Dear Friends in Christ,

What is Penny in the Dust and who is it for? We are a rag-tag collection of families and individuals who gather for a week each summer to enjoy Saint Anne's camp and to share our lives as Christians who follow the ascetic discipline of the ancient and contemporary Prayer Book Tradition, described faithfully in the writings of Robert Crouse of blessed memory. This will be a child/youth/adult-friendly week of Christian community and fellowship grounded in the Daily Offices, daily Holy Communion, personal prayer, reflections in readings and lessons, talks and lectures, communal meals (prepared by our wonderful cooks), compline on the lake, and a whole lot of free time for canoeing, campfires (weather permitting), hiking, and friendship. We enjoy the rustic beauty of Saint Anne's camp, together.

By 'family camp' we mean an opportunity for families to come together in an informal way with lots of free, fun time for children to make friends with one another and for young people to grow together year after year in the annual Penny in the Dust Camp. But this camp is for all persons - individuals, solitaries, widows, widowers, divorced, the unmarried, celibates - all and any who feel called to share this time of prayer, fellowship, fun, wonder, conversation, conversion, and teaching.

In the early evenings, the grown-ups gather for theological conversation in response to talks given by our camp speaker. These talks are open to the public. (Some camping parents will use this time as bedtime for young ones). In 2024, Fr Walter Hannam lectured on Ernest Buckler's The Mountain and the Valley. In 2025, Fr. Ranall Ingalls and Fr. David Curry gave talks on the poetry of George Herbert, Thomas Traherne, and R.S. Thomas. This year, we look forward to talks introducing Dionysius the Areopagite given by Fr. Jordan Draper. Scroll down for more info.

For the past few years, on the final full day of camp, we made a pilgrimage to the gravesite of Ernest Buckler, which is just across the lake in the All Saints graveyard to hear reading and add gravel to his grave. Click here to read his short story Penny in the Dust.

Below, you will find a little more information on a day in the life of camp, more about the evening lectures, how the cost of camp is covered, and what to do if you are interested in joining this rag-tag group of families/individuals.

Glory to God in everything.

The Penny Camp Organizers

Fr. Gary Thorne - Confessor

Duncan Neish - Chaplain

Fr. Jordan Draper - Speaker

Brent & Heidi Fewster

Karis Tees & Will Barton

Hannah & Andrew Griffin

A Day in the Life of Penny Camp

Here is an example of a previous camp schedule.

Sunday

1:00pm - Arrivals

4:30pm - Evening Prayer

5:30 - Welcome & Supper

Free Time

9:30pm - Compline

Monday

7:00am - Holy Communion

8:00am - Morning Prayer

9:00am - Community Meeting

8:30am - Breakfast

Freetime

12:00pm - Mid-Day Prayers

12:30pm - Lunch

Freetime

4:30pm - Evening Prayer

5:30pm - Supper

Freetime

7:30pm - Evening Talk/Lecture

9:30pm - Compline

Tuesday

7:00am - Holy Communion

8:00am - Morning Prayer

8:30am - Breakfast

Freetime

12:00pm - Mid-Day Prayers

12:30pm - Lunch

Freetime

4:30pm - Evening Prayer

5:30pm - Supper
Freetime

7:30pm - Evening Talk/Lecture

9:30pm - Compline

Wednesday
The Eve of the Transfiguration

7:00am - Holy Communion

8:00am - Morning Prayer

8:30am - Breakfast

Freetime

12:00pm - Mid-Day Prayers

12:30pm - Lunch

Freetime

4:00pm - Choral Evensong at All Saints Church

5:30pm - Dinner

Freetime

7:30pm - Evening Talk/Lecture

9:30pm - Compline

Thursday
The Feast of the Transfiguration

8:00am - Morning Prayer

8:30am - Breakfast

Freetime

12:00pm - Mid-Day Prayers

12:30pm - Lunch

Freetime

4:00pm - Shortened Evening Prayer & Choral Eucharist at All Saints Church

5:30pm - Dinner / Transfiguration Feast!

Freetime

9:30pm - Compline

Friday

7:00am - Holy Communion

8:00am - Morning Prayer

8:30am - Breakfast

Freetime / Pilgrimage to the grave of Ernest Buckler

12:00pm - Mid-Day Prayers

12:30pm - Lunch

Freetime

4:30pm - Evening Prayer

5:30pm - Supper

Freetime

9:30pm - Compline

Saturday

7:00am - Holy Communion

8:00am - Morning Prayer

8:30am - Breakfast

9:00am - Packing

11:00am - Last departure time

EVENING TALKS

Introducing the Thinking of
Dionysius the Areopagite
Speaker Fr. Jordan Draper

Monday, Tuesday

and Wednesday at 7:30pm

in the Kaulbach Building (?)

The thinking of Denys is rich and hugely influential in shaping the thinking of the Middle Ages and the Reformation Fathers. Indeed, his thinking is so very clear, accessible and illuminating to every Christian who is familiar with the Book of Common Prayer. Denys helps us to understand the Anglican sacramental life that is so essential to our spiritual pilgrimage. Saint Anne's is the perfect setting to consider the dance of apophatic and kataphatic theology in our daily lives and we shall see how the appropriation of this dance is key to embracing the goodness of our secular culture. We shall see how a radical divine transcendence reveals a heavenly hierarchy that shapes and informs the earthly ecclesiastical hierarchy embodied in our Anglican embrace of the consensus fidelium (The Lord's Prayer, "as above, so below"). After this year's 'Penny in the Dust Transfiguration' week in August, each of us hereafter will keep a copy close by of Deny's wee treatise of only a few pages, The Mystical Theology.

Covering the Cost of Camp

A Communal Exercise in Faith

We are all in this together. This rag-tag group pays for the cost of gathering together for this week of Christian fellowship based on our own giving. This camp is not sponsored by anyone or receiving income from grants or foundations, or any sponsoring church. We don't have a large, interest-generating investment hiding away in the background somewhere. The camp's expenses are food (good food, with lots of local produce and nutrients at every meal), insurance, rental of the Ste. Anne's Camp facility, a few liturgical supplies, and a donation to All Saints Gibsons Lake Church. At this time, the organizers are still deliberating about what to recommend people offer so that we can come to breaking as even as possible. When we have more to say on this, that information will be spread around. However, please know that no one will be turned away because of money. We live by faith, and we are all in this together.