Certainty in uncertain times

Greetings Sentinel Friends, 
We are looking forward to the upcoming camp season in the fresh air and spreading out on Sentinel's 629 acres and a mile of water frontage.   We have health and safety protocols in place as we prepare for your arrival this summer.  Click here for more information and a video message.  

Swimming with new friends in the crystal clear refreshing waters of Dan Hole Pond, enjoying the spectacular views from the Ledges hike, challenging yourself on our team building ropes course, relishing well balanced home cooked meals in the Lodge dining hall, and simply appreciating the warm and distinct smell of the campfire with friends. These experiences and other life-long memories await you this summer at Camp Sentinel.

Essential things to do before coming to camp:  All forms may be downloaded here

1. Review packing list
2. Complete camper physical form and bring the first day of camp
3. Balance paid by June 1st. You may also add store money on your online account, to save time during check-in.
4. Prepare for a life-changing experience!

Please note check-in and pick-up times in the summer program brochure. Boys and Girls overnight camp check-in is on Sundays at 3pm with a closing ceremony/pick up on Saturdays at 10am.

Camp Sentinel 2020
2020 Walk in Confidence
Words like “be not afraid” and “fear not” occur over 300 times in the Bible.  There are many things to distract us in life, causing fear in our lives.  When we come face to face with fear, trusting God’s presence, promises, provision and power, we are then able to walk in confidence. 

Summer Camp programs
Little Adventures: June 28th - 30th         
Boys & Girls Session 1: July 5th - July 11th     
Boys & Girls Session 2: July 12th - July 18th   
Boys & Girls Session 3: July 19th - July 25th  
Boys & Girls Session 4: July 26th - Aug 1st   
Teen Camp: Aug 9th - Aug 14th  
View full program offerings

Friday Evening Red Carpet Banquet!
Friday evenings are a time of celebration when we remember all the great things about the week. Each Friday evening, we dress up and walk down the red carpet enjoying good food and great fun!

We look forward to seeing you this summer!

In His Service,
Rev. Kevin Van Brunt “Pk”
Executive Director
(603) 539-4839
29 Sentinel Lodge Rd.
Center Tuftonboro, NH 03816

More about Sentinel
Camp Sentinel is located in the foothills of the Ossipee Mountain range in Tuftonboro, New Hampshire. Established in 1949, Sentinel offers fun, quality Christian overnight and day camp for youth, adults and families. Sentinel hosts year-round rustic retreats for groups up to 200 guests (55 in the winter). Sentinel's group experiences are known for its home cooked meals, attention to detail and Christian hospitality. Amenities include: 5 unique hiking trails, 5 element ropes course with zip line, giant swing, 25-foot-tall rock-climbing wall, large field, archery range, chapel for up to 200 guests, and more. The camp provides solitude on its 600+ acres and over a mile of water frontage on crystal clear Dan Hole Pond.

Sentinel employs 40 summer staff from over 25 area churches. Staff either grow-up through our program or come with fresh new ideas to strengthen the program. Staff are background and reference checked and attend staff training. Our staff retention rate is high. When staff serve for a summer, they want to come back.

What the Staff Say
MEET THE STAFF
“Often people ask me, how could you "give up" your summer to work at camp for 9 weeks, and I suppose that could be a valid question. I guess it's because camp is my home away from home, where my second family is. I get to spend my summer not only with amazing people but in a bubble that protects against all the world throws at me. I wake up to constant love, fun and smiles and most importantly my summer is devoted to helping kids find their relationship with Christ. Life outside camp is just so boring in comparison. Simply put I would miss it” –Summer Staff

Support Sentinel
We ask for your prayers and support as we embrace the past and invest in the future! 
Your tax-deductible donation to Camp Sentinel makes a difference in the lives of many! Thank you for your prayers and support. This ministry would not be possible without the financial gifts and hard work of many of our Camp Sentinel family.

Help send a youth to camp when you shop with Amazon Smile.
.5% of your purchase to go to Camp Sentinel’s scholarship campaign. There is no cost to you and you still pay the same price for items on Amazon. Amazon makes the donation above and beyond your purchase. Simply click logo above, select Sentinel as the charity and shop as usual. Thank you for your support in helping children have a life changing Christian camp experience!

 

Pines Camping Area: 
The Pines offers a relaxing camping experience for individuals, families and groups on 33 beautiful sites. Enjoy spending your day on crystal clear Dan Hole Pond, hiking one of our five hiking trails or simply relaxing in a hammock by the campfire. Water and electric sites are available. Weekly summer praise and worship services Sunday at 9:30am in July and August.

