Author Archive

Remembering Henry Pauls

With heavy hearts, we share the sad news that Henry Pauls passed away over the long weekend, after a two year journey with cancer. Nancy, Joanna and Steffen were able to be by his side. Henry’s grandchildren were able to say their goodbyes.

Here is a link to Henry’s obituary… Erb & Good Obituary

Henry’s legacy at Silver Lake reaches so far and wide that we lovingly referred to Henry as “Silver Lake royalty.” Adirondack chairs are all around camp– a symbol of the peaceful moments that camp can bring. Over the years Henry built these chairs with campers and staff. He was a board member, staff and volunteer. Between 1994-2003 he was the Camp Administrator, overseeing construction of The Pines, staff cabins, volunteer cabins, the new kitchen and the Wash House renovation. He participated in most Friends of Silver Lake canoe trips or Adirondack Hiking Trips during that time. He was at Work Weekends occasionally from 1960-1994 and then hardly missed one until 2017. Last year Henry reminisced about traveling with fellow university students from Guelph to camp around 1961 and nailing cedar shakes on a round picnic shelter, sleeping in canvas Bell tents in a pasture field surrounded by cows and considering it a luxury to have meals in a mosquito free environment. Eventually, with kids from an Arts and Adventure Camp, and volunteer help, Henry designed and built a new GaGa ball court which is still very much in use today.

At the very first ever virtual Silver Lake campfire, less than 2 weeks ago, Henry and Nancy were there – see last photo in slideshow. So many were moved to tears to see Henry and Nancy stepping into this unknown world, the future for Silver Lake.

We miss Henry already- his unfailing kindness, gentleness and support- and are incredibly blessed to have known him.

** Click on the first photo to start the slideshow ***

Remembering Andrew Rourke

With heavy hearts we share the sad news that Andrew Rourke passed away on Saturday in a motorcycle collision. Our hearts are with Lisa, his spouse, and all his family and friends.

Andrew was a long-time friend of Silver Lake with an incredible heart for camp.  He was a camper at Silver Lake, was on staff and volunteered in countless ways for many years- including serving on the Silver Lake board and being part of Work Weekends for over 30 years.

Thank you Andrew for sharing so generously with Silver Lake.

MCEC Fall Youth Retreat: Make YOUR Mark!

November 8-10, 2019
Theme: Escape the Ordinary: Make YOUR Mark!

Are you tired of experiencing boredom, stress, or mindless distractions that invade your life? Take the risk! Step outside your comfort zone! Embrace the power in you and in your community to change the world!  In this retreat you will be invited into the revolutionary journey of self-discovery and purpose in new ways you have never imagined.  Join with your peers in writing a new chapter that taps into the passion to make yOUR mark on this world!

Registration Fee

Early Bird Registration Fee (Ends Sunday, October 13, 2019) $100
Regular Registration Fee $110

Bus Fee $10

To Register: Online Registration (via MCEC website) 

Registration closes Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Why Choose Silver Lake?

While we do like to be modest, we are confident when we say Silver Lake is one of the best camps in Ontario.

Best Staff: All of our staff have graduated from our two year leadership program, CILTs. In addition, many of them grew up attending camp at Silver Lake and know first-hand the positive impact they can have on the lives of campers. We have expensive professional development experiences and training for all year-round and summer staff. Our on-site, camper to staff ratio is 2:1, all staff have Standard First Aid with CPR and nearly half are lifeguards (all swimming and waterfront activities are supervised by lifeguards). Bottom line: our staff are here because they love kids!

Best Food: Quality, homemade food is culturally significant to Mennonites, and campers will experience that first hand while at camp! Freshly baked bread, homemade mac and cheese, soups and sauces from scratch and the list goes on. Most of our food, including meats and produce, is sourced from local farmers or from one of our two gardens.  Yum Yum!

Best Facilities: Over the past 5 years, we have invested over one million dollars in our facilities and property including a new dining hall, renovated commercial kitchen, five new camper cabins (soon to be seven), new washrooms and plenty of program equipment from a new archery range and an expanded low ropes course to a water trampoline and sailboats.

