Julie Lautt - Wanake Camp & Retreat Center

Wreath Making Event

Julie Lautt — Fri, 26 Sep 2025 13:40:17 +0000

ABOUT

Wreath Making!

Kick off the holidays with some hands-on fun!

Come make your own festive wreath, hang out with friends, and take home a one-of-a-kind decoration. We've got the supplies-you bring the holiday cheer!

DATE

SATURDAY

November 21, 2026

EVENT TIMES: 1 PM - 4 PM

Come and go as you please

Supplies will be provided

Donations accepted

TO LEARN MORE:

Call: 330-756-2333 | Email: amy@campwanake.org

The post Wreath Making Event first appeared on Wanake Camp & Retreat Center.

Fall Walk to Emmaus Weekends

Julie Lautt — Thu, 25 Sep 2025 01:18:40 +0000

ABOUT

Wanake Camp and Retreat Center has the privilege of being the host site for the East Ohio Emmanuel Emmaus Community

What is the Emmaus Ministry?

The walk to Emmaus is an experience of Christian spiritual renewal and formation that begins with a three-day short course in Christianity. It is an opportunity to meet Jesus Christ in a new way as God’s grace and love is revealed to you through other believers.

The objective of Emmaus ...

... is to inspire, challenge, and equip the local church members for Christian action in their homes, churches, communities, and places of work. Emmaus lifts a way for our grace-filled lives to be lived and shared with others.

DATE(S)

FALL DATES

Men's Walk: October 15-18, 2026
Women's Walk: October 22-25, 2026

SPRING DATES

Men's Walk: April 9-12, 2026
Women's Walk: April 16-17, 2026

FOR HELP WITH SIGNING UP AND

TO LEARN MORE:

Call: 330-756-2333 | Email: amy@campwanake.org

The post Fall Walk to Emmaus Weekends first appeared on Wanake Camp & Retreat Center.

WALLS BROKEN DOWN

Julie Lautt — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 20:39:09 +0000

“Sky* came to camp at the last minute, and the first thing she told me was that she had been forced to come,” her counselor recalled. “She was older than the other girls in the group and was very quiet, guarded and distant on Sunday.”

“We were worried about whether she would feel safe enough to open up to the group,” her counselor began. “But on Monday, when we ate our first meal in the dining hall, the campers began a game of ’Telephone’. We played the game around the table, laughing and coming up with ridiculous nonsensical phrases. At the beginning of the meal Sky was quiet but soon after we started the game, she joined in and showed her sense of humor and her ability to turn anything into a fun game.”

“As the week progressed, we watched Sky come out of her shell to reveal a kind, thoughtful, creative, and outgoing young woman. On Tuesday night, the campers were having fun at our Barn Riot and pulled Sky into a big dance circle. Afterwards, she told me that she’d been starting to feel depressed and wanted to isolate herself, but when the other campers brought her in, it was like a wall being broken down. She said, ‘Oh man, I can’t even be depressed here!’ She found joy in the little things-praying, singing, Bible time- and Sky would ask deep and thoughtful questions about God and why He allowed pain in our lives. Once she felt safe enough, she finally opened up about the trauma she had faced as a child. My heart broke for her, but at the same time, I was so proud of the courage it took for her to share her story.”

“At the end of the week Sky was crying when she left camp. Even though she was planning to come back to Wanake, it wouldn’t be the same. When Sky returned to Wanake, she updated me daily. At the end of her second week, the camper who had been forced to come to camp was telling me that she wanted to be a camp counselor someday and return to camp every summer.”

“I truly hope Sky returns to Wanake. Here she is reminded that she is loved, seen and capable of so much more than her pain. Watching her blossom over those two weeks at camp was the most meaningful part of my summer, and I’ll never forget the light she carries.”

Your generosity gives campers like Sky the opportunity to attend camp and experience the life growth the camp experience offers. Your support offers young adult staff the opportunity to be in ministry with Jesus and see the impact of God’s work in and through them and in the lives of campers. Thank you for your generous support.

