Methodist churches welcome their new pastor and Silver Lake Camp & Retreat gains a director

SHARON — After a diligent search for just the right minister with just the right qualities, the United Methodist Church of Sharon and the United Methodist Church of Lakeville called the Rev. Dr. Anna Crews Camphouse to serve jointly the two growing congregations. Her service began officially on Saturday, July 1.

Rev. Camphouse and her husband, David, who has served as Pastor in Methodist Church programs in Alabama and California, have moved to Sharon’s Silver Lake Camp & Retreat Center, where he was named Director as of January, 2023, looking forward to imaginative expansion to serve that constituency of summer campers and adult retreat programs in conjunction with the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ.

Pausing for conversation on Friday, Aug. 4, shortly before Rev. Camphouse left for a Chicago conference, the couple shared their enthusiasm for the work that stood before them as well as the area towns that have become home. Both bring exuberance and imagination to their positions within their communities.

“It is an interesting topic,” Rev. Camphouse said when asked about dwindling church attendance trends, sensing a shift in community centeredness. In the mid-20th century, she noted, the center of community was found in the churches. She also sees a shift from feeling connected to one’s local community in favor of a wider arena of involvement, the internet responsible for more globalized thinking.

“Why go to church?” was the question, and the shift away from attendance was the answer.

“People are still spiritual, but not religious,” she said. With the trend came inability to connect and a tendency toward division, many people living with anger or apathy. “It can be overwhelming,” she added.

“I believe that a faith community is a core element that we need to expand into, to create sacred spaces, to engage with others through ‘meaning-making conversations’,” Rev. Camphouse said, returning to the theme throughout.

She urged people to “speak and listen well” with each other, a behavior that she personifies. “We forgot how to talk and listen. That’s what I’m about,” she said.

“The church needs to shift toward relationship building,” she said, adding “I’m saying these things from the pulpit.” She is working to create conversations and community.

Rev. Camphouse has recently returned from the Parliament of the World’s Religions, an annual international conference convened in August this year in Chicago.  She has now attended five Parliaments throughout the world. This year’s theme was “A Call to Conscience: Defending Freedom and Human Rights.”

These Parliaments assemble 10,000 participants from 80 countries who are of 200 different faith traditions, Rev. Camphouse noted. She serves as a member of the “core team” for hosting the “Women’s Village.” That organized group aims to empower women and promote equal voices and just treatment around the world.

Before moving to Sharon, Rev. Camphouse served at Countryside United Church of Christ in Omaha, Nebraska, as the Interim Director of Engagement and Formation. She was also the Clergy Chair of the Tri-Faith Initiative in Omaha, the only place in the world where a synagogue, mosque and church intentionally shared a property to demonstrate a model of peaceful coexistence and collaboration among the Abrahamic faith traditions.

“I love living in a small town that is filled with creative, intelligent and thoughtful people,” Rev. Camphouse said of her Sharon-Lakeville home. “I am relishing discovering the history, and I am drawn to meaningful conversations with amazing residents.”

Anticipating challenges to be addressed, Rev. Camphouse spoke of the schisms dividing people collectively in the nation and the world, and strategies to help people to reconnect and recenter to restore and deepen relationships.

In addition to her pastoral experience, Rev. Camphouse is a registered nurse adding a listening ear and a holistic health approach that can incorporate spiritual direction. She is also a trained World Café facilitator.

          Silver Lake

Now known as the Silver Lake Camp & Retreat Center, David Camphouse recalled that the site began in 1957 as a camp connected with the United Church of Christ. He attended summer camp as a child and as he matured, he continued in camp ministry for a 30-year career.

Camphouse said that the COVID-19 pandemic brought significant changes to camp ministry and administration. The call to remain safe within family changed children’s summer experiences.

Silver Lake Camp & Retreat Center is now equipped to serve Grade 4 through high school aged campers. This summer, Camphouse was gratified to see an increase in children enrolled in Grades 4, 5 and 6.

“This year, I’ve been excited to work with staff who were campers at Silver Lake, continuing that relationship by returning,” he said.

“Our gift is providing the experience for campers to be themselves at camp,” he said. “They are allowed to claim all of who they are,” he added.

Plans include attracting regional or national conferences to the camp, or hosting retreats, Camphouse said.

Welcoming to all

Eager to meet members of her new communities and in the hope that some might be curious, Rev. Camphouse noted that Sunday worship at United Methodist Church of Lakeville begins at 9 a.m. and at United Methodist Church of Sharon at 10:30 a.m. Both churches have regularly updated Facebook pages to share news of upcoming special programs.

Residents are also invited to tour the Silver Lake  facility throughout the fall, beginning on Monday, August 21. To find a good time to visit, explore future program opportunities for individuals or groups, call the Silver Lake Camp and Retreat Center Office (860)364-5526.

The Camphouses have three children: Sophia who will enroll as a freshman at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, and identical twins Paul and John, who will enter Grade 5 at Sharon Center School.