Chumstick
Area
Mennonite
REtreat
Center
CAMREC’s Mission
At Camp CAMREC, in thanks for all the gifts we receive from God, we will:
- Nurture children in the love of God, the love of others, and the love of Creation.
- Welcome adults to a place and spiritual framework for rest and restoration.
- Care for this beautiful part of creation and the extended landscape around us.
- Embody Anabaptist/Mennonite values of peacemaking, simple living, service, and community.
The CAMREC Story
In 1952, the Washington Sunday School and Christian Endeavor Convention (which later changed its name to Washington General Conference Mennonite Fellowship) decided to hold annual retreats for their young people. Unfortunately, the convention didn’t have a campground of its own, so each year the retreat was held in a different location. To simplify things, a 200 acre site near Leavenworth, Washington was purchased on February 5, 1965. A development committee worked through 1966 and 1967 to drill a well, build a main lodge, ten cabins and a service building. Finally, a camp dedication ceremony happened on June 24, 1967 and the first camp held that summer was the CAMREC junior camp.
Today, CAMREC is still owned and operated by the Washington Mennonite Fellowship (WMF), a corporation of Mennonite churches in Washington State (Menno Mennonite Church, Warden Mennonite Church, Seattle Mennonite Church, Evergreen Mennonite Church, Spring Valley Mennonite Church, and Shalom Fellowship, Spokane). In addition to 4 summer camp programs offered for children from grades k-12, WMF holds retreats and various other events at Camrec throughout the year.
When not in use by WMF, CAMREC is available for rental by other not-for-profit religious, educational, cultural, and public service groups who have interests compatible with Christian principles.