It is hard to explain what the last five months have been like at Mechuwana.

Sometime in the first two weeks of March we got a call from two of our sons that their college, like thousands of others, was closing for rest of the semester. At the same time K-12 schools began to close all over the state of Maine. School systems tried their best to figure out how to get food to their students.

Because Mechuwana had been already set up as a summer feeding site where children who qualified were provided with meals, we were in a special position to jump into action. I quickly called my friends at the state school lunch program. Within 48 hours, we were set up as Pandemic Emergency Food Site where food could be prepared and then handed out at certain locations. We were given two sites at first; with the help of volunteers and school food workers from Monmouth, we were able to put together the first week of meals.

Dear Friends and Families of Camp Mechuwana:

Above everything else, we hope and pray you are all safe. We think about our camp family every day, and that has never been truer than during these last few months.

After much thoughtful consideration and prayer, the Mechuwana Site Board has voted to suspend all summer camping programs at Mechuwana for 2020.(Decisions about fall and winter plans will happen in the coming months, and we will be sure to keep you updated.) Over the last two months, we have wrestled with this decision daily. We've consulted with experts in the medical and camping fields, as well as state health officials, to try to make the best decision possible.

In more than 70 years of continued operations, this is the first time anything like this has ever happened. We considered multiple ways of running our program, but like most camps, we could not come up with a model that was safe for campers, our staff, or our home communities. It was a gut-wrenching decision that we continue to struggle with. We hope you understand how difficult this decision is and how it weighs heavily on all of us.

Acknowledging that this is a time of great financial difficulty for many families, we want to be as flexible as possible with all who have registered for summer camp this year. We are offering these options to choose from:

• Transfer money to next summer's camp experience in 2021
• Receive a refund
• Offer your payment as a gift to the camp

Please let us know no later than June 1, 2020, which of these options you choose by calling or emailing the camp office.

While we know that the decision of safety is the correct choice, we also know that suspending camp will have serious financial consequences for Mechuwana. We are so grateful for those who have already made financial contributions; these gifts will ensure the long legacy of camp impacting lives for the generations to come.

It does not matter if you are a camper, volunteer staff, or permanent staff, there is and will be a feeling of loss for all of us. Mechuwana is a vital part of all our lives. We will continue to reach out through social media and stay in touch as much as we can. We love you all and cannot wait until we can gather at Grove Chapel, around a campfire, in Asbury Theater, the Lodge, in our cabins, on the fields and courts, in the boats, at meals, and along the paths we all have walked. God bless you and keep you safe until we meet again.

The decision to suspend summer camping and retreat programs was made in collaboration with our partners in ministry across the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church and with the support of the Bishop and Conference leadership. Together, with our Camping and Retreat Ministry Board, we have worked hard and collaboratively to resource and supported each other's ministries. While our sites are located in different states with different guidelines, we support this very difficult decision that each site made as they put the best interest of their guests, staff, volunteers, and our communities across the Conference first and foremost.
 
Grace and peace,

Norman Thombs, Executive Director, on behalf of Mechuwana's staff and board

It impossible to overstate the impact of Paul Marshall on Camp Mechuwana. His time as director of Mechuwana began with a tremendous act of faith by the Maine Annual Conference. After David Broadbent left his position as half-time youth director and half-time camp director, the Conference leadership asked Jeff Toothaker to be the interim director for a year. During that year a proposal was made that Mechuwana have its own full-time camp director and that the Conference would also hire another individual to be the youth director. Reverend Gary Akeley was hired as the youth director and Paul was hired as the Director of Outdoor Ministries for the Maine Annual Conference. This incredible investment in our youth would prove to impact thousands of people for years to come.

Paul Marshall was given the task of moving Mechuwana into a year-round ministry and to go through the process of the American Camping Association (ACA) accreditation. Paul hit the ground running, with tremendous leadership from the Mechuwana Board of Directors under chairperson Ruth Ayers. 

The first steps were taken to winterize the camp. The Dining Commons was winterized, a year-round retreat/health center and a winterized maintenance building were built. Tent-based cabins were replaced by cabins, with electricity. New showers and bathrooms were built. The upgrade in such a short period of time was truly inspiring. But if you knew Paul like I did, you were not surprised. The man worked hours and hours with energy that was contagious. He also refused to take “no” as an answer to anything. It took this type of energy and attitude to bring Mechuwana to this new level of excellence. 

