A funny thing happened on the way to Camp – 35C – Westminster Woods Beginnings

            Presbytery Action;  Richard was  elected to be an Elder at First Presbyterian Church in Santa Rosa after we moved there in 1969.  He volunteered to be the Elder Delegate from the church to Redwoods Presbytery meetings.  

Through Presbytery meetings Richard became acquainted with several men from the First Presbyterian Church in Napa.  When they heard that Richard and I were involved with camping at Calvin Crest, they invited Richard to walk the grounds at Westminster Woods and get the lay of the land, water sources and buildings. Westminster Woods was owned by Redwoods Presbytery.  These men, along with a few from Vallejo and Santa Rosa, First Presbyterian Churches, and their families had invested a lot of volunteer hours maintaining the facility, and repairing buildings through the years. These churches had also sponsored some camps through the years.

In 1972 the issue of selling Westminster Woods was being voted on at Redwoods Presbytery. There was minimal participation and it was becoming a financial burden for the Presbytery to maintain.  The Christian Missionary Alliance camp next door made an offer to buy half of The Woods property in order to build a swimming pool and recreational area for their camp.

At the Presbytery meeting Richard stood up and suggested since we were able to make camping a viable ministry at Calvin Crest in San Joaquin Presbytery, we could try it at The Woods.   At Calvin Crest numbers of campers  had significantly increased.   More churches and pastors were participating and the model was working.   He suggested we explore  possibilities for Westminster Woods before selling it.  He urged the members of  Redwoods Presbytery to hold off selling the property.  

The vote to sell was defeated.   Well--you guessed it!  He who opens his mouth gets the privilege of being appointed Chairperson.  The Moderator of the Presbytery at that time was John Najarian.   He was a long time friend of ours from the Armenian Churches Evangelical Union days in the early 1950s when we were younger.  He appointed Richard to be the Chairperson of a Task Force to explore the possibilities of developing a camping ministry at Westminster Woods.