Camp Lodge Dedication

Saturday morning we drove down and spent time at the Florida Methodist Warren Willis youth camp in Leesburg. Barnett Lodge which serves as the hub of the camp (offices, dining halls and fellowship hall) had been completely gutted earlier this year and then renovated and expanded.

The boys saw it gutted when we were there for clergy kids camp in January and wanted to see how the new building would look. Today was the official dedication and we wanted the boys to be part of this historic day in camp history.

We arrived about 10am which gave us plenty of time to take a tour of the new facilities and wander around a bit for ourselves. We were very impressed with what we saw. They retained some of the charm of the original structure (especially in the Fellowship Hall) and seamlessly added in new details that don't feel too "new" or overbearing.

A new courtyard area in the middle of the lodge as you walk up.




New administration wing on the left in front of the fellowship hall.





New expanded dining hall wing with four dining rooms instead of two.





New porch on outside of fellowship hall.




New windows along the back of the fellowship hall open up the view of the lake.




Original fireplace still intact.





Stage area is the same with a new hardwood floor....beautiful new chairs.





Rocking chair porch moved and with new chairs.




View of the rocking chair porch from the new terrace area.





The new terrace area with lots of benches.




The boys could not be at camp without checking out the dock, and the cross on the water.









View from Graham Sapp Chapel. There's a new retention pond created around the trees between camp and the lake. There's a four square court out there in the middle and plans call for a small foot bridge over to it.





Benches for morning devotions moved closer to the lake because of the retention pond.





The official worship service of dedication was held at 11:15am in the Fellowship hall. Besides all the official conference staff and camp staff there were several other pastors and families - plus in attendance were all 112 of the college students serving on Leadership Team who will be facilitating children's and youth camps this summer starting on Monday. Debbie served on Team and lived at camp the summer of 1997.

After worship, we gathered in the dining halls and enjoyed a really great lunch. Definitely not camp food (beef burgundy and grilled chicken) but served in true camp style!

A few more pictures before heading home.









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