Presbyterians seek a dune deal
By Parker T. Williamson, The Layman, September 17, 2010
Marching in Saugatuck, Michigan’s July 4 parade, a handful of Presbyterians lofted banners and waved at the crowd.
They are part of a Lakeshore Christian Camping campaign, scanning Lake Michigan’s shores for $8.6 million in order to buy Chicago Presbytery’s wooded 125-acre camp that stretches one-half mile along the lake’s scenic dunes.
The presbytery is selling its camp and other properties to pay off $11 million in loans, largely incurred after its youth ministry director allegedly engaged in homosexual activity with four minor boys during the 1990s. Records of the presbytery’s court settlement with the victims were sealed, so the exact amount of its payoff is unknown.
There appears to be little enthusiasm among Chicagoans to pay for the presbytery’s sins, so its attempts to raise the bailout money have produced little fruit. Concerned that its campaign to purchase the camp might be perceived simply as another bailout attempt, the independently organized, nonprofit Lakeshore organization keeps its distance from Chicago Presbytery’s debt issue. “Our only objective is to save the camp. All the money we receive will go toward the purchase of that property,” says Jennifer Schuham, Lakeshore’s vice president.
Touching thousands of lives
Lakeshore focuses on persons whose lives have been spiritually enriched by camping experiences. Established in the 1800s as a ministry to Chicago’s inner city kids, and expanded by Chicago Presbytery in 1922 as a retreat setting for Christians of all ages, this camp has touched thousands of lives, says Schuham. “This is a
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vital camping ministry, and our children and youth need it now more than ever. We are asking those who have been touched by it to help save the camp for future generations.”
Presbyterian leaders from six Chicago-area churches formed Lakeshore Christian Camping. All of its eight board members were former campers, according to Allegannews.com, a Saugatuck publication.
A vision for growth
The Rev. Stewart M. Pattison, minister of Community Presbyterian Church in Lombard, Ill., and chairman of the Lakeshore board, says that Lakeshore has impressive plans for the camp, including refurbishing facilities that have suffered from deferred maintenance and winterizing cabins for year-round use. “We want to keep our connection with the churches of Chicago Presbytery, and we want to keep the program Reformed,” he told The Layman, “but we also want to reach out into other areas.”
Asked if the board’s intention to reach out might mean promoting use of the facility by non-Christian groups, as the denomination’s Ghost Ranch in New Mexico has done, Pattison said “We haven’t gotten that far in our thinking yet. Our major focus right now is to raise the money.”
Money and ministry
On that score, the campaign has a long way to go. Chicago Presbytery agreed to sell the property to Lakeshore for $8.6 million if it could come up with the money by Aug. 31. After that date, it declared that it would go public and could sell to the highest bidder. The presbytery only gave the nonprofit group 90 days. By its Aug. 31 deadline, Lakeshore had raised $1.3 million in pledges, so the deal came off the table.
Presbytery officials think they have a buyer, if the presbytery will agree to go along with the deal in an assembly meeting scheduled for Oct. 12. In a letter to assembly commissioners, dated Sept. 15, Greg R. Bostrom, moderator of the presbytery’s Reformation Task Force and Robert C. Reynolds, executive presbyter, announced that they have signed a “provisional contract” with “a partnership group.” They say the potential sale “would enable the presbytery to meet about $9.5 million of its $11 million debt obligation.”
Presbytery leaders hope that a “lease to buy” stipulation that they are negotiating with the developer but have not finalized will sweeten the deal for Lakeshore. They say the developer has agreed in principle to lease the camp portion of the property back to the presbytery with an option that allows the presbytery to buy that portion back at a later date.
No mention was made regarding what the developer plans to do with the rest of the 125 lakefront acres.
Bostrom and Reynolds say the intended sale is “a promising development both in meeting the presbytery’s financial crisis [the presbytery is paying interest only on its bank loan, drawing money to pay the interest from its reserves] and in continuing a camping ministry in Saugatuck.”
