“A Warm Place in the Son”

by Carol Walrath

Do you become stressed when you can’t immediately remember where you left your cell phone? I don’t know if that strikes a chord with you but it certainly does for me. The thought of having some important, valuable object become lost is upsetting. That’s the way I feel about Camp Pioneer located on the shores of Lake Erie, south of Buffalo, NY. This is a special place – “a warm place in the Son” – and I don’t want it to be lost.

Spending time here was precious: the beach, sunshine dancing through the leaves in the Chapel in the Woods, the sound of waves while God’s Word was being preached, the meals, the singing, morning chapel service, Bible study, the running-around game of Romans & Christians, crafts, Friendship Circle, campfire devotions. There is something special about an outdoor ministry experience. I treasured my time there as a child, so it was natural that when I became a parent, our young family with four children would annually vacation there. It was a holiday where everyone benefitted, because we were able to be rejuvenated physically and spiritually. Fast-forward another few decades, and now my husband and I are taking our adult children, their spouses, and their children to Camp. We have discovered it is the ideal setting for a multi-generational family holiday where we can bask in the wonders of God’s creation and hear His Word – and no one has to cook or clean!

So, why am I rambling on about a camp located south of Buffalo, NY? What does that have to do with us here in Lutheran Church-Canada? The simple answer is that many, particularly in Ontario, have adopted Camp Pioneer as their church camp.

• Numerous Canadians through the years have volunteered there or served on staff.
• For over 50 years, “Confirmation Camp” was held every summer. In 1963, young Paul Pollex served as camp counselor, while Rev. Ken Zorn served as Camp Dean for Confirmation Week. In 1977, Rev. Pollex assumed the Camp Dean role and these special weeks, targeting our confirmation-aged youth, were annually held until 2018. Rev. Pollex recalls how he and other Ontario pastors would pray and plan together for each day’s activities to be a Gospel message to the teens. The confirmands were so appreciative and responses to the pastors included: “This Confirmand Camp saved my life spiritually and physically,” and the frequent, “My Mom made me come, but am I ever glad I did,” validated the benefits for those who participated. Years later, a former camper said, “It was the best week of my life!”

• Rev. Don Schieman and the organizing committee for the East Region Church Worker & Pastors’ Conference discovered that holding their retreat at Camp Pioneer was almost half the price of holding it at an Ontario retreat centre – even after the exchange rate was figured in. For the last three years, Spring and Fall conferences have been held at Pioneer. This was beneficial to our pastors and our LCC budget.

• A welcomed addition to Camp’s summer program the last two years was the “Catechetical Week” led by Rev. Dr. Harold Ristau from Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary in St. Catharines. The first year it was scheduled, it was sold out months prior to summer. In anticipation of an even bigger registration for Summer 2020, plans were shuffled to accommodate double the number of people and it, too, was sold out immediately. The “Catechetical Week” was a family camp experience. Now there is no equivalent place to go.

• The annual Pastor’s Wives Retreat was slated to be held at Camp Pioneer. It was forecasted to be an ongoing event.

• In the past, Camp Pioneer offered free camps to veteran families of the US and Canadian Military and special programs to PTSD victims.

• Outreach ministries that Camp Pioneer excelled at and were particularly known for were its “Agape Camp” for developmentally and intellectually disabled adults and its “Operation Purple Camp.” The latter allows military children to experience a true summer camp experience complete with outdoor activities (ropes courses, canoeing, swimming, archery, climbing walls) within an environment of trained counsellors to help them overcome the stressors of military life.

More and more, this gem of a church camp was being discovered and used by Canadians – particularly those in the East Region, which has no church camp of its own.

But now this gem on the shores of Lake Erie is for sale. The description of the land speaks well of its potential:

“The Pioneer Camp & Retreat Center consists of 75 acres. 15 acres are located on the shores of Lake Erie with a beach for swimming and water sports. 60 acres are available for hiking trails and sport activities which include High and Low Ropes Adventure Courses. The property has two major activity buildings, an outdoor, partially-enclosed shelter for group gatherings, an outdoor pavilion and gazebo, and an outdoor chapel.

The sleeping accommodations include five heated year-round cabins complete with kitchen and dining area, eight dormitory-style cabins, a separate lodge and speaker’s cabins, two motel-like cabin areas that house individuals and families (thirty separate spaces), three additional outbuildings, a small dining hall and kitchen facility, country store/snack bar, main office building, maintenance building, and two full-sized homes for managerial staff.”

As you can imagine, this lakefront property is a prime piece of real estate. As bleak as the prospect of losing this gem sounds, with God’s help there is hope. A grassroots group called the Friends of Pioneer, Inc. is working to keep Camp as we know it. Their goal is to take over the operation of the camp and continue its outdoor Christian ministry. They recognize that Camp is a special place where people gather for a vacation with family or for a retreat, to be refreshed with like-minded believers, — a welcome contrast to the fast-paced life that the world offers. It is also a place where the gospel is lived out and many can experience God’s life-changing grace.

Since January 2020, the Friends of Pioneer Board of Directors has been working tirelessly to preserve the future of Camp, and their efforts have been met with an overwhelming response on the US side of the border. Please pray for the ministry of Pioneer to see its full potential, and visit the website at friendsofpioneer.org for more information. As we move into 2021, those of us who know and love Camp enter with confidence that “He who began a good work… will see it to completion” and do “more than we could ever ask or imagine” with the place we call Pioneer.

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Carol Walrath is an organist, mother of four, and grandmother of seven. She is the wife of Pastor Emeritus Rev. Kevin Walrath of Peace of Prince Lutheran Church in Burlington, Ontario.

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