Erin Wolf, Diocese of Wisconsin’s Youth Networking Coordinator and EpiscoWisco Camp Executive Director, WCC Board Member
“Why A Camp Conference?”
“Because camp life admirably supplements even the best of home influence and school training by developing certain qualities and accomplishments to a degree impossible elsewhere. Because camp cultivates in young people a love of the out-of-doors, teaches them to appreciate the simple, wholesome pleasures of life, and builds them physically, mentally and morally.” –Rev. B. F. Miller, Camp Director (1946)1
Despite being one of the smallest programs currently within the Episcopal Camps and Conference Centers network, historic Episcopal summer camp ministries in Wisconsin celebrated a BIG milestone in the 2026 season – 100 years of Episcopal camp joy!
The first known Episcopal “Young People’s Camp Conference” in Wisconsin was held June 25-27, 19262 at Nepco Lake in Port Edwards. The Diocese of Fond du Lac hosted this interdiocesan event for young people ages 16-25. The program included a mixer, dance party, athletic activities, campfire, and a public “Out-of-Door” Eucharist.
With a pause in camp ministry 1933-19343 and throughout the 1940s, local churches and ministry partners filled the gap with supplemental programs; offering worship, fellowship, formation, and pastoral care for both those struggling at home and those serving overseas. Diocesan Episcopal camp programming resumed in 19454 at Onaway Island in Waupaca.
Following World War II, additional camp ministries were launched to serve more young people in Wisconsin. The Diocese of Eau Claire established Camp Horstick at Bundy Hall Episcopal Center, near Menomonie, in 1949; and the Diocese of Milwaukee established Camp Webb in 1961, near Wautoma, respectively. Diocese of Fond du Lac Summer Camp continued as a short-term ministry, partnering with secular and faith-based camp host sites for up to three weeks of camper sessions.
In the 2000s-2010s, leaders began discussing the viability of camp ministries. On the heels of “Camp for the Future” conversations in 2019, the pandemic paused in-person sessions; leading to the remote “Camp @ Home” program in 2020. As campers returned in 2021, thanks to a new ecumenical partnership with Crossways Camping Ministries (ELCA), leaders saw an opportunity for a “new” cooperative venture, returning the ministry to its roots.
EpiscoWisco Camp was officially established in 2023 as the sole diocesan Episcopal summer camp in Wisconsin. The program keeps Christ at its center; with worship, faith formation, fellowship, and youth leadership building as its pillars. And on June 25, 2026, on the last night of the high school “Senior Camp” session, campers and staff celebrated the 100th anniversary of the first “Young People’s Camp Conference” with songs, games, and special prayers for the occasion.
While we can’t predict what the next 100 years of camp might look like, we give thanks to God for the immense blessings of all those who, throughout the years and still today, continue to keep this ministry alive! We give thanks for every volunteer, teen leader, staffer, host, donor, supporter, camper, family, and prayer partner who are a part of this beloved community today. Here’s to EpiscoWisco Camp 2027 and beyond!
Citations:
Miller, Rev. B.F. (1946, June). Wilderness Camp Conference. The Diocese of Fond du Lac, Vol. 23, No. 6, p. 1
Johson, Rev. J.M. (1926, June 15). Young People’s Camp. The Diocese of Fond du Lac, Vol. 2, No. 6, p. 2
Dubois, Jr., Rev. A.J. (1934, May). Department of Religious Education. Diocese of Fond du Lac: The Sixtieth Annual Council, p. 28
Photos:
First Years of Episcopal Camp Joy in Wisconsin (1926-1930)
Top L-R: Nepco Lake Building, Port Edmund, 1926; Camp Conference attendees at Nepco Lake, 1927
Bottom L-R: Cleghorn Camp Dining Hall, 1930; Cleghorn Camp Shoreline, 1930 (Waupaca)100 Years of Episcopal Camp Joy in Wisconsin! 1926-1936 (feat. 2026 campers, Imago Dei Village, Clintonville)
Top L-R: Senior Camp; Kinder Camp
Bottom L-R: Junior Camp; Middler Camp.
