Celebrating Peter

In April, several of us from the ECCC community attended the memorial service for Peter Bergstrom at Camp Stevens. Peter was the Executive Director of Camp Stevens for 40 years, a founding member of ECCC, and ECCC’s Executive Director for 9 years, before his retirement in 2014. It felt important to celebrate his legacy and share our love and appreciation with Peter’s wife and partner, Vicki, and the Camp Stevens community.

Here is a slideshow from the event, and a reflection from Ashley Graham-Wilcox, ECCC’s Director of Communications and Events, from the Camp Stevens newsletter.

Celebrating the Life of Peter Bergstrom
by Ashley Graham-Wilcox

Peter Bergstrom’s Celebration of Life didn’t begin with the ceremony. It began with travels from near and far, a friendly shuttle ride from Laban or Noah, and chairs borrowed from throughout the Julian community. It began with parking lot reunions, morning runs up Volcan, a carefully-designed program booklet, and a brand new sound system.

And then, at 3pm on April 15, with no rain in sight (I have no doubt that Peter’s friend, Fr. Art Bartlett, famous for leading snow dances to coax in a winter wonderland at Thanksgiving Family Camp, had a hand from beyond in the day’s blue sky.), music, a reading from John Muir, and Peter’s son Erik officially began the celebration.

What followed were loving reflections on the pillars of Peter’s life. We heard about Peter’s childhood from his siblings, Kip and Robin, and early signs of Peter’s skills of influence. We heard from friends, colleagues, and soul siblings about travels, projects, and life with Peter. Even with, say, a squirming 5-year old on your lap, it was impossible to not be moved by the depth and breadth of Peter’s reach and relationships. Peter’s daughter, Jenne, shared her “prospection,” inviting us to channel some Peter into our everyday lives with #wwpeterdo and reminded us – as her dad no doubt would have – to put Camp Stevens in our wills. And then we passed the peace, ending the ceremony as so many Camp Stevens programs have over the years, with hugs, exclamations, and well wishes.

Any celebration of Peter couldn’t end with a ceremony, either. We hiked to Upper Meadow, we ate a lovingly put-together meal, we sang, and we danced – and then we danced again. We raised a glass with lifelong – and brand new – friends. We cried and laughed, reminisced and reflected, teased and rehashed.

Some of the 500 in attendance hadn’t been to Camp Stevens in ten or twenty years. Most of us were called to be there that day because something in us was shaped and defined by our experience at Camp Stevens – a relationship, a passion, a career – and tethered to Peter Bergstrom. This was an opportunity to honor and celebrate a person who did so much with his life, including building a space that has changed thousands of lives, and, in doing so, celebrate what that space is now: The food is great, the internet isn’t, and the walk to Phoenix Hill (née Girls Hill) is still the hardest hike at camp. Trees have been lost to bark beetle and fire, the new buildings are beautiful, and there’s signage inviting us to acknowledge the original indigenous inhabitants of the land where camp sits. You can still hear music and laughter over the whirr of dishes being washed in the Hobart.

Peter would have taken great joy and pride in his community recognizing that we can celebrate camp today while happily reminiscing on the camp of our memories.

There’s a lesson on “Going Home Styles” taught at the end of Counselor Training: How to return to “real life” after an intense, formative time, giving honor to the experience, without driving everyone else totally insane. I know about reflection and closure. Yet I knew that when I left camp following Peter’s celebration, he would still be gone. That the weekend’s To Do list would have been completed, the anxiety of seeing so many old friends passed, and a Peter-free world to face.

And so, despite the many times I’ve sat through (and taught!) that lesson, I made another stylistic choice: I didn’t go home. Instead, I sat on the Dining Hall lawn, drinking coffee with the other lingerers, and saying goodbye as one-by-one they left for San Diego or San Francisco, Norway or Niwot. I drank more coffee, and leaned against the patio wall that seems like it’s always been there, soaking in its warmth, listening to the staff who had worked so long and hard sing at the conclusion of a successful weekend.

I celebrated the history and the present of a place that’s meant so much to my family and I, and the graciousness of the family who shared Peter with so many of us.