Lakeshore is not at all pleased with the proposal. “The Lakeshore Christian Camping does not support selling the camp to a developer or any part of the camp to a developer,” Schuham told The Layman. “When we began, this project was more about ministry than it was about money,” she said, “but as the presbytery’s loans are coming due, it’s becoming more about money than ministry.”
Schuham says the fact that Lakeshore was able to raise $1.3 million in less than 90 days, and under such difficult economic conditions is “remarkable.” She remains hopeful that Lakeshore can put together a package of loans, grants and campaign contributions that can meet the presbytery’s price and keep the property out of the hands of developers.
“Sixty three of the presbytery’s 103 churches have told us that they are willing to participate in the campaign, and that kind of response is very encouraging,” she said. But on the negative side of the table – from Lakeshore’s perspective – is an Aug. 16 Chicago Tribune story announcing that Fourth Presbyterian Church, one of the city’s most affluent congregations, is launching a five-story, $36 million building expansion. That project, in addition to presbytery continuing pleas for debt relief, creates unhappy competition for Lakeshore’s campaign.
The lake and the law
To environmentalists who fear increasing development activity along these pristine shores, Lakeshore makes a green pitch. “The camp site is sitting on a giant sand dune,” says Schuham, adding that it would be a shame to see this area degraded by commercial and residential development schemes.
Pattison says he has been praying that Lakeshore can meet its goal before the presbytery finalizes a deal. Those prayers have intensified in light of Bostrom and Reynolds’ announcement.
Working to Lakeshore’s advantage are zoning restrictions, city and state regulations that potential developers find onerous. Access to the property is limited, and strict codes protect the dunes, listed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation among the nation’s “11 most endangered historic places.”
Lakeshore has met with regulatory officials to plead the case for continuing tough environmental restrictions. “The plan developed by the board has received the full backing of the City of Saugatuck and its Planning Commission,” Lakeshore reported to its supporters in late August. “They have assured us that they have no intention of making any changes to the current zoning.”
But zoning laws can be changed. Singapore Dunes LLC has purchased 400 nearby acres and is proposing a residential development, including a marina, hotel, restaurant and retail complex. All of this is currently prohibited, but the giant developer is working relentlessly to get the zoning relaxed. For almost five years, Singapore Dunes has hurled a series of lawsuits, tax appeals and depositions at Saugatuck. Singapore Dunes also has threatened new lawsuits. The
financially strapped township is facing an increasingly expensive fight to preserve its zoning, a battle whose funding has forced higher taxes on its citizens.
Going green
In addition to faith-based appeals to churches and individuals, Lakeshore board members are seeking support from environmentalists. At a time when “green is good,” they are hoping that nature lovers will join the faithful in contributing to their cause, and that their cash-strapped presbytery will not prefer a developer’s green-backed dollars to Saugatuck’s green-backed shores.
Lakeshore’s Web site, www.prescampsforever.org presents a compelling case for a continuing camping presence on Lake Michigan. Video presentations show families walking the trails, kayaking into gentle waves, singing around a campfire and reading Scripture together. Interviews with young and old convey the message that something very wholesome is happening in this setting.
“The churches in our presbytery have been very supportive,” says Pattison, who believes that his group has gained some momentum in recent months. He also notes that the camp’s alumni are scattered all over the United States and that many of them will respond positively to the campaign if they can be reached and made aware of the need.
“We are committed to raising awareness and continuing to press hard for a financing package that is workable,” said Schuham. Knowing that politics can change in a heartbeat, especially when big money is at stake, she believes that the only way to assure that the land will be protected is for Lakeshore to take it off the market. “If we do not remain firm in our commitment to save it now, it will be gone forever,” she said.
An Oct. 12 decision by the presbytery assembly to sell the property would be regarded by Lakeshore supporters as a double tragedy. The first occurred when the presbytery’s sexual ethics crisis catapulted it into multi-million dollar indebtedness. The second would be its forfeiture of a pristine property that can never be replaced.