For three years I worked with Paul to attempt to get us ready to be accredited by the ACA. We started with nothing but a bunch of unorganized policies and practices. I remember taking all our policies and spreading them out on three tables in the Commons. Then Paul started making a list of all the missing pieces. It was overwhelming. “How are we going to do this?” I asked. 

“One policy at a time,” he said.    

Since I was also working with Ray Bailey to help get the camp ready, much to Ray’s disapproval Paul made my schedule. I was with Ray Monday, Tuesday, Thursday afternoons and Friday mornings. I was with Paul all day Wednesday until Thursday at noon, and Friday afternoons, too. I had this schedule for Paul’s first two years of preseason. With help from a very dedicated board we put all the policies and procedures of the camp into the order the ACA wanted them in. We were scheduled for inspection that second summer. As the summer approached, I knew we were nowhere close to being ready. Paul knew it, too. In those days you could simply call ACA and tell them you were not ready and they would put it off another year. But Paul was not going to do that. I remember the conversation I had with him regarding the upcoming inspection. “We can’t be afraid to fail,” he said to me.

“Well at least we will know where we’re falling short,” I said.

“Yes,” he said, “but what we really need to hear is how much we are doing right. We need to hear that right now.” 
Paul was right. Camp was in the middle of the biggest transformation since it has been purchased in 1948. For many people, understanding that we were moving in a right direction was very important. Paul’s ability to understand this showed the insight needed at this time in our history. So the inspection happened, and we did not meet the 80 percent needed. But Paul was right: we now had a road map; we now knew exactly what we needed to do. And as importantly, we got so much right that everyone had a great since of accomplishment, which motivated everyone to do the final work needed. The next summer we passed and became an accredited camp, at that time, something less than 25 percent of all camps in the United States had achieved. It was Paul’s incredible work ethic and vision that made this happen.
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I was Paul’s assistant director for three summers. Paul worked out the areas of the camp program he wanted me to be in charge of, and then he let me do my job. We met every day to “check in” as he called it. He gave me incredible freedom to make mistakes and learn from them. He trusted me not to be perfect but to do the best I could. I trusted him to teach me and guide me. In many ways, we learned the profession of camping together.

His vast experiences throughout his amazing life gave him insights that were so unique. I could not have designed a better apprentice program if I had tried, even though at that time I had no thought of being the camp director.

One day when I was 22-years-old, I got a glimpse into part of Paul’s life that left such an impression on me that the words and images come to me almost every day in one way or another. We were outside the Commons on the Tuesday after Memorial Day, walking down the road to the lower part of camp. Paul, who had been, among so many things, a forester knew everything about trees. He pointed out the transition of the forest from hardwood to the giant softwood white pine trees. “On the right side, the new young hardwood, on the left the ancient towering pines,” he said as we walked down the road. Near the bottom of the road, a large opening appeared where Hurricane Gloria had taken down hundreds of trees, including ancient pines. In this opening where now the sun could hit, blackberry bushes shot up. “Look under the blackberry bushes,” he told me. I bent over and could see small hardwood trees that I knew were white birches, just beginning to grow. “The forest is regenerating itself. It’s going through a rebirth,” he explained.  

Then for the next period of time—I am not sure how long—Paul spoke, his eyes looking into the forest. I listened as he told me about walking into a place of unspeakable horror, of unspeakable cruelty. He spoke of the unspeakable fear he felt as he looked into the eyes of victims of Nazi Germany in a faraway land, in what would be known as Buchenwald Concentration Camp. I remember being scared myself, hearing him speak in detail of what he witnessed. I remember those young birch trees protected by the blackberry bushes. I remember the sun hitting the ground where it had not for maybe 80 years or more, I remember Paul’s words: “Look, the forest is regenerating itself. It is a rebirth.”

Later, I remembered thinking I was older then at 22 than Paul was when he landed on Utah Beach on D-Day.

Paul and I never spoke again about his experiences until many years later when he was finishing up his book. But, I can tell you I have never walked down the camp road without remembering.

A couple years later I got a call from Paul, who said, “I am retiring, Norm. I think you should apply for the job.” 

“I am not sure I am ready…”

Paul stopped me mid-sentence (remember how I said he didn’t take “no” for an answer). “Yes you are,” he said. “You were trained by the best,” he laughed. 

