Update from John Koch, Executive Director | |
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Dear Friends,
The central theme of Trinity Center’s 2023 Annual Appeal revolves around the concept of "Holding Space." Simply put, to hold space means to provide unwavering support for someone’s needs. Picture a friend or a loved one with open hands, ready to be present in times of need.
At Trinity Center, we hold space for all who seek growth, transformation, or healing. We provide a safe, nurturing, and welcoming environment where people can follow the path that God has set before them. We don't require intricate details of a person's life to extend our assistance. Instead, we offer support by creating an oasis in the maritime forest – offering good food, breathtaking scenery, and a caring staff. The real transformative work is left to God.
As we engage in the meaningful task of holding space for others, we turn to our supporters to hold space for us. By contributing to the Trinity Center Annual Appeal, you become partners in this essential ministry. Your financial support will be utilized to maintain our infrastructure, sustain our programs, and, most importantly, to continue holding space for those we serve. We humbly request you to consider making a donation and, if possible, plan a visit with us. We eagerly anticipate the opportunity to hold space for you in return.
Sincerely,
John Koch, Executive Director
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Providing a place where we can hold space for living as Jesus’ people in this world is what Trinity Center does best.
We intentionally keep fees low to allow for widespread use of our facilities by all manner of individuals and ministries. The fees that we charge do not cover all our expenses. Our Annual Appeal Fund assists in closing the gap.
We request your partnership so that Trinity Center may continue its mission and ministry. Please consider a gift to the 2023 Annual Appeal Fund.
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Holding Space in the Julian Chapel: The Story of the Cross | |
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If you have not been in the Julian Chapel at Trinity Center recently, there is a new cross over the altar. Actually, this is not a new cross, it is an old cross with a new home. The theme of this year’s fund drive for Trinity Center is “Holding Space.” I am going to give a slightly different twist to that theme. This cross has quite a history of “holding space.”
This cross was over the entrance to the Outdoor Chapel at Camp Leach. In 1984 Camp Leach was sold to developers and its proceeds used in the funding of Trinity Center. Many in the diocese with strong ties to Camp Leach wanted the altar to the Outdoor Chapel moved to Trinity Center. There was a serious effort to do that. The stones used in that altar came from Bath Creek and were dropped in the creek by English ships as they loaded cargo from the Carolina colony and no longer needed the stones for ballast. It was determined that the altar was just too heavy and it was too expensive to move it to Trinity Center. The beautiful stone altar was dismantled and some of the stones taken to Trinity Center. These stones form the altar table at the chapel at Sanders Point.
As Camp Leach was being turned into a housing development a friend of mine drove down to the camp to see what was happening there. He walked to the site of the former Outdoor Chapel which had been knocked down and found the cross on the edge of the water. He picked it up and brought it home. In thinking about it, he decided that I should have the cross. I was the Director of Camp Leach in its final years and the first Camp Director of Camp Trinity. He came by my house and gifted me with the cross. I was very touched and thrilled to have something so tangible from the place I loved so much. I attached the cross to a metal stake and placed it under an arbor of Carolina jasmine in a garden area of my back yard. When the first group of us at St. Peter’s, Washington, completed Education for Ministry, we held a Eucharist in my backyard before that cross. For about 35 years that cross “held space” for me in a quiet area of my backyard.
Several years ago before Penn Perry retired from Trinity Center, I decided that cross belonged there instead of with me. I brought it to Trinity Center and it was placed in the hallway outside the administrative offices. It “held space” in that spot for a few years.
I recently retired from the Trinity Center Board of Managers. I served 6 years on the board, the last 5 being the Chairman. After holding my last meeting in January, we went to the Julian Chapel and held a service dedicated to the departing board members. When I walked into the chapel, I immediately noticed that the cross was veiled. I am used to seeing the cross veiled during Holy Week, but why January? When the service concluded, John Koch, now Trinity Center’s Executive Director, unveiled the cross and to use John’s words, “to acknowledge Ed’s years of service and to continue the thread of memories and history, we would now like for this cross to hang here in the Julian Chapel. It belongs here.”
So, now this cross will “hold space” for generations to come in our beloved Trinity Center. It is truly fitting that it should.
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Feeding Your Soul: Trinity's Food Service Department
Trinity Center's Food Service Department takes pride in holding space for guests by serving a delicious meal that feeds your soul. Check out our recipe below for Overnight French Toast Casserole: it's a Trinity Center favorite!
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Update from Camp Trinity Director, Mary Beth Bradberry | |
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Camp Trinity has had another wonderful and fun-filled summer serving over 550 campers! Why is overnight camp so great? Campers get a chance to set aside their everyday schedules, comforts, and pressures to enter a community that allows them to develop spiritual practices and friendships that can last a lifetime.
Children are given time and space to recognize and celebrate the simple and often ordinary joys of Christian Community. From kitchen patrol to campfire circle campers are asked to embrace community while finding themselves. Camp allows children to “unplug” from the outside world. Connections are formed through talking with one another, sharing meals with new-found friends, participating in fun games, and laughing with each other, all while building lasting relationships with God, self, and others.
Join us this summer! Summer 2024 registration is now open. All applications, forms, and brochure are available for download on our website. We are also happy to mail forms to anyone who requests them. Campers from last summer will automatically receive them in the mail.
