BCH Winter 2024 Newsletter
February 21, 2024
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Mission Partners
On February 11th, with many from around the church, we celebrated the legacy and witness of our namesake, The Rt. Rev. Barbara C. Harris on the anniversary of her historic consecration as the first female bishop in the worldwide Anglican Communion. The Rt. Rev. Deon Johnson, for his own service of consecration as the Bishop of Missouri, drafted the following collect: "Everliving God, in every generation you cause fresh winds to renew, refresh, and refine your people and in your Word summon us to live courageously as Easter people in an often Good Friday world. Defend us in our own day to make no peace with oppression; that boldly following the example of your servant, Barbara Clementine Harris, chosen bishop in your church, we may strive not for ease or fame but gladly toil and walk with you all along our pilgrim journey; through Jesus Christ our Savior."
Hoping to honor the legacy and leadership of Bishop Barbara C. Harris and her intersectional commitment to justice, BCH is excited to announce partnership with The AGENDA Fund. Led By Elisse Douglas of BBF Co, The AGENDA Fund team has a deep history of executing and raising mission-aligned capital at scale for transformative real-estate projects. The fund aims to partner with grassroots community-led initiatives to rapidly access the resources they need to acquire land, as well as allow investors to fulfill commitments to racial justice and reparative capital.
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The name of the fund, "The AGENDA Fund" was inspired by the words of the Rev. Paul M. Washington (pictured right, from The Archives of the Episcopal Church, DFMS), a Civil Rights leader and Episcopal Priest. He led a walkout at the Episcopal Church's Special Convention in 1969 to protest the church leadership's inadequate response to a reparations funding plan: "White people cannot set the agenda for this church. Black people must set the agenda for this church and for this nation". Bishop Barbara C. Harris, then a lay delegate to this special convention, worked with The Rev. Paul Washington and other Black leaders in organizing the effort to ensure the Church was forced to engage this mission critical conversation at another time of great societal upheaval when, as is always the case, the path of least resistance is often the path of silence and distraction in the face of injustice.
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In the initial pre-development stage, BCH will receive donations on behalf of The AGENDA Fund, so that The AGENDA Fund team can explore the concept further, build the necessary legal and financial structures, assemble a council of advisors and identify potential pilot investments. Once the structures are in place for the fund to start receiving and deploying capital investments, we expect that BCH’s fiscal sponsorship will end, though we will remain a strategic partner, expanding our own learning and awareness about justice-based, equitable redevelopment, and serving as a faith-based institutional imagination partner with The Agenda fund team into the future.
BCH leaders will be joining meetings later this month with The AGENDA Fund team and lay and clergy leaders in The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts (EDOM) to learn about their vision for economic justice, equitable redevelopment and reparations efforts in the diocese. This work of missional redevelopment doesn't just impact EDOM, but is work and ministry that is being explored by all three of our partner dioceses- Massachusetts, Western Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.
As a Center, our hope is to continue, in the words of our mission, "to strengthen right relationships in the support of environmental and social justice", alongside and inspired by our ongoing work of caring for all those who spend time at the center, offering space and direction for spiritual practice, connecting to the natural world, and, together, following the Spirit into deepening values and expanding vision.
"Another world is not only possible. She is on Her way. On a quiet day, I can hear Her breathing. She is on Her way."
-words by Arundhati Roy, song linked by Ana Hernandez and Fran McKendree
Meet The Agenda Fund Team:
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Elisse Douglass, The AGENDA Fund Project Lead, is passionate about reimagining what Black economic opportunity can be, and she believes strongly in the connection between real estate, solidarity economies, and racial justice.
She specializes in leveraging strategic investments, partnerships, and bold visions to help communities across the country translate their values into neighborhood economic hubs of the future, making sure they are equitable, innovative, and reflective of the communities they serve.
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Elizabeth Moriarty is a chaplain, entrepreneur, organizer, strategic advisor, storyteller and fundraiser for congregations and community institutions who want to build power and take action on systemic injustice in their local communities, with a particular focus on economic justice and reparations.
She is discerning a call to ordination as a priest with the Episcopal Church in New Hampshire and also serves as a pastor at Trinity Episcopal Lutheran Church in Claremont, NH.
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Daniel Fireside focuses on raising mission-aligned and reparative capital for social justice.
As founder of Uncommon Capital Solutions, Daniel has raised tens of millions of dollars for a variety of community-based initiatives, including major real estate projects in Los Angeles, Chicago, and the Bronx.
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Mark your Calendars- Spring & Summer 2024 |
Wild Tea with Jesus: A Day Long Retreat at BCH
When: 16 March, 2024 from 9 am-3:30 pm
Join Linden Rayton of Living Water Nature Programs on a day retreat at BCH where we will enter into Jesus’ Lenten journey by engaging in an ancient human tradition-- making tea. Our tea will be created from wild ingredients on the BCH property. Through the ritual of foraging, brewing and drinking our tea, we will create an atmosphere where we can dig deep into two separate stories of Jesus staying close with God in his last days.
