The NEXT 60 - Anniversary Update

Greetings and God's Blessings,

The 60th Anniversary Taskforce, (Chair Susan Vorstadt, Rev. Paul Johnsen, Dr. Kathleen Kristin Ruen, Jean Sandberg, Web Designer Jackie Lund, Ingrid Bonapace, Elisabeth Isaksen, Kristin Mensing, Carol Safchinsky, and Sue Thorsen) have been meeting bi-weekly since October. They are thrilled to give you updates on our 4 planned events. At the end of this newsletter see a special letter from the Manlove Family.

THE NEXT 60

Koinonia’s 60th Anniversary Year of Celebrations

Dedication Day 2.0

June 10th from 10am-5pm (link)

Celebrate the 60-year commitment between Koinonia and congregations in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Pastors, Bishops, Board Members (former and current) and congregants will re-dedicate Koinonia and recommit to Koinonia for our NEXT 60 years of partnership.

On June 4,1964, hundreds of enthusiastic people attended a ceremony in the Jubilee Meadow to dedicate the site and its ministry. At this event we will be enthusiastic again enjoying a Festival Luncheon in the Conference Center followed by a Diamond Jubilee Dedication Service in the Chapel in the Pines. A day not to be missed! We have much to celebrate; all are welcome. Stay the whole weekend or come up for Saturday only.

Update: We already have three Bishops from the tri state area attending this event! Retreat buildings and Conference Center rooms are available to reserve. Come be a part of this special day! Register now.

Community Day/Day Camp Reunion - August 6th from 9:30am-4:00pm

Celebrate the commitment between our local community and Koinonia. Meet up with past Day Camp staff, campers, and family, learn about the ways Koinonia is serving the needs of the area, and help envision our next 60 years together. All are welcome. Free!

Update: Nature Camp, our current day camp offering, is now running the whole summer! We look forward to welcoming back our alumni day campers.

60th Anniversary Celebration

Remember the Past 60/Celebrate the NEXT 60

August 11th-13th

Celebrate Koinonia's 60-year commitment to youth ministry. If you

remember Pot Day/Beaver Cove/Blueberry Island … then this event is

for you! We will walk down memory lane, share gratitude for the present,

and take time to collect wishes and dreams for the future.

The activities include:

The dedication of the new Sunago Floating Bridge with the Manlove Family - Special opportunity below
Updates from our Executive Director and members of the Board
The unveiling of WATERFRONT 60 with a Water Carnival and Canoe Races (no swamp test needed)
A vintage multimedia slide show/movie event with popcorn and bug juice
Celebration Time! We come together to celebrate our 60th year with

music, song, noisemakers and merriment of all kinds, topped off

with a Birthday Cake, and a Square Dance!

Many opportunities for worship, thanksgiving and praise including,

Sunday Eucharist at Chapel in the Pines, (Bishop Paul Egensteiner

presiding)

Update: All of the buildings are Full - we are taking names for a waiting list. There are campsites available. If you are planning to attend, we suggest you find a place to stay in the area, and then register as a day guest.

Family Camp Reunion

August 19th, all day!

Calling all Family Campers! Come to the Rafters for a special Saturday to celebrate Family Camp. Spend the day re-connecting with old friends, storytelling, Bible study, fishing contest, BBQ and Evensong. Enjoy the upgraded waterfront and take a tour of our renovated buildings!

A BRIDGE FOR THE NEXT 60 - SALUNGO

Koinonia Floating Bridge-Fall 2021

Dear Friend of Koinonia,

The bridge pictured above which crosses the swamp between the lakes Alethia and Charis speaks to all of us who have crossed it. It is the path to the wild part of Koinonia. It has drawn thousands of us to the wilderness and deeper sense of God as part of every living thing. As Job 12:7-10 says:

But ask the animals, and they will teach you;

The birds of the air, and they will tell you;

And the fish of the sea will declare to you.

Who amongst all these does not know

That the hand of the Lord has done this?

In his hand is the life of every living thing

And the breath of every human being.

The bridge that I first crossed in the mid 1960’s has fallen apart and will be rebuilt. The rebuilding of the bridge is an opportunity to remember and pay tribute to Jerry Manlove, one of the visionary founders of Koinonia, the first director of Koinonia, and builder of the bridge. The new bridge, the Sunago* (soon-ag-o) Floating Bridge, will be built as a testament to Jerry Manlove and those visionaries as bridge builders: bridging past and future, bringing together the young and the old, and connecting city and wilderness.

This summer Koinonia will celebrate 60 years of ministry. We are planning an alumnus gathering the weekend of August 11-13^th. We would love to have you attend. We will remember, re-connect, and re-visit favorite songs, activities, worship locations, and campsites.

One special event that weekend is a formal commemoration of the new Floating Bridge. The Manlove Family have made a seed donation that has replaced two sections of the bridge. We need to raise more than $20,000 to complete the bridge.

I’m writing now to ask you to add your name to the Sunago Floating Bridge by giving a donation in memory of Jerry Manlove and the other visionary founders of Koinonia. Your gift now will enable us to order the bridge parts. On Saturday, August 12 at 10:00 in the morning we plan to formally open the bridge to the other side of Koinonia so that we and our children may continue being taught by the animals, spoken to by the birds, and experience the power of creation.

Whether you send in a one-time donation or elect to spread your gift through monthly online giving, the certainty of your support now will be a real blessing and a testament to Jerry Manlove and other visionaries’ faith in Koinonia!

Looking forward,

The Manlove Family

Checks or online donations given in memory of Jerry Manlove and other visionaries (please name the visionary) will be put directly toward the creation of the bridge, and all donor names will be displayed in the Conference Center.

Sunago Floating Bridge

Koinonia

165 Highland Lake Road

Highland Lake, NY 12743

*Sunago - to lead together, i.e. bring together, hence come together (pass.), entertain