A message from the President, Eric Ulrich

I am proud to be the 2012 President of Delanco Camp Meeting Association. Delanco Camp has a legacy steeped in the history of winning souls for Christ. As President, I intend on maintaining this tradition while moving us forward in our efforts to become even better. I specifically intend to focus on:

• Administrative clarity; there has been confusion in recent years about our organizational structure and who really is in charge. This will be clarified.

• A strengthened financial foundation; money is always difficult to talk about but Jesus spoke of money many times throughout his teachings. We need to focus on developing true stewardship partners that support the ministry of camp with prayer, finances and actions.

• Exploring expanded usage and appeal; we have a great asset in our land and camp facilities. We need to develop more strategic alliances with other Christian organizations and businesses to make better year-round usage of camp.

• A revitalization program of putting our best foot forward; maybe we can’t be the biggest or offer the most programs or amenities but our size and location affords us the opportunity to be a focused boutique camp. We must understand who we are and what we do well and look to strength those qualities, being the best at what we do. Also best foot forward transcends into the best first impression. When campers and their families walk on to the campgrounds they need to sense we are different and better than other camp experiences.

I look forward to seeing many of you on the camp grounds this summer. Please join me at Camp Meeting July 1 – 7, 2012.

This message originally appeared in the Delanco Camp e-newsletter. You can read the full email HERE.

Are you a college student studying journalism, public relations, video production or some related field looking for an internship this summer?

Consider applying for the summer communications intern position opening at Delanco Camp.

Spend five weeks documenting the summer camp experience, updating our blog daily, sharing tidbits on social media, taking photographs and capturing video.

Like Kevin Wolf in 2010 and Jade Hunsberger in 2011, you could be spending part of your summer at camp serving God and doing what you love to do while honing your job skills.

The details are below:

Summer Communications Intern

Delanco Camp, an inter-denominational Christian summer camp and retreat center in southern New Jersey, is seeking a summer intern to assist with documenting the summer camp experience at our five week-long youth camps.

Responsibilities will include updating the camp’s blog daily with writing and photos, the camp’s Facebook and Twitter feeds and capturing video for use on the blog at the completion of each week of camp and for future use. The intern will also be asked to develop ways to engage parents through web communication and campers when they’ve returned home.

The ideal candidate will be a self-starter with skills and experience in journalism, photography, video and social media and a commitment to the Christian faith. Problem solving, hard work and determination are also required.

The intern will be working with a supervisor and editor off-site, but will be under the direction of the summer staff supervisor. The internship will be full-time for five weeks from July 8-14 and July 22-August 18 and will include a training weekend April 20-22. A stipend of $500 will be provided as well as housing and food.

Interested candidates should send a resume and any samples of writing, blogging, photography and video to matt.ralph@delanco.org.

We were nominated in three categories of the South Jersey Christian Events 2011 Reader Favorites poll this year, including favorite blog, favorite camp and conference center and favorite 2011 concert (Tenth Avenue North).

You can vote once in every category every 24 hours through Jan. 22. Obviously, we’d like you to vote for the three categories we were nominated in but really it’s up to you to decide. We are privileged to be included with so many wonderful ministries from South Jersey who are working to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and build His kingdom here in the lower half of the state.

To vote, you need to first register and use the username and password to log in so that your vote can be recorded. One lucky voter is going to win a drawing for a prize pack so every vote gets you another entry for that as well.

Go to www.sjchristianevents.com/2011-voting for all the info.

We received word from Andrew Sullivan of Stop Hunger Now today that the meals that were packed during Junior Camp were shipped to Kenya:

It is with great appreciation and excitement that I write you this afternoon to inform you that meals from your respective Meal Packaging Events have left the Philadelphia Warehouse and are en route to Kenya. The meals are part of a 40′ shipping container (285,120 meals) that is bound for Bright Hope International, Kenya where they will provide nourishment to thousands of children in school feeding programs!

1. Pray for the ministry of the camp and those in leadership as they make decisions in the offseason and for the events and programs that take place at the camp in the fall, winter and spring months.

2. Become a stockholder. Stockholders commit to supporting the camp and attend the annual stockholder’s meeting every fall. Click HERE to download an application.

3. Volunteer. Volunteers are always needed to support the ministry. From manual labor around the grounds to leadership and support for committees, your volunteer time is needed throughout the year at the camp. Check out our various volunteer opportunities at http://delanco.org/support/volunteer.

4. Tell others about camp. Did camp impact you this summer? Why not ask if you can share a testimony of your time at camp with your church congregation? Are you a parent who has seen the impact of camp in your child? Tell other parents about us. Write a recommendation on our Facebook page (facebook.com/delancocamp) or give us a review on our Google place page.

5. Goodsearch and Goodshop. You can earn money for the camp by surfing the web and shopping online at Goodsearch.com. Register and track your support for the camp.

6. Become a financial partner. As an independent, inter-denominational, nonprofit organization, Delanco Camp exists because the people who have been impacted by the ministry generously give of their time, talents and resources. Become a financial partner and help us build on the many life-altering memories that have been made for future generations. Click HERE for more info.