*Name changed to protect the privacy of the camper.

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The post WALLS BROKEN DOWN first appeared on Wanake Camp & Retreat Center.

Call

Julie Lautt — Tue, 07 May 2024 18:30:53 +0000

Fred loved learning and music. Growing up on a farm “just over the ridge from Wanake,” Fred enjoyed the outdoors and was intrigued by nature. He enjoyed seeing things grow, playing the clarinet, and puns!

“I used to wonder,” Fred recalled, “what went on up the mysterious lane labeled ‘Camp Wanake.’ I finally learned ‘what went on’ when I attended the Senior Two Week program; and I was hooked! The experiences that week got me thinking about the ministry.” Wanake’s small group, decentralized camping provides opportunities for campers to make deep connections with God, others, and themselves. In this open, accepting, loving environment, where counselors listen, there is time to live in a Jesus-centered environment and discuss how to live as Christians outside of camp. Here at Wanake hearts and ears become open to God’s call to ministry.

After graduating as valedictorian from high school, Fred went on to study Chemistry at Case Western Reserve University. “The following summer, while doing an internship with the Hoover Company,” Fred remembered, “I found myself with two weeks off in the middle of the summer when the Hoover plant enacted a two week shut down for cleaning and repairs. Knowing I was free, Wanake’s director, Mel Moody, asked me to be a volunteer counselor for the Senior Two Week program and it nudged me closer to ministry. And Mel invited me back the next year, too!” Wanake offers people in their late teens and twenties the unparalleled opportunity to practice living their faith in Jesus and take on leadership, while sharing their faith with children and teens in word and action. Fred decided to answer God’s call to ministry and enrolled in seminary following college graduation.

“The year I was on summer staff (between college and seminary),” Fred reported, “was one of my prime learning experiences in how small groups can be a vehicle to let God’s love change lives. I never forgot it! Wanake is the biggest single factor in my being in the ministry, and its impact upon my personal growth is immense. It is still my favorite place to ‘retreat.’ Inevitably, I come away feeling like a whole person again – the back of the woods is great for getting all those fragmented pieces reoriented and glued together again!”

Wanake’s impact on Fred has made a powerful impact on the five congregations he served as pastor for a combined 40 years and his commitment to Wanake and visitation ministry well into his seventies.

Your generosity allows Wanake to continue to be a channel through which God nudges people to consider His call to ministry.

The post Call first appeared on Wanake Camp & Retreat Center.

NAMES

Julie Lautt — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 13:30:51 +0000

John* was a fourth grader who was full of energy and enjoyed anything that included action. “I noticed that John was particularly interested in the outdoors and nature,” his pastor reported. “John attended Sunday School and church every Sunday faithfully, but by himself. He was the only person in his family to attend. The church leadership soon believed that his family may have needed a break each week, and our church was that break.“

“John had some names among his peers: mean, enemy and bully. The Sunday School teachers called him trying. As a pastor who also works in the local school, I knew his school teachers considered him difficult, a disrupter and an aggressor. In short, John did not know how to make friends and had none. He did not know how to wait, respect others, or cooperate. So when the church planned to send children to camp at Wanake, John’s name was high on the list. We felt that the camp experience would give John the concentrated time to try new behaviors and practice skills. I contacted his parents, who granted permission for the weeklong experience. The United Methodist Women supplied the funding. I dropped John off at Camp Wanake one Sunday afternoon and prayed that the experience would make a difference.”

John loved camp! His group lived in the cabins in the woods and set up a “home-in-the-woods” nearby with a campfire circle. “Through working together to build our “home-in-the-woods and light a fire and cook over it,” John’s counselor shared, “John began to work together with others collecting firewood, sawing, and making food. He also began to respect others by waiting his turn to light the fire, build a table, lead the hike, cook his food, and take the swim test. While working with a partner to prepare their food, John practiced respect and patience. It was through canoeing that John learned how to cooperate with his canoeing partner to navigate Lake Arnold and play canoe games with the whole group. While the first day was rough (They mostly went in circles!), the second day John and his canoe partner won the game! By the end of the week John had made a handful of friends, including his canoeing partner. The two were inseparable.”

