At Silver Lake, we set aside Wednesday as Missions Day. This is a day to think about how our faith calls us to make a positive difference in the world through charity and social justice work.
On Missions Day, we do not serve meat in the dining hall and we limit the types of snacks available to purchase in the Camp Store. We do this to remind ourselves that not everyone has access to the most expensive kinds of food (meat, sugar) and because reducing our consumption of meat is one of the ways we can reduce our impact on the environment and live more sustainably.
Each summer, Silver Lake supports up to three non-profit missions partners. In the past, partners have included Simply Smiles, Church World Service, and Connecticut Food Bank. Typically, Silver Lake chooses one or two missions partners with whom we have a long-term relationship, and the Summer Staff choose a third partner they are passionate about.
Summer Staff members teach the campers about each of the missions partners on Tuesday, and campers are invited to make a donation to Missions from their Camp Store account on Wednesday. We recommend including $5 for Missions when you set up your Camp Store account.
During the day on Wednesday, each conference will participate in its own Missions program. We have frequently had representatives from our mission partners come in to do special programs with the campers. Sometimes, we have asked campers to bring materials to contribute to particular projects, such as Church World Service hygiene kits.
We encourage you to talk with your camper before camp about their store account. The camp store is intended to help campers practice faithful management of resources: spend some, donate some, save some. We encourage you to limit your child’s amount of spending money during their week, and to help them plan for a Missions contribution. We recommend setting aside $5 for Missions and a total of $25-$40 per week.
Snacks are $1-$2, t-shirts are $15-$16, water bottles are $8-$15, sweatshirts are $25-$30, souvenirs are in the $10 range.
Silver Lake Camp & Retreat Center is a ministry of the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ.
Click here to read our Mission Statement.
223 Low Road | Sharon, CT 06069 | 860.364.5526 | Fax: 860.364.1000 | slcrc@silverlakect.org