Our annual Summer Retreat is traditionally held at Camp Koinonia, but 2 days before our group was to depart, the Camp called to say they were closed due to flooding.  Pastor Strasser was determined not to let this disappoint those who planned to attend, but his phone calls all had the same result: no other camps in the area were available.  Pastor Schmiege, who has a country cottage near Koinonia, called to say he heard of the news, and offered his property to be used by our group.  The retreat was saved!

So, off to the Catskills they went and had a lovely retreat, with good food, conversation, laughter,  a campfire, songs, and devotions. Some camped out among the trees and others slept in beds.  Great food was cooked on the grill by our “Outdoor Chefs”. 

With Pastor Schmiege’s advice, they toured the excellent Bethel Arts Museum highlighting the Woodstock concert of 1969 and visited the site itself. On Sunday the rain cleared, so they set off for the rafting trip as planned, seeing two eagles!

Everyone had a great time floating down the Delaware River, stopping once to visit the Zane Grey Museum and a treat of ice cream.  
Our Lukans had a wonderful weekend.  Great thanks go to the Schmiege family for their hospitality!