He was certainly right about that.  

Thank you, Paul.
 

As many of you know Ray Bailey, was Mechuwana’s first full-time Maintenance Director. He came aboard within months of Paul Marshall who was Mechuwana’s first full-time Camp Director. Together they brought Mechuwana into a new era.

Ray’s impact on camp was immediate, he organized the maintenance program and set the foundation of expansion at Mechuwana. Under his and Paul’s direction, The Gus Building (year-round health center), a year-round maintenance building, the Village cabins, the Commons was winterized, KK cabins, and a new cabin in the staff area were all built. On top of those things Ray did too many upgrades to mention here.

Ray’s impact was not just as a master carpenter; he and his wife Anita were a vital part of the staff, becoming friends and mentors to hundreds of volunteers and staff people. We all loved it when he would come to the campfires and lead us in songs like German Music, or take us on a Lion Hunt. One great tradition that many staff members will remember is the entire staff sneaking up to where Anita and Ray put their tent camper and singing happy birthday to Ray at one minute past midnight.

I met Ray when I was in college. I would come to camp three or four weeks before staff week and help get the camp ready for the summer. It was during these weeks of working alone for hours and hours with Ray that I came to know and form an incredible bond with him. The very first thing that Ray asked me was if I had my college degree yet. “ No, I am only a sophomore,” I said.  

“That’s good, because the minute you get that degree your IQ will drop 25 points," he said as he shook my hand without a smile.

First, let me tell you right now that Ray was above all else an artist. His carpentry skills were amazing. Many of his creations can still be seen at camp. We did not have the money to purchase kitchen cabinets for the new health care center, so Ray built them from scratch. His perfect dove-tail joints and handmade door handles and doors, all cut by hand, have stood the test of time and look as good as the day I helped hang them.

At one point he remade every screen door at camp because, as he said, "the ones you buy are crap," and Ray's doors are still being used 35 years later. He made bookcases for the Conference office that were just beautiful, everything he made was done with perfection in mind.

Like other hard-working, talented people I have worked with, Ray was not talkative when he worked. So for a lot of our time working together we did not talk a lot. And also like a lot of people with this uncanny knowledge, Ray thought I could read his mind and know what he needed without telling me. This fact left Ray staring at me as I tried to guess what he needed me to do. Eventually I learned all I needed to do was ask, and so I asked and asked and asked, and he taught and taught and taught. 

I was not always the best student. He would show me how to do something once and I would more than likely not get it right. Ray had the knack of showing up just as I would screw up the worst. I quickly learned that he did not care if I screwed up as long as I was willing to do it over the “right way.” I felt I had earned Ray's respect the minute he felt I wanted to learn from him. 

I knew I would never have the talent Ray had as carpenter/woodworker but I learned so much just watching him. I also learned that you did not do a job hoping to get a compliment, the compliment was doing the job right. Later in life after he retired, Ray and I would joke that we both probably failed at letting people know they had done a good job. “I think some people must just need that feedback,” he told me once while golfing when he was almost 80. I laughed when he said this, but then he turned to me and said, “Norm, that’s probably not a good thing I taught you. We should do better at that,” he said. Ray was still teaching me many years later. I swear I tried do better after that.

This drive for perfection and doing a job the right way was never more apparent than as my first year as director. The American Camping Association had made a new mandatory rule that all bunk beds had to have a top rail so kids would not fall out of bed. All Mechuwana beds were old US Army surplus bunk beds with no top rail. We did not have enough money to buy all new beds so Ray put together a detailed plan for the beds. We began making bunk beds for eight hours a day as we had to make more than 70 sets of beds. At last we were down to one last cabin on the lake side, Cabin Two. Ray left me to do this cabin as he worked on something else. I was totally exhausted at this point. Each cabin had five sets of beds, and I was putting together the fifth set, making mistake after mistake, but I put it together anyway, I tried to hide a few of the mistakes by turning the bed so the boards that were not quite cut square were facing the wall. Ray came in just as I was securing the last bed into the wall of the cabin. He stood and looked at the five sets.  “Norm, we really should do the cuts over on that bunk set,” he said, pointing to the bunk bed I had just screwed to the wall.