“When John returned home to church and school,” his pastor reported, “he had some new names! His teachers reported that he was helpful, a good listener and cooperative. Peers began to call John a friend. We were amazed at new ways John was living and growing. We even trained him to be an acolyte! Something we had decided not to do before camp – too dangerous! John still faithfully comes to Sunday School and church each week and now he helps his teacher in the classroom, serves as an acolyte, and even joined the children’s choir. He learned at camp that he loves to sing!”

Your generosity provides opportunities for campers like John to explore new ways of behaving and cultivate the Fruit of the Spirit in their lives with counselors who receive three weeks of training focused on mentoring campers. Thank you for your generosity.

*Name changed to protect the privacy of the camper.

The post NAMES first appeared on Wanake Camp & Retreat Center.

SING!

Julie Lautt — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 09:00:07 +0000

Pam* loved to sing! She sang when she got up. She sang on the way to school. She sang at supper. She sang in the shower, and she sang before bed! While she sang, her feet would often dance in time to the song. Pam loved music. Pam was a foster child at this time, living in a group home for children needing temporary shelter. A United Methodist church in Pam’s town heard about her love of singing and offered financial support to send her to a musical camp at Wanake. Pam’s group home said yes, and Pam was on her way to camp.

Upon arrival at camp Pam was a little tentative, but within the first hour she connected with a dozen other campers who loved to sing as much as Pam. This group of campers began that first day of camp to work on a musical they would develop and perform over the course of the week. Pam was elated. As the campers rehearsed and enjoyed camp activities they began to build a family group. “Our group became my family for the week,” Pam shared. “I knew I was loved and accepted by the other campers, my counselors and our musical director, even when I messed up my lines or steps. It was wonderful to have an accepting family.” Jill*, another girl in the group, and Pam hit it off from the start and began to build a friendship. One song became their favorite, “Where Do I Go.” This upbeat tune declared:

Where do I go when I need a shelter? Where do I go when I need a friend?

Where do I go when I need some helping? Where do I go back on my knees again!

Sure as the winter comes after the fall. Sure as true love tears down any wall.

My Jesus is able to carry it all. He will answer your call!

The week ended with the performance of the musical for family and friends. One of the adults from the group home came to see the performance and to take Pam home. As Pam and Jill parted, they took each other’s address to stay in touch, which they did. Back and forth the letters flew. Then in the fall, Jill’s mother noticed that Pam lived in the next large town. “Would you like to go and visit Pam?” she asked her daughter. Jill was thrilled. Yes! She would love to visit her camp friend and sing the songs again.

So, not having any other contact information, Jill’s mother drove to the address the letters were coming from. As they pulled up to the house, she realized that this was not a typical residence. It was a group home. But before she could say anything, Jill was out of the car, up the steps and had rung the bell. A woman greeted them at the door and Jill and her mother explained who they were and that they were there to visit Pam. By this time Pam had heard her friend’s voice on the porch and had come to the front door. The worker invited them in for a visit, which was much too short for the girls. As they were leaving, Pam ran to the screened in porch and began singing that favorite song from camp:

Where do I go when I need a shelter? Where do I go when I need a friend?

Where do I go when I need some helping? Where do I go back on my knees again!

Sure as the winter comes after the fall. Sure as true love tears down any wall.

My Jesus is able to carry it all. He will answer your call!

“I thought to myself as the girls sang,” Jill’s mother recalls, “how important it is that we all know that Jesus is all these things! And how vital it was for Pam, who didn’t have a family or a home, but now knew that she did have a shelter, a help and a friend in Jesus and that she could go to Jesus anytime in prayer.”

Your generosity allows campers like Pam to experience the love of Jesus through the camp community.

*Name changed to protect the privacy of the camper.

pam

The post SING! first appeared on Wanake Camp & Retreat Center.