2020 Conference Session: How Not to Get Sued - And - How to Win If You Are: The Lessons Learned By A Camp Safety Expert Witness

The ACA Hot Line provides seasonal feedback to camp operators about emerging issues; similarly, we will look at some liability cases brought against camp and conference centers. TCDI has taken the 100+ cases we have provided expert witness services for and refined them to share the lessons learned with owners and operators of day camps, residential camps, retreat and conference centers. Few of these lawsuits reach a jury and public review; settlements are often subject to non-disclosure restrictions putting the critical causal factors of an incident behind court gag orders. TCDI reviewed these cases and we'll bring the analytics refined to a "What went wrong" level.

Somewhere between Perry Mason and My Cousin Vinny, we believe sharing this overview is an important opportunity for decision-makers and leaders in our camp community to have. The health, safety, and wellbeing of our campers, staff, and guests should be at the forefront of our operations.

2020 Conference Session: Harvesting Abundance: Agrarian Ministry in the Episcopal Church

This workshop will share best practices, ideas and inspiration for camps and conference centers that want to share the Way of Love through God’s good creation and abundance. Our orchard and field of exploration will be creation care and agrarian ministries of the Episcopal Church, Anglican Communion and beyond. It will also provide liturgical resources for food, agriculture and stewardship of creation. It will provide examples of agrarian work and prayer - ora et labora. We will do some indoor planting and plant blessings. We will also sample local Episco-pickles, Anglican-okra, Parish-preserves, Camp-jam and Cathedral-honey.

Presented by: Brian Sellers-Petersen currently serves in two roles, Missioner for Agrarian Ministry for the Diocese of Olympia and Senior Advisor for the Society for the Increase of the Ministry.. Up until 2018, Brian spent 30 years working for faith-based organizations engaged in international relief and development. From 2000-2018 he worked in a variety of positions with Episcopal Relief & Development. He was at the center of helping the organization grow from a small denominational organization to a global NGO that works in partnership with Episcopal, Anglican and ecumenical bodies including countless grassroots civil society organizations in over 40 countries. Prior to work with Episcopal Relief & Development he worked with World Vision; Bread for the World; All Saints Episcopal, Pasadena; and the Student Christian Association of South Africa. Brian is the author of Harvesting Abundance: Local Initiatives of Food and Faith published by Church Publishing Inc.

2020 Conference Session: Creative Center Fundraising

This session is an opportunity to hear from Gravatt, Lake Logan, and Shrine Mont about non-traditional methods of fundraising, including special events, from fly fishing tournaments to music festivals.

Panelists: Kirk Gibson, Scott McNeeley, Lauri SoJourner

2020 Conference Session: Summer Staff Exchange Program

2019 was the kick-off year for an ECCC staff exchange program. Funded by a grant from the Episcopal Church’s Office of Formation, this program aims to:

• Cultivate a new generation of Episcopal camping and retreat ministry leaders

• Strengthen programs around the network with fresh ideas and energy

• Broaden our programs’ hiring pools

• Pursue ways of diversifying our camps’ staffs

• Lovingly support young adult staff moving “out of the nest.”

• Pay summer staff a fair wage

• Make Episcopal camping leadership a visible, productive, and rewarding ministry path.

In this session, we’ll discuss the process, successes, and challenges of the program, and introduce an ECCC-wide Staff Exchange Program.

2020 Conference Session: Growing a Community of Compassion and Love

Are you ready to let compassion and love take root in your staff community? Explore the connection between our spiritual call to unconditional love and our responsibility as organizational leaders. Practical tools and consistent strategies for building, growing and integrating a compassionate and loving work culture will be coupled with lively discussion and an interactive learning environment.

Presented by: Kathy Wilder is the Executive Director of Camp Stevens, the diocesan camp for Los Angeles and San Diego. She has a master’s degree in business administration and leadership and over 25 years experience working with youth and family non-profit organizations. She is a dedicated servant leader, an advocate for relationship-driven social change, and a lifelong camp professional. She specializes in non-profit management skills, human resources, group coaching, operational systems, and community building.