LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
VIEW Point |
by Howard Menaker |
A Home of Our Own
As the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center nears completion, we are beginning to hear a few people ask, "Why do we need a new community center? Don't we have an office?" As I thought about this question, it first struck me as a natural question: why build more space and take on all the new financial obligations in a weak economy? On second consideration, it seemed to me an odd question, and one that might be answered with another question: Don't we all want a home? Don't we all want to have a place we can go that we know is oursour special place where we don't have to be on someone else's turf? Finally, thinking about the human need for a home, it occurred to me that the history of CAMP Rehoboth is echoing the history of Rehoboth Beach itself. Rehoboth Beach started literally as a "camp." In 1871, a Methodist minister and his colleagues formed the Rehoboth Association, and later purchased roughly 400 acres of land in Delaware, which we now know as Rehoboth Beach. In 1873, they incorporated the Rehoboth Beach Camp Meeting Association of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Lots were sold or leased to members, who began claiming their newly purchased land by setting up tents. In the following years, tents gave way to cottages, and over the years cottages grew into full scale homes. In the meantime, a town center grew up. Services began to be provided by concerned and hard working citizens. Places where people gathered and worked and shared life experiences grew out of the sand. A library, a City Hall, schools, churches, entertainment venues, hotels, restaurants, a fire hall, and other buildings sent a message: we are here, we have a life to create and to celebrate, and we're staying here. What was once a camp grew into a community. Sound familiar? More than 20 years ago, a couple of Washingtonian/New Yorker's and some of their friends came to Rehoboth Beach and began what they called "CAMP Rehoboth." They were dedicated to Creating A More Positive Rehoboth. They set up offices wherever they could. They published a four-page newsletter and enlisted friends to help with events, inventing Sundance, and producing Love, Follies, and more. Programs grew and more and more services sponsored by CAMP Rehoboth took place throughout the entire year. But we, like the original population of Rehoboth Beach, want to be more than a transient settlement. We want to be a permanent part of the community. We've turned our tents into tiny cottages, and now we need to have a real home where we can come together now and for generations to come. To be sure, our new home will have "room for all," as the name Rehoboth translates. We will welcome all organizations who share our mission to use this facility and to come together as a community. But our GLBT community has matured and our programs have outgrown their current facilities. With so many people having done so much to make our community a strong part of the community at large, we are looking forward to having room to gather more than a few people at a timeso we can accomplish even more. We will no longer have to scramble to find space in church basements and facilities run by other organizations. Even better, we will be able to play host more easily. Imagine if you will, our GLBT and our straight friends coming to join us for films and art exhibitions and music about our heroes, our brothers and sisters, and about our liveson our own turf. Imagine the Sensitivity and Diversity Training we provide for the Rehoboth Beach police taking place in our house, not theirs. Imagine candidates for political office coming to our community's home to discuss issues that matter to us, like equality and equal justice. And personally, I imagine Patrick and I celebrating our 30th anniversary in a CAMP Rehoboth Community Center filled with friends and family who will see what we, the gay and lesbian community, have built and nurtured. So like the special city we love, we have moved from a simple camp to a community. This is why we want, and need, a CAMP Rehoboth Community Center. We await the day in the not so distant future, when we walk through the doors of a new home of our own. Howard Menaker is a member of the Board of Directors of CAMP Rehoboth. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 18, No. 13 September 12, 2008 |