Important Summer 2023 Updates

August 25, 2023

Family camp finished strong as we welcomed back guests for weeks six & seven of our summer season. And after a brief shutdown, Camp Squanto concluded with lots of excitement and joy as the Rec Hall was rocking to the finish line. Thanks to all campers, guests, & staff for a great finish to our summer ministry season!
Our calendar has moved into retreat & guest group season as our facility is open and welcoming guests for a busy late summer & fall.
The camping area remains closed for the season as we make plans to rebuild and make major improvements for the 2024 season. Stay tuned!

July 28, 2023

As many of you know, our region was hit by a powerful storm on July 9. This caused widespread damage to our camp and the surrounding area of New Hampshire. Pilgrim Pines carefully and responsibly cared for all campers, guests, and staff who were onsite during the crisis. After everyone was safely evacuated, Pilgrim Pines immediately shut down and entered into a time of assessment, evaluation, and cleanup. Much of that continues today.

Current Status

Family Camp - After several weeks of amazing work by our staff and many great friends, our main campus will reopen on Saturday, August 5th to welcome Family Camp friends & family for week six and then week seven. Programming will be a bit modified as our cleanup continues, but please know we are making tremendous progress. We look forward to closing out our summer Family Camp season with hope and excitement for the better days that are ahead.

Camp Squanto - Our youth camp sustained the least amount of damage and remains intact. Camp Squanto reopened on July 23rd with lots of smiles and excitement from campers, parents, and staff.

Camping Area - Of our three campuses, the camping area sustained the most widespread damage in the storm and will not reopen this season. The cleanup and rebuild will take quite an extensive amount of time and resources.

Guest Groups - We anticipate a very busy and exciting fall guest group season as we look forward to welcoming back many returning church retreats and several new groups to the Pilgrim Pines fall retreat season.

Pilgrim Pines has suffered significant revenue loss during our shutdown. We ask that you consider a financial gift to help your camp recover and rebuild for the future. Thank you to those who have reached out, offered to help, donated, and are praying for camp. Your support and encouragement has helped to lighten our load and we are grateful.

Although we are certainly grieving this setback, now is the time to be bold and look at this situation as an opportunity to make long-term improvements throughout our camp. Let us not be discouraged but instead, look to the future and vision & dream of what could be. We know God's goodness will continue to shine in the days ahead.

We are so grateful to our staff, friends, volunteers, and community members who have stepped up at this critical time to help Pilgrim Pines. Looking forward, there is much to be done in the weeks & months ahead to restore and improve our beloved camp, and your help will be needed as this amazing place belongs to all of us.

Again, thank you for walking with us during this challenging situation. We know better days are ahead.

On behalf of our amazing full-time, part-time, and summer staff,

Jim Condap

Executive Director

July 20, 2023

There is reason to celebrate today as progress is being made in and around Pilgrim Pines.

As many of you know, our region was hit with a powerful storm on July 9. Fortunately, our youth camp sustained minimal damage. Safety inspections have taken place throughout the camp and we are confident in safely reopening Camp Squanto on July 23 for the remainder of the summer season.

Progress continues on our main campus with many hopeful developments taking place.
Family Camp weeks two through five have been cancelled. We remain hopeful for weeks six & seven but it is still too early to make a decision on those weeks. Stay tuned.

Our camping area is another story. The damage here was much more widespread and will take extensive time and resources to move forward.

We are so grateful to our staff, friends, volunteers, and community members who have stepped up at this critical time to help Pilgrim Pines. There will be more opportunities in the days, weeks, and months ahead for your involvement and we will reach out to share those opportunities.

Better days are ahead!

July 14, 2023

First of all, thank you to those who have reached out, offered to help, donated and are praying for camp. Your support and encouragement has helped to lighten our load and we are grateful.

A brief update for now....

Camping Area - Of our three campuses, the camping area sustained the most widespread damage in Sunday’s storm. The cleanup and rebuild will take quite an extensive amount of time and resources.

Mayflower - Power, internet and phone lines have been restored to our main office and lodge building. Thank you for your patience as our main communication systems have been down all week. There remains a fair amount of damage in and around our buildings and grounds but please know that initial clean up and repair work has already begun. This will not be an overnight fix.

Camp Squanto - Our youth camp sustained the least amount of damage and remains relatively intact. This is great news! We are hopeful for the days ahead. Please stay tuned.

Looking forward, there is much to be done in the months ahead to restore and improve our beloved camp and your help will be needed as this amazing place belongs to all of us. Stay tuned for future opportunities.

More information will be coming your way soon in regards to reservations, our camping area, Camp Squanto, the family camp schedule and more.

Again, thank you for walking with us during this challenging situation. We know better days are ahead.

On behalf of our amazing full-time, part-time and summer staff,

Jim

July 11, 2023

As many of you know, Pilgrim Pines suffered devastating losses during the most recent storm. We are currently assessing the damages at camp to determine what needs to be done in order to safely reopen. This assessment includes our facility and financial needs.

As people of faith, we are confident in our planning and in the safe reopening of camp but please know it will not be overnight as this will be a process.

We are grateful to our full-time and summer staff for their amazing efforts during this crisis. We are also grateful to the community of Swanzey, Director of Public Works, and Swanzey Fire and Police Departments.

We will continue to provide updates through our website, email, and social media.

Donations are greatly needed and so appreciated. You can donate here:

https://www.pilgrimpines.org/donate

Thank you and stay tuned for more information very soon.