By Dave Burfeind | Director, Lazy F Camp and Retreat Center
God has truly blessed the ministry of Lazy F Camp and Retreat Center through the decades and has been guiding our leadership in a bold new venture. For several decades the plan has been to construct a new dining hall to ease the burden of overcrowding during meal time that has become increasingly frequent. Throughout the years, Lazy F Camp and Retreat Center has been blessed with steady, increased use.
Currently, we serve about 30,000 meals to 5,800 guests each year. About 25 percent of the time we are over capacity in the dining hall, we do not have room for everyone at the table. This means we are either very tight on space or we have two meal times.
We know that meal time is sacred time, so much so that in worship we re-enact Jesus’ last meal with his disciples and tell stories of transformative meals. Sharing a delicious meal in a space that is open and comfortable is also a means of communicating the concept of God’s abundance, acceptance, and love.
Our goal is to raise funds to construct a western ranch style dining hall to allow 170 people to comfortably share a meal at one time. We envision a lodge approximately 6,600 square feet in size with outstanding views of the cross and ridgeline. This facility will reflect our rich ranch heritage, allow for the appreciation of our glorious setting, and provide a place at the table for everyone.
The current dining hall will be transformed into quality meeting spaces. This enhancement will be completed incrementally as funds allow, most likely with volunteer labor.
Friends of the Lazy F have been moved by our story and need and responded very generously. Simply put: we have GREAT NEWS to share! Thanks to generous donations and pledges, over $900,000 has already been given and pledged!
Many may ask: how did this happen and why have I not heard of this wonderful project? Campaign leadership have reached out to friends of Lazy F, telling the story and inviting them to be involved in the solution. We have reached out to groups utilizing our facilities, talked with long-time supporters, connected with several key churches, and held a couple fundraising banquets. Now that we have reached this critical point, we are ready and excited to enter the “public phase” of the campaign.
During the rest of the summer we will share more of our story and our plan to reach our next milestone of breaking ground, hopefully Spring 2017. We will be connecting with the churches in our conference to talk more about our need, the future, and see how we may work together to provide this crucial improvement to provide quality time for our guests to share a meal while at Lazy F Camp and Retreat Center.
