The curtain has come down for good on Urban Saints national summer camps, which have been running across several sites across the UK and Ireland for many decades – though local and regional ones will continue.
Previously more widely known as Crusaders, Urban Saints summer camps for children and young people up to 18 have been run by volunteers since the early 1900s. This year’s camps ran through summer from the very first summer weekend. Interim CEO Richard Giles said : ‘We’re grateful for their servant heart and passion.’
In 1908, the very first Crusader Camp was held in Bognor Regis; and last year Urban Saints celebrated the 60th anniversary of Nefyn Camps (and the 70th anniversary for WhitCamp).
However, Sharon Prior, chair of the Board, said earlier this year: ‘The challenges of the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis have had a sizeable and negative impact on our income.’ This meant restructuring and refocusing on local ministry and ‘core mission’ – and the end of the national Urban Saints summer camps.
This year’s national camps programme was the last, but local and regional camps will still take place for Urban Saints groups.
