2009 Capital Campaign

2nd Century Fund

Mission Statement

We partner with stewards of all ages to provide Ferry Beach with abundant funds to:

• Support ongoing dune preservation and increase campus sustainability operations
• Tend to the soul of Ferry Beach by developing spaces for contemplative practices and spiritual growth
• Nurture and celebrate the Universalist and Unitarian heritages of Ferry Beach by developing spaces and programs designed to build communities of love and justice

Ferry Beach Capital Campaign Testimonials

Bill DeWolfe, Honorary Co-Chair:
Four generations of our family have benefited from our summers at Ferry Beach. It all began with my mother’s first visit, camping in the grove for a women’s conference in 1918, my first summer as a 14 year old member of the kitchen crew 24 years later, and Barbara’s first visit two years later. We have all been enriched by the experiences we shared, the people we met, and the beauty of the place. The Beach is “Home” to us, to which we return time after time for spiritual renewal as well as renewing experiences.

I look back to my first year at the Beach and rejoice that we no longer have to wash our dishes in a wooden sink or refrigerate our food in an ice chest, or house our staff over the kitchen. We have made improvements in and above the kitchen, but that is not enough. If Ferry Beach is to meet “the asking years”, it is time to make a major improvement to our facilities. It is time to match the spiritual depth, given us by our Ferry Beach experiences with the financial depth of our contributions.

Recently, while walking in our new neighborhood, I heard a voice saying, “You look familiar.” I stopped and gave her my name. Her response was “I thought so.” I stopped and visited with her. She added, “We worked together at Ferry Beach in 1942.” Though I had probably seen her 2 or 3 times in the intervening 65 years, it had been almost 20 since last we met. We have promised to bring her with us to the Beach on our next visit.

I hope you will join in contributing to the Second Century Campaign so that, those who come in the future can be enriched by the people they meet at the Beach.

Barbara DeWolfe, Honorary Co-Chair, speaking at the 2007 Life Member Banquet
Yesterday I woke up with a song running through my head. It was Ric Masten's “Let It Be A Dance.” It occurred to me that those of us who are Life Members of Ferry Beach - ­in fact anyone who has a continuing relationship with the Beach - does a dance of sorts with that relationship. One line in the song says “through the good times and the bad times, too, let it be a dance.” As I thought about my dance, I remembered many of the good times that have brought me here. And I especially remembered some others.

Bill and I enjoyed many years of glorious times at the beach, staffing Camp Seabreeze, Family Weeks, and Religious Education Institutes. Two of our three boys grew up to be Crew members. Mark, our oldest, led several conferences. And then our world was shattered when he was diagnosed with AIDS and died, twenty-two months later, at the age of 35. After two memorial services in Toronto, Bill and I were at a loss as to how to continue with our lives. So we came to Ferry Beach - we brought our shattered spirits to the sea and to the trees - to the place that had been home through all the years. And we were· given what we needed - the sense of peace, the calming of our souls, and we started the long journey back to wholeness and reality.

So I ask that those of you here tonight think deeply about your dance with Ferry Beach through the years - through the good times and the bad times, too. And think deeply, as well, about your part in Ferry Beach's future. Make it the MOST you can do!

Gail Forsyth-Vail, September 2, 2007
I arrived here in 1971 at an especially vulnerable time in my life. I was sixteen when I was invited to be a member of the junior staff at Camp Discovery. The world was raging outside- the Vietnam War and the Civil rights movement were very present. My own head was full of questions: Who was I going to be? How was I going to make the world a better place? I didn’t find answers here at Ferry Beach, but I found acceptance. I found support. I found spiritual community. And it began so simply.

On my first day here, I got sunburned, badly. That evening, when I returned to my room in Underwood, I found a new pillow on my bed, one with a satin pillowcase. Sam Sherman, then ten years old, had given hers to me, sure that the satin would be cooler on my face and make it easier to sleep. I received kindness here- and an invitation to what has been a lifelong friendship. At that moment, I knew I had come home.

Over the years, this has been the place to which I have come when the world is too much with me, when I need to grow, to renew, to figure out what it is that I am called to do in this world. It’s the place where my husband Steve and I first began seeing one another. It is the place to which we have entrusted our three children at some of their most important growing times. And isn’t that what Ferry Beach has always been about? Renewing, nurturing, growing spirits, preparing people to bring more love and justice into the world.

In my family, we have long had a commitment to support with our financial resources that which reflects our values. We want to use our money to make the world a better place. We reached a family decision a number of years ago to try to tithe, give 10 % of our income to something bigger than ourselves. We haven’t quite made it to a tithe yet (college tuitions, etc get in the way…) but we are close. Writing those checks has become a spiritual practice. Part of our commitment has been to support those institutions that grow people to make a difference. For us, that means our local congregation and Ferry Beach. We believe in giving of our long-term resources and our short-term resources, meaning that we support the annual campaign for day-to-day operational expenses as well as the capital and planned giving campaigns to build for tomorrow. We have committed to continuing our annual support of $1000 or more annually and have made a pledge of $10,000 to the capital campaign. We do it with joy, we do it with gratitude, and we do it with a sense of the many blessings we have been given. We invite you to join us in support of our beloved Ferry Beach, making a gift that stretches your own spirit.