News regarding Sewee, December 2007,

 

The Board of Camps and Retreats met in retreat in early November.  At this meeting it dealt with next steps at both Sewee and Asbury Hills and made some very important decisions.  As partners in ministry with you, we wanted to share a significant shift that is being put into place for the Sewee Coastal Retreat Center.

The board affirmed the long standing vision of building an adult retreat center on the Sewee property.  The board discussed the many questions about developing on that piece of land, including:  sewer capacity, concerns with zoning and restrictions, costs for building on the waterfront, financial viability and funding available for major capital construction.  There was also significant conversation about the present operation at Sewee.  The number of guests who use the site are very limited and a very small percentage of them are groups from SC United Methodist Churches.  The operation at Sewee loses over $100,000 each year with little hope of doing better with the limited number of beds on the property.

After much discussion, the decision was made to temporarily pause the operation at Sewee effective December 31, 2007 and to reduce the expenses at Sewee to costs for security and necessary repairs and maintenance.

The “savings” (or costs not incurred) will be used to hire a development director to begin raising funds for SC UM Camps and Retreat Ministries, with primary focus on raising funds to build the kind of facility needed in the lowcountry that will be viable and provide vital ministry to SC United Methodist Churches.  The chair of the board has appointed a committee to develop a plan to re-open Sewee.

 We will be sharing much more information regarding the vision for the future for both sites and how we are planning to move forward.  Our hope is to share a vision and plan with the 2008 Annual Conference session in June.  Please know that the board is committed to providing ministry at facilities in both the upstate and in the lowcountry.

John Redmond, Chair, Board of Camps and Retreats
Jody Oates, Executive Director of Camps and Retreats