7. Come to the fall retreat. If you are in 7th through 12th grade, we want to see you at the fall retreat Oct. 14-16. Register now at http://delanco.org/register.

8. Bring your group to camp. We offer rentals of the property for retreats, meetings, family reunions and other events. We also have the challenge course available for rental for groups. Click HERE for more info.

9. Shop online at Christianbook.com using our affiliate link. Whether you’re ordering books for yourself or do ordering for your church, ministry, small group or Sunday School, Delanco Camp receives 10 percent of your order when you go to http://delanco.org/bookstore.

10. Turn your trash into cash for Delanco Camp. Terracycle takes your trash and donates money to your favorite nonprofit. They even pay the postage when you ship them things like Kashi packaging, cereal bags and candy wrappers. Sign up for an account and start supporting Delanco Camp with your trash.

Scheflen, who was raised in Merchantville, N.J., first arrived in Bolivia in 1952. During her many decades of serving the Bolivian people, she founded the Rio Nuevo Grade School, Berea High School, Berea Bible Seminary and Bolivian Evangelical University, which was the first private, Spanish-speaking evangelical university in South America.

A 1947 Asbury University graduate, Scheflen also earned a theology degree from Malone University before entering a mission field she officially retired from after 53 years of service in 2003. She continued to live in Bolivia until political turmoil forced her and other missionaries to flee in the fall of 2008, but returned to the place she wanted to live out her final years last year.

Click HERE to read an article on the WGM website about Scheflen’s life and ministry.

During her many visits to Delanco Camp over the years, Scheflen impacted countless youth and adults and was used by God to lead dozens more to follow her into the mission field.

Were you one of those impacted by her ministry? Share your recollections of Mery in the comments.

Earlier this week, the fine folks over at Goodsearch and Goodshop unveiled a brand new website with some exciting new features. As a Goodsearcher and Goodshopper you now have the opportunity to register an account and track your searches and purchases. What does this mean? It means you can show how much you support a charity, like Delanco Camp.

You can also collect points for searching, shopping, downloading the toolbar and telling your friends about Goodsearch and Goodshop on Facebook and Twitter. Let the friendly competition begin!

If you aren’t familiar with Goodsearch, it’s an organization that donates money to nonprofits every time someone searches the web and shops online at some 2,500 participating stores like Barnes and Noble, Target and Home Depot. To date, the camp has earned more than $1,400 just from supporters doing what they would normally do online.

Show your support today by registering an account at Goodsearch. For every supporter we register, the camp also gets entered in a drawing for $1,000.

Burkman served the Lord as a pastor of United Methodist churches in southern New Jersey for a remarkable 63 years, the longest of anyone in the conference when he retired from his last church in Cape May County at age 84.

Though I never had the privilege of meeting “Manny” or “Burky” as he was known, I understand he was quite the revivalist who made a lasting impact for the kingdom in every church he served and at our camp when it was in the town of Delanco and when it moved to its present location. He was a board member and led many a workday at camp, carpentry being one of his passionate hobbies.

If you have a recollection of Emanuel, please be sure to share it in the comments below.

A Memorial Service will take place at The Shores at Wesley Manor, 2201 Bay Avenue, in Ocean City, on Saturday, March 5, at 11 a.m.

If you would like to send condolences to the family you can write to:

Mr. and Mrs. Ted Burkman
P.O. Box 2666
El Cajon, CA 92021

Drs. Tom and Lani Burkman
800 Kirkwood Drive
Grand Island, NY 14072

This year, the Dove-award winners will be at Junior High II August 7-13. A concert is being planned…Stay tuned for more details.

In the mean time, check out this video Tenth Avenue North did for the new film Grace Card.

I was a camper with Josh growing up and was always well fed on the anything-but-typically-gross camp food his mom prepared in the kitchen as head cook all of my years as a camper.

The Palumbo family could really use your prayers as they mourn the tragic and untimely loss of Josh.

If you didn’t have the pleasure of knowing Josh as I and pretty much anyone who was a camper at Delanco in the ’90s had, I think this picture captures his personality well. Since hearing the horrible news, the memories that keep flooding back to me are of Josh at camp, lightening the mood and making everyone laugh in a way that only he could.

Below is the obituary with information about an opportunity to visit with the family:

Joshua W. Palumbo, 30, of Wildwood, NJ, formerly of Washington Twp., NJ, passed away on February 2, 2011. Josh was a graduate of Washington Twp. High School and formerly worked as a chef. Loving son of Rev. Joseph Palumbo, Sr. and Donna Palumbo (nee Sparks). Dear brother of Joseph Palumbo, Jr., Jeremy Palumbo (Danielle) and Jennifer Wood (John). Loving grandson of Elizabeth Sparks. Dear uncle of Spencer, Kiera, Ciara, Gavin, Dakota, Rashelle and Alexandria. Relatives and friends are invited to call on Thursday from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm at the Farnelli Funeral Home, 504 N. Main Street, Williamstown, NJ, where a service will follow at 12:00 pm. Cremation will be held privately. In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to Friends of Josh Palumbo, Crest Savings Bank, 3301 Pacific Ave., Wildwood, NJ 08260.

Click HERE for the funeral home site, where you can post on the guestbook and send private condolences to the family.