This past week I traveled to Alton Bay, New Hampshire for board meetings for Alton Bay Conference and Retreat Center. It felt good to be meeting with people in person on the road again. This was my first airplane flight since COVID-19 began in March 2020 and I have to say it was a different. I am not claustrophobic, but sitting in a small plane full of people with masks on for a number of hours got old really quickly. Once I got to the campground, it felt very familiar, and it was great to see the people and hear about the upcoming ministries for the summer.

God has blessed so much through the pandemic both by the hands of his people and through other means. Most of you are aware of the ministry of ABCRC; they provide land for cottages for families to enjoy during the summer months, a conference center with hotels and mission cottage rooms for individuals and families to stay and a camping program at Camp Adventure that has been used for many years. I have the privilege of serving on the board of directors of the camp as Executive Director of ACGC. Alton Bay has had its struggles through the years with a number of major fires that have taken out many cottages, but they continue to provide a special place for Christians to gather and grow together. If you have not yet read their report in the 2021 Triennial Booklet, please take the time to read it here.

Our denomination is blessed to have so many associate members on both a national level and on conference/regional levels. We have seven associate members that are part of Advent Christian General Conference, but in our regions and conferences we have over 20 active campgrounds serving Advent Christians as well as other church groups. Many of these were not able to operate during the pandemic, which has caused financial strain coming into this year. Please pray for all of these ministries as they prepare for coming summer!