Getting to Know the Mount Hermon Annual Fund
In Ecclesiastes Chapter 3 the Lord has given us a beautiful, poetic narrative about the seasons and cycles of our lives. I know you are familiar with it… “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven”(3:1).
We live the cycles and rhythms of life almost without thinking. Birthdays and anniversaries of things joyous and sad come every year. Holidays and Holy Days allow us to celebrate romance, patriotism, the Incarnation and Resurrection. Annual physicals, dues, performance reviews and taxes come as sure as the winter rains. The author of Ecclesiastes writes: “What is happening now has happened before, and what will happen in the future has happened before, because God makes the same things happen over and over again” (3:15).
Mount Hermon is a seasonal ministry in many ways. Annually we see the return of summer when family camps and youth camps gear up to full–tilt, and thousands of people fill the air with laughter, the auditorium with songs of praise, and campfire circles with testimonies of God’s goodness. Fall brings church partners returning to Mount Hermon for a retreat in the redwoods. Christmas brings concerts, spring brings summer staff recruiting and students to Outdoor Science School. What is happening now has happened before and will happen again, and again.
Ecclesiastes acknowledges that the seasons bring their share of hard work, and the burdens of life on this earth as well. It’s no different at Mount Hermon. It shouldn’t surprise us that every year brings needs that must be met to keep this one–hundred–year–old facility ready to receive guests. Every year vehicles are retired and replaced. Every year computers run their course and are upgraded. Every year roofs leak, carpets become threadbare, pipes rust, potholes form, trails erode, harnesses and saddles wear out and even the curtains and bedspreads fade from sunlight.
And every year there are opportunities! Families going through a rough patch due to unemployment or an unexpected health crisis need a little extra help paying for camp. Veterans come back from deployment in harm’s way seeking a haven where they can reconnect with their spouse or family. Kids growing up in unspeakable conditions marked by violence and abuse have a once–in–a lifetime opportunity to come be enveloped in the love of Christ for one whole week. Girls rescued from Human Trafficking get to rediscover worth and strength on an adventure course.
These annual needs and opportunities are generously covered by the gifts faithfully bestowed by Mount Hermon Associates. Over the last five years their contributions to the Mount Hermon Annual Fund have averaged over $2,000,000! While some might see these annual needs as non–glamorous or routine, they are the stuff of life for this ministry. The Annual Fund is what allows Mount Hermon to provide sacred spaces and experiences for God’s children.
The author says that God “… has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end” (3:11). Mount Hermon exists to water, nurture, and coax that seed to take hold in our hearts and bring forth new life in Him. If you want to play a part in this work of God, this season, consider a gift to the Mount Hermon Annual Fund. If you are already a beloved Associate, this is the time we say “thanks.”
