Gathering people together and changing their lives.  Encouraging individuals to join together in Christian community.  Helping church communities through Christ confront, comfort, and convert the world around them.  These have always been the goals of American Baptist Churches of Connecticut (ABCCONN) and Camp Wightman.  And now, in the days when so much else is about convenience and efficiency, our ministries of relationship and growth are needed more than ever.

New technological advances help make work more efficient and communication more convenient.  Instant messaging and cell phones with cameras are considered essential for “keeping in touch.”  Deep, lasting relationships, however, are not made and kept across the wires or through satellite signals.  The best of human interaction happens when we can be together.  Trust is earned when we can shake hands or look each other in the eye.  Growth is experienced when we share discussion across a table or turn together to look in the same direction.  Closeness to God is found when we gather as communities to worship, learn, and serve.

We Connecticut American Baptists find ourselves at an opportune moment.  As we seek to grasp and respond to God’s transforming power, we are called to bring that power to the world.  We believe the best way to do this is by expanding resources and facilities to bring together committed and creative Christians in congregations and within the setting of camping and conferences.  Working with and through congregations, ABCCONN offers focused resources and support that churches need to lead the way in the world.  Individuals and faith communities are thus guided in the task of growing their faith and discovering everything it means to be a Christian.  And, in the unique setting of Camp Wightman, campers of all ages and conference groups of all sizes will come together in new ways to experience God’s power. 

A Vibrant Past

For over 180 years, Baptists in Connecticut have joined together in mutual support and ministry.  Congregations have benefited from programs, fellowship, and the leadership of skilled regional staff who inspired generations of Baptists to a wider and more engaged mission.  Important ministries have been established, including Connecticut Baptist Homes, Mystic River Homes, Noank Baptist Group Homes, and Pierce Memorial Baptist Home.  Baptist life in Connecticut has been supported in many ways, including the establishment of ministerial standards, college and seminary scholarships, regional youth ministry, annual gatherings, and clergy support groups.  ABCCONN has a rich and vibrant history of Baptist witness and mission.

Camp Wightman – a camp, conference, and retreat center – is a vital part of the work of ABCCONN.  From the purchase of the property in 1951, Wightman has been the site for yearly camping sessions, providing opportunities for outdoor adventure and spiritual growth to thousands of children, youth, and adults.  In addition, growing numbers of non-church-related individuals are served through Wightman programs, making camp one of ABCCONN’s most effective outreach services.

Together, ABCCONN and Camp Wightman have transformed lives and inspired churches.  One only has to look at the campers who have gone on to be camp, church, and ABCCONN leaders to know God’s power is working through us.

An Exciting Present

ABCCONN is at the crossroads of meeting needs and initiating new programs, while at the same time finding ways to financially support its ongoing programs and staff.  With increasing costs and decreasing traditional revenue sources, ABCCONN has had to look for new ways to support its mission.  The Friends of ABCCONN – a group of individuals who have come together to support ABCCONN’s initiatives – have played a significant role in providing needed resources for ABCCONN during this period of transition.  Over the last several years, the Friends, through individual donations, have helped ABCCONN its goals and reach out to churches across the State. 

Camp Wightman, too, is at a crossroads, facing the next logical step in its development.  The camp has matured from a summer program into a year-round operation, which serves not only campers, but ABCCONN’s churches and other groups through retreats and conferences.  Nonetheless, it cannot support full-scale retreats and major Christian music or drama productions, nor can it effectively feed and service full camps, due to lack of adequate meeting space. 

A Vital Future

It is time now for ABCCONN and Camp Wightman to move forward and transform themselves with God’s power and your help. 

With your help, ABCCONN in the Twenty-first Century will be a self-sustaining, flexible denomination, capable of reaching out and helping local churches.  ABCCONN will provide training and educational opportunities preparing church leaders for new challenges, standing strong for the Baptist distinctives of soul liberty and the autonomy of the local church, while engaging in a united witness and mission to a troubled world. 

With your help, Camp Wightman will continue to inspire future church leaders through a growing camping and conferencing programs.  It will be an even greater resource for churches and offer an improved opportunity for ministry and service.  With dedicated meeting space adjacent to Raff Dining Hall, Camp Wightman will be able effectively to handle more campers, produce more significant Christian musical and drama productions, and host bigger conferences and retreats for our churches.  Camp Wightman will continue to be a place of rest and respite, holy ground where campers and retreat participants experience God in new and refreshing ways. 

The Campaign to Celebrate God’s Transforming Power

Please join in God’s transformation of ABCCONN and Camp Wightman for the benefit of churches across Connecticut by participating in the capital campaign.  Through your donations, we can:

·         Transform ABCCONN into a Twenty-first Century organization with the capability and flexibility to meet the changing needs of our local churches.  Your support will help secure the future of ABCCONN as a lasting and significant source of programs and services.

·         Broaden and deepen the ministry of Camp Wightman by allowing it to reach out and serve new campers, as well as more conferences and retreats.  Your support will allow construction of a separate meeting space adjacent to Raff Dining Hall to expand dining hall capacity, when needed, to provide production space for Christian musicals and dramas, and to hold larger retreats and conferences for churches throughout the region. 

Through God’s transforming power, ABCCONN and Camp Wightman have nurtured the American Baptist spirit and have helped each other – ABCCONN by supporting camp, and Camp Wightman by producing dedicated Baptist leaders from across the State.  Through God’s power, they will become even stronger.  Toward that end, we are seeking to raise $475,000.00 to be expended as follows:

1.                            $100,000.00 dedicated to the Friends of ABCCONN for the support of new and continuing ABCCONN services and programs for the benefit of local churches;

2.                            $350,000.00 dedicated to Camp Wightman for construction of a large meeting hall adjacent to the Raff Dining Hall; and

3.                            $25,000.00 to cover all the costs of this campaign so that neither ABCCONN nor Camp Wightman need to subsidize the raising of these important funds. 

In the coming months, members of the Campaign Committee will approach you and ask you for your assistance.  Please bring them and God’s transforming power into your heart and help, as best you can, the future of ABCCONN and Camp Wightman.