Soundings Newsletter - Spring 2023 Issue

Update from John Koch, Executive Director

Dear Friends,

I just finished a walk around Trinity Center’s beautiful campus and noticed all the intimations of spring…fragrant jasmine, bright yellow daffodils, Canadian Geese flying north, and t-shirt clad tourists walking on the beach. Signs that Spring 2023 is upon us and with it, the miracle of Easter.

Easter has as its premise the ultimate sacrifice made by God on our behalf...

the ultimate gift, the ultimate blessing. As God has blessed us with this extraordinary gift, we too are called to unselfishly bless and serve the world in which we live.

There is no better advocate for this concept than Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, whose invitation into the "Jesus Movement" calls upon us to follow Jesus into loving, liberating and life-giving communion with God, with God's creation and with each other. Bishop Curry even offers seven "Way of Love" practices for Jesus-centered living: turn, learn, pray, worship, bless, go, rest.

Camp and conference ministry in general, and Trinity Center in particular, provides a physical framework for living out and experiencing this "Way of Love." Indeed, turn, learn, pray, worship, bless, go, rest is the essence of our ministry.

If those of all ages who are seeking a place of respite and nurture can come to Trinity Center and live something of Jesus' Way of Love, imagine how they might go forth to bless and serve the world! Trinity Center isn’t a ministry supported by the church, but rather a ministry that blesses and serves the church.

I invite you to experience the Way of Love; come and visit this wonderful resource of the Diocese of East Carolina soon and often!

Sincerely,

John Koch, Executive Director

Providing a place where we can live 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 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 Fund.

Donate to the 2023 Annual Fund

Updates at Trinity Center

We are so thrilled to report that our dining room and main conference building are looking sharp after their recent updates! Don't they look great?Why not plan a time to come visit and see the refresh our beautiful property has had; we'd love to see you!

Winter Retreat Comeback

We were thrilled to have the Camp Trinity Winter Retreat back for the first time since January 2020! This year, it was a collaboration between Camp Trinity and the Diocese of East Carolina Youth Ministries to make the event possible. This youth event is held mid-January for 8^th-12^th grade youth and staffed by past or present Camp Trinity staff members. The weekend was filled with laughter, community, faith, and fun. Thank you for all who attended and helped make it such a great success!

Make Memories at Camp T: We have Open Spaces!

We still have spaces open in several of our summer sessions, especially for boys! Contact our registrar to learn more about open spaces in our camp sessions. We would love to have you this summer!

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.

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, sailing on the sound, playing in the pool, or enjoying a variety of sports and activities.

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 download an application or brochure (add link to downloads page). 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: 2023 Registration is available now here!

Camp T Online Store

Camp Trinity has an online store that you can purchase cool camp gear year-round from, and with camp coming up, we have all the 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 on line store.

Sound to Sea is in Full Swing: Updates from Mindy Furrer, Education Director

After a slow fall and winter, The Sound to Sea Environmental Education Program is back in full swing. Starting mid-January and going into the second week of May, our calendar has been fully booked.

We offer programming to school groups from NC and beyond for three day programs. Schools arrive on charter busses or by cars, depending on their size, from as far away as Boone, NC. Sometimes traveling over 7 hours on the bus, when they get here they are ready to stretch their legs and explore the habitats of a barrier island with their Sound to Sea instructors.

A group comes from Monday-Wednesday and then with an hour to clean and turn over the program spaces another group will arrive and be with us Wednesday-Friday. Although Wednesday can feel like a whirlwind, they have long been my favorite day of the week.

There is nothing like standing on the loading dock to wave a group good-bye and knowing we have filled their brains and their spirits with all of the science and wonder that this property holds, and knowing that there will soon be another bus arriving with eager students ready to learn!

This season the Sound to Sea staff has made it their goal to share with the world this amazing phenomenon by posting about each school on our social media pages. Be sure to follow us on Facebook or Instagram to watch our season progress.

The dates for our 30th Sound to Sea reunion have been chosen. The former Sound to Sea staff members and their families will gather at Trinity Center August 6-9, 2023.

We have been having so much fun planning all of the fun activities they will partake in, all the while taking trips down memory lane. We know that without their hard work, innovation, and laughter Sound to Sea would not be what it is now!

Take a look at some of these smiling faces we have seen teaching about this barrier island the last three decades!

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 Rev. Canon Mollie Roberts, The Rt. Rev. Robert S. Skirving, Terry Smith, Lee Stroud, Judy Whichard, Barbara Whitesides (Board Chair), Adrian Wood, and The Rev. David Wyly

P. O. Drawer 380

Salter Path, NC 28575

Phone:(888) 874-6287 or

(252) 247-5600

trinitycenter@trinityctr.org

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