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The day will start with a morning session, break for an included lunch, continue with an afternoon session, and finish with a closing prayer. Each session will include brewing a different kind of tea, and explore a different story of Jesus. All participants should bring outdoor-appropriate clothing as we will be outside for two portions of the day, except in case of extreme weather. Outdoor terrain covered will include gravel paths and rolling woodland trails. Registration is limited to 20 participants and this program is intended for participants 18 and up. $40 per person. Registration is capped at 20 participants, but we have a few spots left, so register today!
Linden Rayton is an environmental educator and Episcopal Christian from Hopkinton, New Hampshire. She has been active in the Episcopal Church in New England for years alongside a career as a naturalist with many different organizations. As owner of Living Water Nature Programs, she hopes to inspire a deeper relationship between people and the outdoors through exploration, education and reflection, especially at the intersection of faith and nature.
To register, click the button below!
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Join us for a weekend of work (and play!) as we complete various projects around BCH. Bring yourself, your family & friends, your church, or your youth group to BCH for the day on Saturday, 11 May or stay over to Sunday, 12 May and help us prep the camp for Spring and Summer. All ages, stages, and abilities welcome.
Saturday, we'll gather for breakfast in the Dining Hall starting at 8 am and then break off into project groups for the morning. We'll gather back at lunch and then either begin new projects for the afternoon, or continue the morning's project.
The work day will end before dinner and we'll celebrate our time together with a campfire and reception Saturday evening.
Sunday morning, breakfast will be at 8 am, followed by a closing Eucharist service which will wrap up our time together.
To register, click the button below!
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Registration for Summer Camp 2024 is officially open! All registrants before March 1 will receive the early-bird discounted rate automatically.
The dates are:
Family Camp:
June 29-July 2, 2024
Family Camp is a family-oriented, Episcopal camp experience for folks of all family configurations from around New England. You can expect a long weekend of play, worship, community and rejuvenation.
Whether your family is looking for time to get away, a space to be silly and joyful together, or a deep renewal of faith- find it with the BCH family camp community this summer!
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Youth Overnight Camp:
Session 1: July 7-12, 2024
Session 2: July 14-19, 2024
Session 3: July 21-26, 2024
Session 4: July 28-Aug. 2, 2024
Explorers: Campers completing 3rd-5th grade Challenge: Campers completing 6th-8th grade Base: Campers completing 9th-11th grade
All Sessions are for all ages!
Whether climbing high on the ropes course or paddle boarding on Otter Lake, there's something for everyone here at BCH; from swimming to games, to campfires and dancing and classic skits, campers are sure to create new friendships and renew old ones year after year.
Whether BCH is your camp home or you’re looking at coming for the first time, we’re excited to meet you at camp this summer!
Summer Camps at BCH are inclusive Christian formation ministries of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts in partnership with the dioceses of New Hampshire and Western Massachusetts.
You and your family are welcome here! As an Episcopal camp, we are passionate about being a safe space for all campers and families and we strive for a rich diversity of campers and staff. Each week chaplains participate in all camp activities and lead space for chapel and reflection.
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Summer Staffing:
Applications for all levels of summer camp staffing are also live! If you're interested in being a junior counselor, summer-long core counselor, a camp nurse, or an adult volunteer, reach out to BCH Camp Director, Kate Howton.
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A picture's worth a thousand words:
Winter at BCH
This Winter, we've hosted church and non-profit groups from all around the New England region, including Province I School for Deacons, St. Paul's Bedford's 10th Annual Men's Retreat, The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Nashua, The United Methodist Foundation of New England, Babson College Posse Retreat, the Pre-Lenten Clergy Retreat for the Episcopal Dioceses of Massachusetts and Western Massachusetts, and so many more.
If you want to host your own event at BCH, give us a call or e-mail info@bchcenter.org to get started planning your time away today. Tag us in your group's social media posts (Facebook: @BCHCenter Instagram: @bch_camp)! We love to see all the ways guest groups build community in this space.
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View from the freestanding chimney by the waterfront | |
A not-quite-frozen Otter Lake and the dock system at the waterfront | |
BCH Outdoor altar after the January snowstorm | |
We continue to rely on the generosity of our BCH community. If you would like to participate in the mission and ministry of The Barbara C. Harris Center by donating to our Operating Fund either as a one-time gift, or as a recurring donation, please click the button below. Thank you for your support and your partnership. | |
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Barbara C. Harris Episcopal Camp & Conference Center
(603) 547-3400
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