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Open for Outdoor Activities (day use)
Call or email before you come. Book your activity time in advance by calling (540) 449-0012. Learn more here.
Serving our communities since 1957, we are a year-round retreat center with eight weeks of summer camp. Caroline Furnace is in beautiful Fort Valley VA, located in the Shenandoah Valley near Washington DC.
We invite you to be part of our Christ-centered community!
All are welcome here. You are welcome here.
Faith
We share a welcoming, prayerful, playful space - a simple environment, disconnected from the distractions of technology and the world.
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We lead and teach based on Lutheran theology, but we welcome those of any belief (and no belief, too).
We provide opportunities for outdoor, experiential education in a historically and ecologically significant setting.
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We believe in the power of experiential education, in learning from your surroundings, in stepping outside your comfort zone.
We have a lot to explore at Caroline Furnace!
Renewal
We offer our facilities, programs and staff to any group seeking to build community with one another.
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Caroline Furnace is a place to encounter God in God's creation, and we are committed to remaining a special place
"set apart".
As stated by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), “outdoor ministries strive to strengthen, support and lift up the body of Christ through building relationships with others and with God while enjoying creation.”
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We aim to live out this ministry by following the greatest commandment that Christ taught us - to love our neighbors as ourselves. We understand this teaching as being inclusive of everyone, with no exceptions. We believe that God declared all plants, animals, life, and creation as “good” and has blessed us all. We celebrate, affirm, and value the diversity present in our communities: diversity of ethnicity, culture, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, faith, belief, ability, age, identity, and any other classification. Sincerely, we say, “all are welcome.” YOU are welcome here.
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The above statement has been the expected culture here since camping and retreats began by Lutheran families in Fort Valley starting in 1949. We stand with our local ecumenical partners, community organizations, and the ELCA to reclaim our history, recognize our past (good and bad), and strive to always be a welcoming host.
We do not profile our guests and do not track ethnicity, faith, or belief of guests and program participants. Registration does track gender and age of summer campers to plan for lodging and activities and to comply with child protection laws.
