LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
CAMP Matters |
by Murray Archibald |
House and Heart
In the same week that this first issue of the 2009 season of Letters hits the streets of Rehoboth, the new wing of the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center will quietly open its doors to begin serving the needs of our community. I say quietly because the Open House on February 7 is a gentle openingthe Grand Opening and Dedication won't take place until May 30, when we can enjoy all the new spaces, both inside and out, and welcome back all our summer friends and residents. The logo for the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center is a house and heart, so from a thematic point of view this opening couldn't come at a better time, falling as it does, very close to Valentine's Day. The whole project has, over the many years that it has taken us to get to this point, required the gifts and the talents of hundreds of individuals. It has always been a "labor of love" for the members of the Founders' Circle, the Board of Directors, the Building Committee, the staff, the countless volunteers and all the many supporters and sponsors who have all worked to make this dream a reality. Celebrating this wonderful moment, I can't help but look back over the 19 years it has taken us to reach this great day. Some in our community will remember the very first organizational meetings that took place way back thenand the naysayers who said it would never happen. From its inception that first year, the idea of providing community space was always a part of the mission of CAMP Rehoboth, but it wasn't until the mid to late 1990s that the decision to expand into a full community center was made. Once that decision was made, members of the local community working together in a series of CAMP Rehoboth Project Advisory workshops developed a community center vision statement to be added to the original CAMP Rehoboth mission and purpose. Vision: To Be the Heart of the Community The CAMP Rehoboth Community Center is an inclusive space with and without walls, which creates and nurtures a focal point for connecting people, activities, and resourcesembracing diversity as an essential component. The Center is the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community's contribution to creating a home for all. Creating a welcoming home for all has always been the keystone of the CAMP Rehoboth philosophywhether it applied to our organization, or to the relationships and policies we make concerning our community, our town, our state, or our country. That philosophy has blurred the lines between gay and straight, rich and poor, and young and old. That philosophy doesn't make distinctions between religious beliefs, nationality, skin color, gender, or any of the many other ways we try to define our fellow human beings. That philosophy has always pushed us to be more than just a gay and lesbian organization, and to strive to connect with other organizations and community needs whenever and wherever we are able. In this massive, global, internet and media connected world in which we live, President Obama's voice of hope and message of diversity carried him to the White Houseand has been heard all across the globe. He is inspiring the world to think about our planetour homeand what we can all do to live in it together. His call to community service reminds us that he began as a community organizer and that we need to start here, in our own local communities and hometowns, if we are to truly build a world that celebrates the rich diversity around us. The human heart, be it a physical heart or a figurative one, needs proper care to do its jobeither in a body or as a representation of the human soul. Eating right and exercising protects the physical heart. Love protects the spiritual one. So too, our community centerour house and heartneeds to be protected, needs to be properly cared for and nourished if it is to grow fully into the vision that its founders intended it to be. Even in the very midst of our excitement over the completion of our new building, the current economic situation casts a long shadow of concern for all of us. Building a house is only the first step as every homeowner knows. A house takes care and effort to maintain. It takes love to make it a home. Recently we launched our 2009 CAMP Rehoboth Annual Membership drive. Becoming a member of CAMP Rehoboth does come with benefits (see page 16) but it is also going to provide the sustaining money that it will take to run the center in the years ahead. To properly care for and nurture our Centerthe heart of our communitywill take all of us joining CAMP Rehoboth at whatever level we can afford. It will require more community involvement in committee work and in developing new programs that are relevant to life in the 21st century. It will require new leaders stepping up at all levels of the organizationand a willingness on the part of those of us who have been here for a long time to welcome them with open arms. Murray Archibald, Founder and President of the Board of Directors of CAMP Rehoboth, is an artist in Rehoboth Beach. Thank you to all the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center Volunteers for the period of Nov 21-Feb 4. Carl Armideo Tony Burns Harvey Chasser Beth Cohen Becky Craft Ward Ellinger Allen Jarmon Spencer Kingswell Myra Kramer Charlie Lee Barb Ralph Ken Reilly Chris Sampson Rick Saylor Rose Schmidt Guillermo Silveira Dave Stabile Bill Staiger Kathy Wiz John Zinsmeister Starburst Gayla Julie Arenstein Cathin Bishop Nancy Bouse Monica Fleischmann Lynn Gaites Phyllis Glanz Jocelyn Kaplan Beth Kopicki Faye Koslow Evelyn Maurmeyer Sara Mayes Norma Morrison Natalie Moss Julie Peters Roni Posner Mary Beth Rooks Laura Simon Sandra Skidmore Carol Stewart Micaela Tedford Kerry Thalheim Rainbow Thumb Club* Matt Carey Ward Ellinger Rob Freeman Tony Ghigi Steve Hoult Anne Mundel Bud Palmer Ken Reilly Tom White *CAMP Caretakers |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 19, No. 01 February 06, 2009 |