Thursday, February 16, 2017

The Latest Update



We are past students, educators, community members, and anyone who loves Cono Christian School. We have been influenced and our lives changed as a result from experiences and lessons learned at Cono. Together we are raising money for the Presbyterian Church in America for services needed to procure legal title to Cono once again. In the last few years the school's ownership became unclear. The church had always owned Cono. Now the church (the PCA) is reclaiming title to the property and ministry, and we support this effort.

The Latest Information
An Iowa judge is deliberating now on a couple of preliminary motions regarding Cono, with the main trial set for April, when that judge will decide if the Iowa Presbytery (PCA) can take its rightful ownership of this historic church-related ministry. Thank you for your help. We have so far attained more than $65,000 overall and $16,000 toward a new $50,000 of matching funds. This is progress!
You can send a check, and it will be matched, dollar for dollar, to Iowa Presbytery, c/o Kevin Schwab, 1130 Main Street, Ackley, IA 50601. You can also give online hereThank you for considering the cause, and for participating. We hope that methodical, steady support will win the day eventually.

Refreshed Ministry this Summer at Cono?
Pray that the Iowa Presbytery's legal effort will go quickly and smoothly. Assuming all goes well, the property will be overseen and used by the Presbyterian Church in America through its camp and conference center, Ridge Haven. Wallace Anderson, Director of Ridge Haven, says:
The more I consider the possibilities at Cono, the more excited I get! I would think if we knew something as late as May, we could still arrange for a few events this summer. We could host at least one "Yoke Week" much like in the early days of Covenant College when it moved to Lookout Mountain. It would be a combination of work and our popular Family Camp here in N.C. It would be a time where singles, couples and families would come to work half days to get Cono prepped for an onslaught of kids, and then we would spend the other half day playing and doing camp activities. Check out our Family Camp weeks at www.ridgehaven.com to get an idea of what this is like.
We would also want to start hosting summer camps as soon as possible. Even with just a couple of months’ notice, we could host one or two weeks of camps using some of our staff here to work in Iowa. That would be a great way to involve the Presbytery and the different churches in the area.
For the fall, we would want to have some retreat weekends. Eventually we are hoping to have an incredible corn maze, hay rides, create an obstacle course, and have something similar to a "Spartan Race" course. We would hope to host a Presbytery weekend. 
Our Winter Camp here in North Carolina is very popular, although the last three years have been a disappointment in that we have add such warm weather. Even though the kids have had a great time it hasn’t lived up to its name of “Winter” Camp. With an average winter temp of 32 degrees and an average snow fall of over 30" a year in Walker, Iowa we can't wait to have a "White" Winter Camp option...cross country skiing, winter camping, maybe even some outdoor ice skating a few weeks, and a bunch of snow ball fights.

—Wallace Anderson


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