Peter wasn’t perfect, and we didn’t gather to sanctify him. We gathered to celebrate the life he created with Vicki and the world that he envisioned and worked toward. And work it was.

Peter Bergstrom believed in the power of clean air and open space, and the beauty of bringing people together, through experiences, food, and music. Through his words and actions, he taught me that the way we treat one another and this earth matters, that there’s always something to learn, and that meaningful work can intertwine with the rest of your life, so you don’t have to practice “going home.” When I did finally drive down that driveway the next day, I did so with a new lightness, rooted in confidence in what Peter helped to create at Camp Stevens and shape in me (Note to self: Write will.). It’s hard work.

So, let’s get to it.

Ashley worked with Peter at both Camp Stevens and ECCC. She and her son, Jude miss him very much. (Picture: January 2015)

In Memoriam: Peter Bergstrom

It is with great sadness that we share that Peter Bergstrom, founding member of Episcopal Camps and Conference Centers, its Executive Director for nine years, and Executive Director of Camp Stevens for forty, died on Christmas Eve.

Peter was the 2012 recipient of ECCC's Hero of Camping Ministry award, a visionary and empowering leader of camping and retreat ministries, an advocate for our outdoor places, an incredible mentor, curious traveler, supportive friend, and wonderful partner to Vicki.

If you wish to send a card, the address is 1038 Orchard Lane, Julian, CA 92036. In lieu of flowers, donations to any of the following would support work that was close to Peter's heart: Camp Stevens, Volcan Mountain Preserve Foundation, and James Hubbell's Ilan-Lael Foundation.

Peter Lodge Bergstrom 
1946-2018

A person of boundless curiosity and joy in exploration, Peter Bergstrom was equally inspired by nature and by his fellow humans. As directors for 40 years of Camp Stevens Episcopal Camp and Conference Center in Julian, CA, he and his wife Vicki created what they called “a peaceful place apart” where people from all over the world could come to appreciate the beauty of the natural world and experience a sense of community with others.

After attending UC Santa Barbara in the late 60’s, Peter joined VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) in Chicago, where he met Vicki when the volunteers were all recalled to the downtown YMCA during rioting in the aftermath of Martin Luther King, Jr’s assassination. Thrown together in this time of upheaval, they became engaged within six weeks of meeting, and were married on September 2, 1968—Peter’s 22nd birthday.

As a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War, he, along with Vicki, did two years of alternative service with the Church of the Brethren Volunteer Service in Germany and in Greece working on projects furthering international relations and youth development. After returning to the US, Peter completed his degree in Anthropology at UCSB in 1972, and while there saw a job posting for a camp executive director position in the small town of Julian. He and Vicki decided to try it out for “a year or two” and the rest, as they say, is history.

During his time at Camp Stevens, Peter developed a wide variety of programs, from the “adventure group” style of summer camp, to Outdoor Education for school groups, to adult retreats. Wilderness exploration trips to Baja and the Sierras, international travel for students and adults, and recruitment of staff from many countries added to the richness of the Camp Stevens experience.

His efforts also expanded the area of the camp, preserving an additional 200 acres of wilderness for future generations of campers. Several new buildings were constructed and older ones modernized, and after the Angel Fire of 2007, which destroyed twelve structures, he gathered support to further rebuild and improve.

Broadening his interest and influence in the world of camping, Peter was a founding member of the Episcopal Camps and Conference Centers organization, and later served as its Executive Director for nine years until his retirement in 2015. He was also a leader in environmental stewardship within the Episcopal Church, and in recognition of his service he was named an Honorary Canon of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. Camp Stevens was also designated a Jubilee Center by the Diocese of San Diego, for its “extraordinary transformational efforts” within the community.

Peter was also a dedicated citizen of the town of Julian, serving on the school board and helping to organize the Julian Wild & Scenic Film Festival among other community events. Most far-reaching was the founding of the Volcan Mountain Foundation in 1987, which to date has helped to preserve more than 30,000 acres of land as the Volcan Mountain Wilderness Preserve.

