Blackstone Valley Tribune -Holy Campgrounds

HOLY CAMPGROUND
DOUGLAS CAMP MEETING TO FOCUS ON BIBLE, SONG

BY THOMAS MATTSON Reprinted from the Blackstone Valley Tribune
TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER July 16, 2010
     DOUGLAS — It’s camp meeting time again. The 135th annual Douglas Camp Meeting, an interdenominational Bible Holiness gathering, opens Friday, July 16 and runs through Sunday, July 25. The format is religious education centered on the Bible during the day with evenings and some other times devoted to preaching in an historic tabernacle with doors at the sides big enough to open and let in nature, giving an effect of a giant tent outdoors. The camp is a 36-acre spread dotted with small cabins just south of Douglas Center, or Old Douglas. It is off South Street (Route 96).
     The Rev. Claude Nicholas of Ohio is the guest preacher during the 10-day period. He has been a minister in the
Church of the Nazarene for over 35 years. “As an effective communicator of the Word of God,” the event’s
brochure declares, “he preaches clearly ,skillfully and to the point.” Nicholas is described by the
Camp Meeting hosts as “a student of the Word who is often referred to as a preacher-teacher whose messages are filled not only with biblical truth but with practical insights as well.”
    Camp officers include Jack Cnossen, president, Phil Butts, vice president, Deb Taft, secretary ,and Jim Hammer, treasurer.
     Sunday services are at 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. There is a daily evening service at 7 p.m. (except for Sundays, when it is at 6 p.m.).
Adult Bible study, a key part of the camp meeting, is held at 10:30 a.m. every day except for Sundays.
      The third aspect of the annual meeting, besides Bible study and preaching,is singing. The Steve Adams Trio will lead the camp meeting in song. The trio, made up of Steve Adams, his wife Jan, and Adams’ brother Nate, have ministered around the world through their publishing, songwriting, and recordings. Their compositions have been included in the hymnals of most major evangelical denominations and recorded by musicians from the Bill Gaither Trio to the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. Steve Adams has played before two American presi- dents at theWhite House and also on Capitol Hill. He has appeared with Billy Graham, Charles Stanley, the late Jerry Falwell, CBN, Trinity Broadcasting, and Canadian, Dutch, and Swedish television. He and his brother Nate started singing together over the Yankee Radio Network at ages five and six. Both brothers play the keyboard and perform piano/organ duets. A resident of Sebastian, Florida, Nate Adams served many years as staff pianist at the Bibletown Conference Grounds in Boca Raton, Florida, and joined his brother Steve Adams and gospel great Doug Oldham in concerts. “This family group has ministered to hundreds of thousands, from coast to coast, sharing the stories behind songs like ‘Where the Spirit of the Lord Is,’ ‘All in the Name of Jesus,’ ‘All Because of God’s Amazing Grace,’ ‘We Enthrone You, Lord,’ and ‘Peace in the Midst
of Storm,’” the Camp officers said.
   A new dining hall accommodating 160 will be ready for next year’s camp meeting, according to Phil Butts. Although it is up, there are remaining details required before it opens, he said. Because the new hall is not quite ready this month, a tent will be put up where people can sit and eat meals.
    Although at one time, in the late 1800s, several thousand attended the Camp Meeting, many families staying in small cabins on the site, only a few cabins remain.
   Butts said the camp’s plan is to provide hookups of water, electricity and sewer- age for recreational vehicles at some of the cabins by next year. The tent for meals will not be out of character for the camp. Indeed, on the south side of the tabernacle is a quotation from Isaiah 4:6: “And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the day- time from the heat and for a place of refuge and for a covert from storm and from rain.”

Note : This short reprint does not do justice to the well laid out piece covering two pages, including color photos by Thomas Mattson of : the Tabernacle, the old dorm. the swaying pines, the welcome camp sign and the new dining hall. Great job by everyone and our thanks to Thomas Mattson and the Blackstone Valley Tribune. You can see the whole layout if you go to Blackstonevalleytribune.com and download the July 16^th edition. It downloads the whole paper as a PDF. Be patient-it takes a while based on your download speed.