Best Program: We’re constantly visiting other camps, outdoor education centers, and taking in conferences all in an effort to provide exceptional programming. At Silver Lake we dedicate each week at camp to a different age range to ensure your camper is there with others of similar age (6-10 yrs, 7-12 yrs, 9-14 yrs, 13-16 yrs) . That also allows us to tailor the programming to their specific age range.

Ready for the best? Registration for Summer 2016 begins  February 1, 2016 12:01 am.  Write it on your calendar, create a reminder on your computer, post sticky notes throughout the house, do whatever it takes, just be sure you register early!  Please see the summer schedule below. If you have any questions, please contact the office – 519-422-1401 or fun@slmc.ca  or www.slmc.ca/camp

May 9 Paddle the Grand Postponed But Annual General Meeting Continues!

Paddle the Grand will be postponed until further notice.  

The Annual General Meeting of Silver Lake Mennonite Camp Inc. for the 2019 fiscal year will be held by Zoom at https://zoom.us/j/834007094 on Saturday May 9, 2020 at 2 pm.   Please join!

Agenda and Reports are available through the links below.

Annual General Meeting Agenda, Minutes and Motions

SLMC Financial Review Committee Report

Income Statement Summary

Financial Statement of Income

Financial Statement of Cash Flow

Paddle the Grand Fundraiser Details!

Paddle the Grand is Silver Lake’s only annual fundraising event. Proceeds from this fun, inter-generational, family-friendly event go toward general operating costs such as staff wages, food, camperships, programming, etc.

On Saturday, May 11, participants will paddle en mass down the Grand River from Conestogo to Kiwanis Park to raise funds for Silver Lake. The paddle is 2 hours and passes some beautiful countryside in Waterloo Region. Participants will start to gather after 2pm and we hope to launch the canoes by 3pm. Stay tuned for meeting locations and times.

We suggest a fundraising goal of $500 per canoe. Some canoes have raised $2,500 and others have raised $250, so do what you can!

If you want to join us on the river, click the link below to register. You can then send the link of your fundraising page to family and friends and ask them to sponsor you.  All donations are 100% tax deductible and can be made easily online.  PLEASE JOIN US!

To Register or Donate click here – Paddle the Grand Registrations and Donations

Pledge Sheet

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Family Camp – May 17-19

Join us at Silver Lake on the May long weekend (May 17-19) for a great weekend of adventure and family fun.

The weekend is perfect for children experiencing Silver Lake for the first time or for those who just can’t get enough of Silver Lake!  Play games in the field, sing songs around the campfire, eat in the dining hall, hang-out in the treehouse, try the climbing wall,  catch frogs in the pond, canoe on the lake, enjoy the sauna (maybe at night when the kids are asleep) or just hang-out. Please note the weekend runs Friday-Sunday (does not include holiday Monday).

2019 Family Camp Online Registration

Make a Difference: Junior Youth Retreat, May 10-12

New Juniper Cabin is Ready!

We’re happy to report the construction on the new Juniper cabin is now complete just in time for summer camp. Juniper is a hybrid of our two new cabin designs, with the brightness and airy feel of the treehouse cabins, coupled with the practicality of being low to the ground. Best of all……………..this cabin is wheelchair accessible! This new design allows for 16 beds and lots of common space in the centre. This brings our total heated, winterized sleeping capacity to 164!

A very special thank you to Silver Lake alumni Rachel Harder and Matt Snider for generously supporting the construction of this cabin!

Spring Work Weekend – Thank you & Pictures

Thank you to the 45 volunteers who braved very wet weather in an effort to get camp ready for summer campers. Despite the weather we accomplished an incredible amount of work: trenching new hydro lines, painting cabin floors, cutting danger trees, deep cleaning, getting out sailboats and canoes, splitting and distributing firewood, adding gravel and woodchips to walking paths and rebuilding the sauna! A special thank you to Elizabeth Klassen who quaterbacked efforts in the kitchen and ensured we had plenty of tasty food all weekend!