles have me down. It is where I have grown to be the person I am today, Camp is my hope and joy.  – Cliff Pettitt

Mechuwana integrates a restless spirit of Christian mission with intentional holy community, and so exemplifies the Church at its best.  It is a place where "grace happens."  My family and many others have experienced this transforming ministry for three generations or more.  It is essential that we pass on this legacy for the good of the Body of Christ, the New England United Methodist movement, and the hurting world of which we are a part.  – The Rev. Dr. Thom Blackstone

Mechuwana has provided me with an experience that has enriched my mind, body and soul. It has allowed me to come into my own as a human being and learn what I truly value. The beauty of nature that the camp presents combined with the community of its members make Mechuwana so incredibly unique.   – Mike Griswold

My dad, as a layman, worked with those who visioned a Methodist camp in Maine.  1948 saw my brother and I among the first campers.  1956 saw my husband and I at a Young Adult Weekend a few days after our wedding; the 60’s saw him as a dean; the 70’s saw our children as campers; the 80’s, 90’s and 00’s saw them as leaders and their children as campers. 2007 will see a daughter and a granddaughter still among the leaders and another granddaughter experiencing her first music camp as well as she, her sister, and their niece (the fifth generation) at day camp.  The vision of our fathers has reached down through the generations.  What then shall we do to honor and keep that “vision” alive? – Beverly Merrill

Eight years ago I became a part of the Mechuwana family. The love and support that I receive from this family has helped shape me into the woman I am today. I know that I am stronger emotionally, intellectually and by all means spiritually because of a dual investment, mine in Mechuwana and Mechuwana's in me. – Cara Anderman