The Lead

The Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee stopped using the "ecologically diverse" Camp Webb as a diocesan camp and retreat several months ago and began exploring options to sell it, provoking community opposition when it started entertaining an offer for commercial development (i.e. condominiums), according to an interview with the leader of the opposition group PreserveCW featured on enewschannels.com.

The diocese’s Executive Council discussed the possibility of sale in early May after receiving a report from diocesan officials who had met with a commercial developer to discuss potential development of condominiums. A formal vote to put the camp up for sale is the first agenda item for June 5th Executive Council meeting. After learning of the situation, PreserveCW, a group formed to preserve the camp, asked supporters to contact Bishop Steven Miller and Executive Council members to ask that they seriously consider non-commercial options for the camp before considering sale to commercial interests.
“We don’t question any right of the Diocese to sell the camp” stated Matthew Payne, Chair of the PreserveCW Steering Committee and former Camp Webb board member, staff member and camper. “Our concern is the Diocese’s fiduciary duty, especially as a church and not-for-profit corporation in the State of Wisconsin. To consider sale to commercial interests before giving due consideration to non-commercial options is both irresponsible and careless and may have possible legal ramifications. Until and unless the Diocese of Milwaukee has exhausted all avenues of non-commercial options, it should not consider sale of the camp to any commercial interest.”

Steering Committee member Connie Ott who has been connected to the camp since 1966 is also a current member of the Executive Council. She noted that, “This ecologically sensitive land should be preserved for generations to come. Any hope for preservation would be destroyed by a sale to any commercial interest.”

More information is here.

Comments (3)

The Episcopal Diocese of Michigan has camp Gordonwood, and I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that we're in a similar situation to the Diocese of WI.

in other words, the camp was financed and constructed in a time when the Diocese was growing and had more money, and when electricity and gas were cheaper. now, with declining membership, and plenty of other demands on our funds, it isn't financially feasible to maintain it.

but, people have warm, fuzzy memories. when there's talk of selling the land in our Diocese, the objections are more strenuous than over Gene being excluded from Lambeth.

PreserveCW is right to raise the question of why their Bishop hasn't considered non-commercial options, but they haven't given us a picture of the Diocese's finances. the Bishop may feel that selling the to a commercial developer is the only choice which will keep the Diocese financially sustainable.

there's no good option here, but the folks at Preserve CW had better ask themselves if the Diocese can afford to keep the camp.

Posted by Weiwen | May 31, 2008 5:35 PM

Yeah, I had poked around a little bit to see if I could find a statement from the diocese but didn't find much -- since this is coming from a blog instead of a newspaper I'll keep an eye out for that.

But I do find the call for fiduciary responsibility with regard to property sales kind of interesting in it own right. I get the impression that's what PreserveCW is calling for, more than retention of an asset the diocese can no longer afford to keep, and was particularly struck by the timeliness of it next to the runway story at London.

Posted by Helen Thompson (Gallycat) | May 31, 2008 7:00 PM

Always sad to hear of Dioceses closing their camps. Church Camp was where I was truly evangelized - discovering that church was more than being dragged by one's parents each week. Many of our leaders found Christ at Church camps.

Posted by Ann Fontaine | June 1, 2008 12:15 PM

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