This retreat is made possible by your gifts to the Cooperative Program and Mary Hill Davis Offering.
Digital
This retreat is for the mentally challenged 12 years of age or older, their parents and chaperones, and workers with the mentally challenged.
Special Update
Due to the rising cases of Covid-19 and the new Delta variant, we have decided to postpone our retreat to 2022. This decision was made out of an abundance of caution and to protect our campers, caretakers and volunteers who have underlying health conditions.
However, we did not want this year to go by without some sort of connection with our campers, so with the help of our Special Friends Advisory Council, we have assembled a "Plan B" option. Here's what this means for you and your church groups.
Digital Files
In order for our campers to enjoy portions of camp they have grown to love and to see familiar camp personalities, we will send you a digital file (at no cost) that will include the following:
- Introductions by Ms. Donna and her silly hat
- Devotional time with Pastor Patrick Hamilton
- Worship music with Jim De Hoog
- Three Bible study lessons, prepared by our volunteers
- Videos from Nancy & Friends (a ventriloquist and puppeteer)
All of this will come to you in a playlist link that will give you access to these individual videos at any time.
We are in the process of compiling these video files and will send these to you by the end of September.
Registration
Although there is no cost to attend this year's digital retreat, we still need our churches to register to participate. You do not need to provide us with specific names, only a rough estimate of the number of attendees you anticipate. We will use these estimates to send supplies to you for crafts and goodies. Please register below by August 30th.
Talent Show
What would a retreat be without a talent show? This is where we need your help. If you have an individual or a group that would like to share their special talent, please record them on your cell phone and submit these videos below.
We will compile all of the videos and send these to you with our playlist link. These videos need to be submitted no later than August 30th to be included in our video file link. Please make sure your videos are labeled by individuals or by group name.
Crafts & Gifts
Once we receive your registration estimates, we will send you supplies for a craft and other goodies that you can pass out to your groups. We are planning to send tote bags this year that can be decorated, bandanas and noise makers for everyone.
Pictures
Since we will not be together this year, we want to hear how everyone is doing. Whether you choose to host a small retreat within your church or incorporate these videos within your Sunday school classes, we would LOVE to receive pictures from you! The Texas Baptist Missions Foundation and our Mary Hill Davis Offering provide funds each year for our retreat, and they love hearing stories and seeing pictures of those impacted by this ministry.
If you have any attendees who have a DO NOT PHOTOGRAPH restriction, please help us in maintaining their privacy by not sending pictures with them included OR by letting us know which attendees have this restriction.
Retreat 2022
Our prayer is that we will be able to reconvene in person next year for our 2022 retreat!
Stay tuned for dates and additional information.
Questions?
If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us. Even though we cannot meet in person this year, we want 2021 to be a meaningful time for our Special Friends!
Sarah Johnson
Childhood Ministry Program Coordinator/Ministry Assistant, Discipleship