Árdís - 01.01.1966, Page 19

Ársrit Bandalags lúterskra kvenna
17
The erosion of time was beginning to tell on our ranks, for
while the demands on our camping facilities would keep on grow-
ing from year to year, the resources that we had to draw on were
rapidly diminishing in strength, in number and in vitality. It was
becoming obvious that the cut of our newly imposed garment was
too large and too loosely fitted for the shrinking size of the monk
who was to wear it. At present this disparity in sizes; what is
required of our camping administration, and maintenance, and
the sphere of the needs required of it or even expected from it
are not much out of line, and we could possible maintain this
status quo without running into serious difficulties. But the tide
is running against this idea of holding the reins at all cost, for
the trends are in opposite directions — the needs are going to
become greater, more demanding and more diversified, and the
ability to provide for these increased needs is going to become
steadily less and less. There are those who out of love and loyalty
to the past, and to what has once been, would advocate that we
curtail our activities and plans to fit well within our abilities to
operate the camp on our own. Realistically however, I think we
all agree that while our hearts may whisper these gentle senti-
ments, our heads remind us that such an insular thought had
110 place in the original dream on which “Sunrise” was built.
Many of you will remember that I was among those who
bitterly opposed any suggestion of handing the camp over to the
L. C. A. I was filled with righteous indignation like so many
others by an innocent letter suggesting this, for at that time I was
convinced that we could operate the camp better than anyone
else in the field. I also, like yourselves, believed then that there
were many good years left in our Lutheran Women’s League, and
that its members should be “Masters in their own house” as long
as they were willing and able to maintain it. Aside from these
considerations I had seen nothing in the available camping devel-
opement plans in our new Synod that would indicate to me that
it was ready to take on the additional load of running “Sunrise
Camp” when it was hard pressed to give some shape and sub-
stance to its own infant organization. At that time, the Central
Canada Synod did not exist, and there was as far as I could see
only a token provision for camp programs, that consisted largely
of the voluntary participation of the young pastors, through their