Click here for a brief
History of the camps in the
Oregon-Idaho Conference

John Wesley (1703-91) - the founder of the Methodist Church

Click here to view an on-line exhibition on John Wesley at the The John Rylands Library

Click here to go to the OR-ID gocamping website home page

Camp and Retreat Ministries True to Wesleyan Heritage

by Rev. Kevin Witt
General Board of Discipleship, Director Camp & Retreat Ministries

It is no accident that the United Methodist Church has developed a large network of Camp and Retreat Centers. The grass root visions that launched nearly 250 sites operating in the United States today (and more in other nations) represent a natural extension of a unique heritage and gift to society. From the days when John Wesley and his colleagues made the bold choice to take faith formation into the outdoors through field preaching and teaching (and they noticed that Jesus had done the same), God has confirmed the power of various forms of Christian outdoor education and retreats as a strength of our denomination. Wesley found the response of the people and their changed lives a remarkable testimony to the undeniable movement of the Spirit. This movement reaches to the present through circuit riders venturing into the North American wilderness in the 1700s to huge camp meetings and assemblies of the 1800s to modern camp and retreat centers, as we know them today. Millions have been touched, renewed, and inspired over the last three centuries to trust God more deeply and to embrace lives of Christian love and leadership.

Camps and retreats are only one important way that the United Methodist Church lives out its legacy of building bridges between the sanctuary and life beyond its doors.
I am so grateful to God and the United Methodist Church for investing and providing such meaningful camp and retreat settings and experiences. It has made all the difference. Many personal milestones of dedicating myself to Christ, renewing my soul, and being equipped for a life of spiritual leadership occurred in these places. It has been equally pivotal in the faith formation of all three of my daughters. What greater gift can a parent receive than to have one's children more deeply connected with God?

As I ponder the reasons for the effectiveness of these temporary respites from daily responsibilities and routine, four factors come to mind. Intentionality - these centers invite persons to seek God and to grow spiritually as the primary purpose of the site and its ministries, which distinguishes them from other camps and conference centers with different priorities. Christian Community - camps and retreats go beyond talking about Christian love to actually practicing it and making decisions based on faith. Strangers become friends living together 24 hours/day sharing the responsibilities of community, new adventures and reflecting on the meaning of life. This is a very special and unusual opportunity. The Natural World - the Scriptures affirm the goodness of creation and its role in revealing the Creator. Nature reminds us of the presence of the Source of Life in the midst of all life. The outdoors can greatly enhance our awareness of and love for God. Partnerships with Local Churches - part of the intensity and power of camps and retreats is that they are temporary.

Lessons are learned and spiritual renewal gained so that people can deliberately return to their communities of faith and society at large to inspire and lead others. Those returning need on-going groups for nurture and accountability - always a part of Wesley's Christian formation practices.

Finally, the beautiful, yet fragile, surroundings of our camp and retreat centers call immediate attention to an essential aspect of Christian discipleship and Wesleyan teaching that is too often overlooked or forgotten. We are God's representatives meant to care for the whole community of creation - people and the natural world as a whole. John Wesley, affirmed the salvation of the individual, but insisted that it cannot be separated from God's intention to save all of creation. This was a main point of his sermon on "The General Deliverance". We should, therefore, be working now toward God's ultimate intention by doing all we can to be caretakers and preservers of life in its magnificent diversity - not wanton destroyers of species and ecosystems. Wesley was distinct from many of his contemporaries, for he appreciated a sacredness and value innate within the natural world that goes far beyond the limited view of creation as meant only for human consumption and production. In his understanding of Biblical teaching, nature reflects and speaks to us of God and is deeply loved by God.

All aspects of creation are expressions of the "Word" - a communication from God if we have the ears to hear. Camp and Retreat Centers are ideal settings to help persons experience, listen to, relate with, and learn to be caretakers of creation. This recognition of the oneness of all creation is especially relevant for our generation and generations to come.

"The great lesson that our blessed Lord inculcates here...is that God is in all things, and that we are to see the Creator in the glass of every creature; that we should use and look upon nothing as separate from God…but with a true magnificence of thought survey heaven and earth and all that is therein as contained by God in the hollow of his hand, who by his intimate presence holds them all in being, who pervades and activates the whole created frame, and is in a true sense the soul of the universe." From John Wesley's notes on the Sermon on the Mount - Discourse III (1748).

History of the Camps
in the Oregon-Idaho Conference:

as recalled by Geneva Cook
Please email her with any other historical information you might have on these sites

HISTORY: The overall camping program in Oregon & Idaho began in 1917 through the Epworth Leagues in Ketchum, ID & Jefferson, OR. Each of our sites has a long history, but here is a brief overview of them:

--A.L.Collins Retreat Center (near Portland, Oregon)-- began as a small rustic youth camp in the 1930's or 40's (I can't recall the dates) called Leewood on a distant end of the property. The property was purchased after the land had been logged. In 1981, the camping program built an adult retreat center on the other side of the property and the trees surrounding the site are considered "old growth" timber although the site was logged in the recent past.

--Camp Latgawa (Southern Oregon)-- was established in 1953 and was originally called "Dead Indian Soda Springs" (wonder why they ever changed the name!) The camp is located on NFS property near where a mineral spa & hotel existed in the late 1800's. The camp was originally an ecumenical venture with other Protestant churches with the United Methodist Church taking the lead in recent years. Eventually all the other denominations dropped out and the site was re-named for a group of Shasta Indians who spoke the language "Latgawa".

--Magruder (Oregon Coast)-- Epworth League met for many years at property near the present camp, and then the current property was purchased in 1942 by the Oregon Annual Conference. It has continued to grow and is our largest facility with multiple lodges and cabins for a variety of program uses for up to about 250 people.

--Sawtooth Camp (Central Idaho)-- The United Methodist Men of the Idaho Conference purchased the land in 1948. An interesting story about the purchase is that before we bought it the valley was scheduled to be strip-mined, but the snow fell early in the fall of 1946 and then a law was passed effective Jan 1, 1947 which prohibited strip mining in the state of Idaho and thus the valley was preserved. It is one of our most scenic camps (check out the pictures on our website!) It has a modern lodge and rustic cabins for summertime use only because of its secluded location. (In the winter, it is under about 10-12 feet of snow and accessible only by snowmobile.)

--Suttle Lake Camp (Central Oregon)-- A local church Epworth League began to hold summer camps at Suttle Lake on the Forest Service property in 1920. They held annual camps there and then secured a lease from the NFS in 1925. It now has 2 lodges and cabins to hold up to about 150 people.

--Wallowa Lake Camp (Northeastern Oregon)-- is our oldest camp, having been purchased in 1922 by the Epworth League in the Idaho Conference. It is located on what was originally the homeland of the Wallowa Band of the Nez Perce Indians. It is a cultural center for both Native Americans and many artists in the area. Its central focus has become family ministry with newly updated facilities to support this.