A Whole Lot of Faith

John Smucker, originally from Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania, had been pastoring a Mennonite church plant in New York City for about 10 years when he first heard talk about the possibility of the New York City Mennonite churches buying and operating their own camp. His other pastor friends, Paul Burkholder, Glenn Zeager and John Freed, were looking at a piece of land about 80 miles away from the city. John said he decided to go look at the land and see if he wanted to jump on board. “The first time, it was me and Dale Stoltzfus and Glenn Zeager and a few other leaders,” he said “and we went there with a whole lot of faith.”

Once there, John was sure this was the place that would be perfect for the camp they envisioned. Everybody loved the quiet woods and the open space for activities. “When we got up there, we really liked the setting,” he said. In fact, he said, they wanted to buy the property, “but we didn’t have any money.” John described the congregations as “half a dozen young churches in New York—just church plants—but we had good connections with Lancaster Conference and (what is now) Atlantic Coast Conference.”

This connection to the broader Mennonite Church was important because both conferences had churches scattered throughout Lancaster County, which was the home community of most of the New York City Mennonite pastors. They sent people into Lancaster County to visit churches and ask for donations from private individuals and congregational offerings.

As they waited for the donations to come in, the pastors and leaders prayed. There was a clear vision for a camp where New York City youth and churches could get away from the city and worship God. John describes “a great unity” and recognition of “a need for a place to call our own.” Until that time, churches in New York City were using other Mennonite and Brethren in Christ camps that were farther away—and the churches didn’t have a strong connection to, or influence on, those camps.

Eventually they had enough money to officially buy the land. When Camp Deerpark first opened, people naturally compared it to other camps. “What we had to offer was always kind of meager,” he said. “It wasn’t high-falutin in any way. Those motels in the back, they weren’t great, but they were the best we had.” And, he added, “People loved it! They wanted to be together, and they liked the feeling of ownership.”

John’s congregation, Mennonite House of Friendship (Bronx, New York), went to Camp Deerpark for congregational retreats, which often included baptisms. John describes the setting as being conducive to “conveying spiritual and Biblical truth,” and says that the retreats were “an opportunity to get to know your people more deeply.” Camp Deerpark, he said, “was always a place where you could go and meet God, hear God speak to you.”

Reflecting on where camp came from, and where it is going, John said, “We took this old camp worth $125,000, and we got it for $85,000. We didn’t have any money, but we raised the money for it.” At the time, with such limited funds, he wasn’t sure how long the camp would last. But five decades later, Camp Deerpark not only continues to be a special place, but it also has expanded. “I think Camp Deerpark combined the city and the country. That was not easy—and they are still doing it. People love Camp Deerpark. It has a lot of friends!”

—Written by Dillon Hershey, Goshen College intern.

John Smucker served as founding pastor of Friendship Community Church(Mennonite House of Friendship) in the Bronx from 1957–1979; founding pastor of Immanuel Community Church from 1983–1995 in Queens; pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Flushing from 1995–2008 in Flushing; and overseer-bishop of the Atlantic Coast Conference of the Mennonite Church in New York City.

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