When the pandemic recedes, the questions we now struggle with will face the test of a new reality. Much will be familiar, some things will have marginally changed, and there could be a whole world of change. A prevailing question is, “Is Jesus preparing us for a new future ministry and mission? I venture to say that the initial evidence is a resounding yes, and God is preparing us for something new that we haven’t quite grasped. While part of us remains anchored in the inherited church, another part will press into a new movement and a refreshed mission.

I am reminded of a “change story” my dad sometimes referenced in regards to returning home from World War II. As a young man he, along with his father, was working on a large dairy farm. Not long out of high school, my dad was drafted into the army during World War II. From 1942 until 1946 he never returned home. When he returned home, he went back to work with my grandfather on the dairy farm. One of the lasting memories of change that impacted my dad, was my grandfather no longer worked as a teamster, because during the war tractors had replaced horses. The horse barn was empty, and now my grandfather worked as a herdsman, glad for employment, but grieving the loss of draft horses. As my dad would joke, tractors were a lot more convenient, but didn’t respond well to voice commands. My grandfather never really reconciled himself to the absence of horses. He remained a reluctant driver of vehicles all of his life. 

In John 21, the first couple of paragraphs speak of seven disciples returning home. After leaving the fear and hiding in locked rooms, they returned home. I suspect as they looked at the Sea of Galilee, Peter resumed his role as fishing captain and led the other six out to sea for a night of fishing. I wonder if they had returned home expecting everything to be the same. Fishing was what they knew best. Jesus had risen from the dead, dispelled their fear. The new chapter had closed on a glorious note, and now it was time to return to fishing.  I wonder what mix of motivations the disciples possessed. Economic necessity? A known and comfortable routine? Defaulting to old habits, because they didn’t know what else to do? It was returning home to the almost familiar, until it becomes a fishless night. It is the voice of Jesus from the beach, the Kol Yahweh, the Word become flesh once again, who commands the practical, which results in 156 fish. The disciples eat the breakfast in silence He prepared.  “I am the bread of Life” prepares food for seven hungry men.   

The home the disciples returned to wasn’t the same after all. The sea was still there, but they couldn’t fish again, at least not in the same fashion. Jesus continued to reset their lives, asked for love and obedience, and I suspect instructed the disciples to return to Jerusalem. Going home wasn’t bad, but it missed the point, and home couldn’t really be home again.  

The big questions hanging in the air in every broader churchy circle I listen into is: “How will the pandemic change the church, the mission, the vision, the community?” As one barb worded it: “This will really shake up the corporate-ecclesiastical establishment.” Those big questions are not yet answered. We might need to resist the temptation to return entirely to home, but wait, and pray, and be reformed by the Holy Spirit. I really look forward to walking through the big questions with you, and receiving from our Lord, grace upon grace, as onward we navigate. I pray that I can rediscover that my only true home is in Christ, where in silence I can eat and listen.     

There are numerous conversations and questions concerning whether or not the CARES Act will benefit pastors and churches. Please remember that the legislation is contained in a 900+ page document. After several webinars, conference calls, and many conversations, I will attempt to give you my best understanding and thoughts.

1. There is a degree of undefined terminology within the act in regards  to churches in particular. In that pastors are not church employees, but self employed professionals, there is some question whether or not a pastor can be "furloughed" or "laid off". There is a more defined conclusion, that as a self-employed professional, should a church not be able to pay its pastor, the pastor can file for unemployment under the legislation. However, there is an unanswered question of whether a pastor could continue their pastoral duties while collecting unemployment.
2. What about church staff? If your church employs a secretary, organist, youth leader ect., and the church is not able to pay the staff's salary, it can apply for salary replacement under the CARES Act. This will entail documentation at both the beginning and end of the process. 
3. There is consistent observation that we will not know how this will benefit or not benefit churches and pastors until there is some experience of applications made and subsequent acceptance or denial. Please if your church applies, let me know what occurs, and your experience of the process.   

At this point I would encourage you to enter the process if needed, but please remember we do not know how this legislation will be applied and interpreted in relation to churches.

In Jesus name, Dale

Please see the invitation below from Ron Bouthillette. Contact him directly with any questions: ron.bouthillette@abcvnh.org. Please note that this meeting is limited to 100 participants.
 
Dr. Ronald Bouthillette, our Associate Executive Minister is inviting you to a Pastor’s fellowship on ZOOM
FRIDAY, 9:30 AM
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/8250032912
Meeting ID: 825 003 2912
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