In his free time, Peter was always out exploring the world—planning trips overseas with friends and family, fishing and hunting throughout Baja and California, and having adventures with his children, Jenne and Erik. He had a lifelong interest in progressive politics and activism, and worked on many campaigns from local to national, most recently as a founding member of the Julian chapter of the Indivisible movement.

His many friends and colleagues remember his warmth, compassion and generosity, his love of great conversations and good food, his dry sense of humor, and most especially his uninhibited joy in singing and dancing. Peter died after a long series of illnesses, surrounded by his family, in a beautiful place that he loved. He would have liked to have more time to explore this world, but his favorite thing was always a new adventure, and as Peter Pan said, “to die will be an awfully big adventure.”

Peter Bergstrom is survived by his wife, Vicki Bergstrom, his children Jenne Bergstrom and Erik Bergstrom, his daughter-in-law Erin Pitts, and his brother Kip Bergstrom and sister Robin McCormick.

Announcing the 2018 Hero of Camping, Lisa Kimball

On July 9, at General Convention in Austin, Texas, Bishop Brian Prior presented Lisa Kimball, Associate Dean at Virginia Theological Seminary the 2018 Hero of Camping Ministry Award. For a transcript of Lisa’s remarks, see below.

The funny thing is in 1988 [when ECCC was founded], I was not in third grade, I was well out of college and on my way into the vocation that I claimed very dearly, as a lay Christian formation leader, now Associate Dean of Virginia Seminary.

What I just want to say to all of you is it's never too late. I actually never went to summer camp as a kid, because I grew up in Europe, and they didn't send me to summer camp. So, my first experience of summer camp was as an adult, and was being brought in as a volunteer camp counselor, and it has truly changed my life, as well as all the conferences and convention meetings, and leadership events that we've held at Camp and Conference Centers across the Episcopal Church. I don't know if any of you put your stickers on the map, in the ECCC booth, but I ran out one sheet, and I had to go into another sheet because so many of our host facilities have been great places of my learning.

What I do want to commend us to recognize, is that the immersive experience in Christian formation, that happens when people have the privilege of time away, time in a quiet place with God, time in community with others in a Christian context, is essential for all of us in the 21st century. We move quickly, we think fast, we are hyper-connected, and if you could see my shirt, it says "Log on, crash and reboot." The log on is a fireplace, the crash is a tent, and the reboot are some hiking boots.

I commend to you the issues of access, and support for our Camp and Conference Ministries, for some cultural communities, going to summer camp is not a normative experience. So, for us to assume that everyone wants to go, or understands the benefit thereof, is naive. But, there are ways for us to invite people into that experience appropriately. Perhaps, a one day, half day, family event at your local Camp and Conference Center. Perhaps a one day sort of immersive vacation Bible school experience for children, with the right adults and community, and then grow into an overnight, and then experience a retreat for older adults, perhaps a chance for people who are aging and in transition in their lives, to come to a place of rest and respite. Think about access for people with special needs, think about access for people who do not have economic means to just pay for these experiences. We all need them, and they indeed are holy, holy opportunities for spiritual growth.

So, as we practice the way of love, may we practice it deeply in community. In places of retreat and mutual regard, that I would call Episcopal Camps and Conference Centers. So, thank you for this award. I'm very honored.

2017's Peter Bergstrom Leadership Award goes to...

On January 16, 2017, we presented the second annual Peter Bergstrom Leadership Award, which recognizes a member of our community who has been a mentor and an advocate of the camping and retreat ministry.

Last year's recipient, Peter Bergstrom, presented this year's award, to someone who has always been actively available to support the organization and its members:

"Like Google, this person has been an open source of tips, insight and resources that come with 39+ years of experience."

Our award winner has been a mentor to many people in this organization at all job levels. This person has helped our organization develop a relationship with the American Camp Association and has personally been a sounding board to camps as they go through accreditation. Our award winner took their own camp from being in the red, with dropping attendance, to being ACA accredited, self-sustaining, and a point of pride for its diocese, along the way developing many innovative camp programs, always with same goal: help campers to build self esteem.

Join us in thanking Bill Tubbs, Executive Director at Camp Huston, for his years of caring, wise guidance and friendship.