“Ray, don’t you think it's ok? I mean, no one is going to see those gaps,” I said. Ray walked around the room  slowly looking at each of the other bunks, not saying a word. He knew I was exhausted.

“If we fix that bunk,” he said, pointing to the one in question. “If we fix that one then we will have five perfect sets of bunks in here.“

I took my drill and undid the bed from the wall and together we fixed the bed, making all the cuts square and long enough so there were no gaps. How could I not? Ray Bailey had just told me in his own way that I had made four perfect sets of bunks all by myself; I was finally a good student of this amazing artist.

During those days when I came to camp early, I ate many meals with Ray and Anita in the maintenance building, which doubled as their dining room and kitchen. Anita always made me feel so welcome, she always wanted to know everything that was going on in my life. She was just a joy to be around.

I think Ray loved to be grumpy, especially around young maintenance guys. But as soon as they got to know him, they loved him. When I became the director, he would come to me and say, "Norm, where did you get these guys? They have no talent and no imagination." But when I would tell him I could reassign them if he really wanted me to, he would always say, “No, they are good kids and you will probably just give me someone with a college education.”

When I became the director, Ray, who had been a professional camping person for more than 30 years, including a camp director himself, helped me in so many ways. The relationship we already had made it possible for me to go to him for advice about how to run a camp. He always had time for me. He was always willing to talk or play a game of cribbage or sneak away and play golf.

When Ray told me he was retiring, I remember being really upset and somewhat scared, I had come to rely on his wisdom and friendship. For many years after he retired, I would travel to Rockland and play golf with Ray a few times in the fall and spring and he would travel a few times to Winthrop where we played at Cobbossee Golf Course. During that time, I had to fill him in on the staff members that he had known from Mechuwana. He wanted to know everything I had heard about everyone of them. 

Since Ray's death, most of my memories have gone back to the times before camp started when this 19-year-old kid who still had not lost 25 IQ points tried his best to learn from this master carpenter – this incredible artist. 

​—Norm

Mechuwana celebrated 70 years of our ministry last summer, and we are still talking about what a great time we had on July 14th when so many people came to mark the occasion with us. We had former staff, campers, current volunteers, a message from the Bishop delivered by Mid-Maine District Superintendent Rev. Karen Munson, words from Bishop Ives, Rev. Laura Church, and so many others. There were many highlights throughout the day, including hearing remarks by my oldest son, Dylan, who spoke of his experiences at Mechuwana and his hopes for the future. There was beautiful music, lots of prayers of Thanksgiving for this place we call Mechuwana, and many opportunities to reconnect with old friends.

We hope that all of you who have spent time at camp will make time in 2019 to come visit us on Lower Narrows Pond. If you haven't been to camp in the past year, we definitely encourage you to stop by to visit our new Alumni Building, full of old camp photos, interesting historical documents, and so much more. We could not have finished this building in time for last summer's celebration without the help of so many people who worked on construction of the building, combing through the archives selecting photos, hanging pictures on the walls, and adding the finishing touches to make this building such a special place.

I hope that if you haven't visited Mechuwana in recent years that you will find time to come to Winthrop to see the changes and visit your favorite spots at camp when the weather gets better and mud season is over! Remember..."you belong to Mechuwana, and Mechuwana belongs to God!" 

Hope 2019 is off to a great start for you, your family, your church, and your community.

​- Norm

Greetings from Camp Mechuwana. As you may already know, Mechuwana will achieve a real milestone in 2018 as we celebrate 70 years of ministry. Imagine how many lives have been transformed by the Holy Spirit in those 70 years—the numbers are truly staggering. 

Although many things have changed in those 70 years, with our expanding programs and facilities, it is still a place grounded in volunteerism and sense of community.  A place where all people, young and old can worship God and be themselves, a place where lifelong friendships are formed. For 70 years we have survived and thrived because individuals have returned to give back, ensuring that a new generations is able to experience Mechuwana as they did.

Through all these years it has been the local Maine United Methodist churches who have stood by us, sent us campers and volunteers, and supported us financially to complete hundreds of projects.

As we celebrate our 70th anniversary, we are once again turning to our churches. One of the traditions that we have maintained for all these years is that we will turn no child away for financial reasons. This is a promise that we have kept to those who established this ministry and one we shall never break.