More than ever, I continue to be overwhelmed by the blessings of Camp Trinity, and I am thankful for the opportunity to serve the diocese by being a part of this wonderful place. To all who helped camp along its way this past summer, you have my deepest gratitude. To the summer staff of 2023 goes a special thank you; I will never forget your dedication, love, and hard work.
Register for Camp Trinity's 2024 Season
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Camp Trinity Winter Retreat 2024 | |
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We are thrilled to have the Camp Trinity Winter Retreat back again this year! The Camp T Winter Retreat 2024 is a collaboration between Camp Trinity and the Diocese of East Carolina Youth Ministries.
Join 8th through 12th graders who are past Camp Trinity Campers and or, young people from around the Diocese of East Carolina for a weekend of Camp T fun.
You do not have to have been a Camp Trinity Camper, nor do you have to have ever attended a Diocese of East Carolina Youth Event.
The dates this year are January 12-14, 2024 and it is staffed by past or present Camp Trinity staff members. It is a weekend filled with laughter, community, faith, and fun. Registration will begin on November 15, 2023.
Click here to learn more.
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For those who aren’t familiar with Camp Trinity, we are a residential summer camp sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina at Trinity Center. Camp Trinity offers young people rising 3-12 grades an opportunity to experience camping in an enjoyable and beautiful setting along Bogue Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. Camp Trinity has four dormitories, two cabins per dorm, that house eighty-eight campers each session.
The camping program is administered by an experienced staff that consists of trained counselors who are responsible for the care and nurturing of: campers in their cabin life and camp activities; program staff who plan and implement the recreational program activities for campers, a certified staff of lifeguards and instructors who oversee the swimming and boating programs, and a nurse who cares for the medical needs of the campers. Campers are offered a balance of supervised group activities and individual free time.
You may also sponsor a child to come to Camp Trinity by donating to our Scholarship Fund. This fund allows us to continue to operate Camp Trinity on a need-blind basis, so that all children who obtain a place in camp are able to attend camp, and so that Christian community is available to all our children. Click here to donate to our scholarship fund and help send a camper to camp (select Camp Scholarship Fund from the drop-down menu)!
| Make some memories at Camp T: 2024 Registration is available now here! | |
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Camp Trinity has an online store that you can purchase cool camp gear year-round from, and with the holidays coming up, we have all the giftable gear available for your campers! The best part: all profits from the store go directly back into the Camp Trinity Scholarship Fund.
Click here to visit the online store.
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Turtle Season 2023: Updates from Mindy Furrer, Education Director | |
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For the past couple of decades the Sound to Sea Educators have participated in the Sea Turtle Program with Pine Knoll Shores. This citizen science program helps the NC Wildlife Resources Commission biologists track nesting along North Carolina’s 300 miles of beaches.
This year Sound to Sea also had the help of our Executive Director, John Koch, Sandy Skirving, and a couple of Camp Trinity staff members, making it a true Trinity Center-wide effort.
Each morning, starting in mid-May, one of these volunteers walks a mile of our beach front looking for sea turtle tracks. When tracks are located we contact the area volunteer coordinator. She comes out with her bag of tools and we get to work.
The first thing we do is take a GPS reading of where the nest is located. While that is happening volunteers will measure the width of the tracks. This helps scientist get an idea of the age and species of the nesting turtle.
Once these measurements are taken we start digging for eggs. Sometimes we are lucky and find the nest cavity one to two feet down right where we guessed it might be. Other times we are digging for hours looking for the eggs.
Once the eggs are located, one egg is removed from the nest. It is put in a test tube and sent to be DNA tested. With this data the biologists have been able to map where individual turtles are nesting and how often.
The nest is then covered with sand, and a grate is put over it to deter predators. Lastly, we pound stakes into the sand and mark the nesting area.
After about 50 days, the volunteers return to the nest and prepare it for hatching. We remove the grate and build a runway, marking off a larger area to alert emergency vehicles and beachgoers to stay away from that area. Volunteers then sign up to sit the nest at night from 9-11pm until the nest hatches.
This year Pine Knoll Shores had a record breaking season with over 20 nests laid on our approximately 8 miles of beach front. In addition to these confirmed nests there were over a dozen false crawls (where eggs were not found or there was not a nest site).
We did lose several of the later nests due to storms and king tides; however, most of us were able to see at least one nest hatch on our beach. The hard work of the early summer pays off with the magical moments of sitting on the beach, under the stars, waiting for those babies to appear in the sand.
Be sure to follow us on Facebook or Instagram to see more from Sound to Sea!
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New for 2024! Join Sound to Sea for a day camp experience during winter break. There will be sessions on weekdays between January 3-January 9 from 9 AM - 4 PM. Below are the session themes and pricing per day:
- Wednesday January 3: A Whale of a Day! ($60.00)
- Thursday, January 4: Pirate Invasion! ($60.00)
- Friday, January 5: Bring on the Birders! ($60.00)
- Monday, January 8: Scales and Tails! ($60.00)
- Tuesday January 9: Turtle Tuesday ($60.00)
Click the button link below to register now:
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Soundings Editor: Sara Tavela
Executive Director: John Koch
Trinity Center Board Members: The Rev. Phillip Craig, Michelle Eitner, Royster Hedgepeth, Fred Klinck, The Rev. John Porter-Acee, Kathleen Rice, The Rt. Rev. Robert S. Skirving, Terry Smith, Lee Stroud, Judy Whichard, Barbara Whitesides (Board Chair), Adrian Wood, and The Rev. David Wyly
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