08069
January 29, 2008

$1 million given for camps, conference ministry

Gift to PC(USA) Foundation is start of endowed fund

by Evan Silverstein
Presbyterian News Service

LOUISVILLE — The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Foundation has received a $1 million donation to establish a permanent endowment fund to support the denomination’s camp and conference ministries.

The Donald A. Hostetter Endowment Fund will be used to support a national staff position, to promote, support and strengthen the PC(USA)’s camp and conference center ministries, and coordinate programming efforts among all Presbyterian camps and conference centers. 

The gift is from the Mark D. Hostetter and Alexander N. Habib Foundation of Boston, according to a press release issued by the Presbyterian Foundation.

The PC(USA) has more than 140 affiliated camps and conference centers that receive about 1.5 million attendees each year. The ministries are represented by the Presbyterian Church Camp and Conference Association (PCCCA), an organization of individuals and member camps.

The Hostetter Fund also will provide grants to support collaborative programs, excellence in leadership and coordination among members of the PCCCA.

The fund’s namesake, the Rev. Donald Allen Hostetter, was a leading figure in PC(USA) camping ministry for more than 50 years until his death last Easter at age 77.

The private foundation, of which his son the Rev. Mark Hostetter serves as a co-trustee, made its gift following months of conversation and planning involving the younger Hostetter and representatives of the Presbyterian Foundation and staff leadership of the PC(USA)’s General Assembly Council, the press release said.

Donald Hostetter, whose father was also a Presbyterian minister, was born in West Grove, PA and grew up in Presbyterian manses in Pennsylvania. He graduated from Grove City College in Grove City, PA and Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, NJ and chose camping ministry as his vocation in 1953 while leading a senior high school conference at Denton Lake, NY.

In 1962, Donald Hostetter became field director for the Presbyterian Christian Education Council, a partnership between the Presbyteries of Hudson River, New York City, and Long Island. His responsibilities included all aspects of Christian education for the three Presbyteries’ 45,000 members and 300 churches, but most importantly he supervised the camp and conference centers of the presbyteries, including the Presbyterian Center in Holmes, NY, located about 55 miles north of New York City. 

By 1977, these camping responsibilities became Donald Hostetter’s full time occupation, and as executive director of the Presbyterian Center at Holmes, he orchestrated its transformation from a 100-acre, eight-week summer camp to a 550-acre, year-round camp and conference facility. 

In 1986, Donald Hostetter established The Consultant’s Network of the PC(USA) to provide advisory services to the denomination’s camps and conference centers. After retiring in 1994, he was named executive emeritus of the Presbyterian Center at Holmes and more recently the American Camp Association voted to give him its highest award — the “Legends of Camping Award”, which was to be presented in March 2008. 

“Sadly, the church lost the Rev. Hostetter before he could be publicly acknowledged for his lifelong achievements in support of camps and conference centers, from which so many Presbyterians have benefited,” Robert E. Leech, president and chief executive officer of the Presbyterian Foundation, said of Donald Hostetter. “2008 signifies the celebration of 100 years of Presbyterian camp and conference ministry, an important milestone for the denomination. This endowment fund will continue to remind us all of the Rev. Hostetter’s remarkable contributions in this area for generations to come.”

Mark Hostetter, an attorney and hedge fund manager, takes after his father by being very involved with the outdoor camping and conference programs of the PC(USA). In a recent article published in the Presbyterian Outlook, the third-generation minister discussed growing up in a family dedicated to Presbyterian camping saying, “in some ways my faith was formed by it.”

Mark Hostetter serves as associate pastor for stewardship and mission to the corporate world at First Presbyterian Church in New York City. He also serves on the boards of a number of not-for-profit organizations, including board chair of Auburn Theological Seminary in New York City, past governing board president of Ghost Ranch Conference Center, New York Theological Seminary in New York City, and the Presbyterian Conference Association.

The Hostetter Fund is open for additional contributions and is an important part of a comprehensive $3.3 million campaign being launched by PCCCA to help support the work of the PC(USA), the Consultant’s Network and PCCCA in camp and conference ministries and their vital role in faith formation and evangelism, the press release said.

The Presbyterian Foundation Group offers a wide range of products and services to individuals and institutions. For more information, visit www.PresbyterianFoundationGroup.org.