Over the past decade the amount of financial assistance we have given out has continued to increase as families, churches, schools, state agencies, and other organizations who support youth and camping have struggled with their own budget problems. At the same time, the funding for Mechuwana from Missions Shares from the Annual Conference has decreased, for Mechuwana it close to $40,000. We understand that this is a financial reality and a result in so many local churches struggling financially. In response to this, Mechuwana has cut staff positions, increased our year-round program, and modestly increased prices. We feel we are at a point where we must try a new approach to help with the scholarships we continue to give out.

With this in mind we are asking all the United Methodist churches in Maine to prayerfully consider becoming a “Sustaining Congregation for Mechuwana.”  We are asking churches to consider two levels of giving depending on their financial ability: $150 or $300 a year. This money will go directly toward scholarships for campers. Each “Sustaining Congregation” will be listed on our website on a page describing the Sustaining Congregations program, and will be mentioned in at least one email to our entire list per year. You will also receive updates on the number of campers that were able to come to camp thanks to your church’s gift.

Please feel free to contact me if you have questions about this new program. We hope your church will join us in the first year of this program so that you can continue to assist youth attend camp, for a chance to be a part of our life-changing ministry.

Thank you for prayerfully considering this request. If you would like to participate, download the form and return to Mechuwana.

God bless,
Norman Thombs, Director

On Saturday, July 29, Mechuwana welcomed back more than 75 permanent staff members (from the 1950s to current staff) and their families for a great reunion. The reunion was for "anyone who ever earned a paycheck for cleaning bathrooms, cooking meals, teaching campers how to swim, working at the registration desk on Sundays in the summer, teaching kids about nature, making art out of donated embroidery floss, or taking care of homesick campres or anyone in need of a Bandaid."

Next summer, on July 14, 2018, Mechuwana will celebrate 70 years of our ministry - including all of our campers, staff, deans, volunteers, and supporters. We hope you can join us!

We heard from hundreds more that sent their best wishes. We had staff members from every decade starting in 1950s. It was such a great testimony to the importance of this ministry in their lives. The bonds that are formed by staff members who work so hard providing hospitality to the children and volunteers last a lifetime. It was an amazing fun and at times emotional day for all of us.

After 37 years, our walk-in refrigerator and freezer need to be replaced, and we have been overwhelmed by the support of churches and individuals who have donated to this project. We are now within $10,000 of our goal. 

To raise some of that $10,000 we have decided to host our 1st Harvest Supper, on Sunday, November 6, in the Mechuwana Dining Commons. Come any time between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. for dinner - but come early if you want guided tours of our brand new winterized buildings. There is a LOT going on at camp, and want you to be a part of it!

Dinner is just $7 for adults, $4 for children ages 5-11, and free for children ages 4 and under. All funds raised will help us raise the last money needed to complete our fridge/freezer project in time for our summer 2017 season. The new system will be more energy efficient, which means it will also help us keep our expenses down by saving us on our electricity costs.

If you have a place in your church or community to put up a poster about this event, we would appreciate it. You can download the poster here (it is a regular 8 1/2 x 11 size).

We hope to see you on November 6th at Mechuwana! Thank you for your continued and strong support of this important ministry. We couldn't do it without you!

We are busy at camp getting ready for our 2016 summer season - our 68th in Mechuwana's history here on Lower Narrows Pond. The camp brochures have been mailed, and registrations are coming in - is yours on its way? If not, what are you waiting for? View our summer camp schedule here, and then send in your form to hold your spot in one of more than 40 camps available this summer.

Earlier this spring, we worked with youth in grades 8 through 12 to get them ready for a week or more of being youth leaders at elementary and other camps this summer. We are happy that more than 80 youth have decided to participate at camp in this way this summer.

We are excited to have a few new camps this summer, including Uniquely Us family camp as well as an Adult Special Needs day camp. 

Summer will be here before we know it - and we couldn't be more excited to welcome new and returning campers and adult volunteers, but we always have room for one more - will THIS be the year that we see YOU at camp? We hope so!

Please let us know if you would like someone to come talk to your church congregation about Mechuwana. You can reach us at mechuwana@fairpoint.net or (207) 377-2924. 

Thank you for all you do for Mechuwana - your prayers, your presence, your support, and your enthusiasm are the reason Camp Mechuwana's ministry continues to reach so many youth and adults. We are thankful for you!

​-Norm