The Case for Support
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About the Campaign |
Because our church needs youth and our youth need the best our church can offer
Silver Lake is a critically important resource for ministry in our churches. Summer conferees, away from home for the first time, experience the acceptance and security of being part of a Christian community. Weekend retreats give direction to young people in their search for identity and purpose. For everyone, whether a staff volunteer, a youth retreater, or summer conferee, the Silver Lake experience is an important part of one’s Christian formation.
Leaders have been nurtured and mentored at the Lake for almost 50 years. Many pastors and lay leaders now serving in Connecticut churches and across the country can testify to the importance of Silver Lake in their lives.
A successful Campaign for Silver Lake will ensure the continued viability for this vital church resource for the next 50 years.
- We will finish refurbishing the summer facilities by completing the new cabin circles and building commons buildings in each circle, modestly increasing the capacity of the social hall, creating an art center out of the existing wood shop that will be relocated, and building another showerhouse.
- We will build a new dining center for retreat season use, reconfigure the Cedars to serve two youth retreat groups and their leaders, and upgrade the Pines and the Glen lodges.
and because it isn’t just for youth
Many churches are looking for attractive and affordable retreat space where adult and intergenerational groups can reflect on life’s journey and how God is at work in their lives. The Campaign for Silver Lake will replace the outmoded and deteriorating Retreat Center with expanded new facilities, each 3 person room having its own bath, in a configuration that accommodates several groups of varying sizes at the same time.
- We will build a new 12 room Retreat Center, an 8 room Retreat Lodge, and a 6 room Guest House, each with appropriately sized group meeting spaces.
Silver Lake Conference Center must be refurbished and rebuilt to meet the needs of churches in the 21st century.
Failure to undertake this needed investment puts the continued viability of this vital ministry at risk. These principles have guided the design and plans for this project:
- Preserve the simple natural beauty of the site.
- Create buildings that fit into the landscape, are energy efficient and cost effective to operate and maintain.
- Design spaces that are attractive and appropriately sized in order to generate the usage needed to keep fees affordable.
