The Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts

Bement Camp and Conference Center Sold;
Proceeds to Establish New Fund for Youth and Adults

December 1, 2011

The Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts is pleased to share the news that the real estate in Charlton and Spencer that was the location of the Bement Camp and Conference Center was sold on December 1, 2011 to Bement, LLC.  The land was sold with the restriction that it cannot be used for gambling, lewdness or related uses. The buyers intend to operate a summer camp specializing in Frisbee.  We are pleased that the new owners intend to protect and enjoy the natural beauty and the present buildings on the site.  The purchase price was $1.65 million, including $100,000 for personal property. 

Camp Bement was opened in 1948 after the purchase of about 179 acres in Charlton, MA. The money for the initial purchase came from a bequest from Mary V. Bement, which established a fund to be called the  “Charles Russell Bement and Mary Charlotte Ruby Bement Foundation,” in honor of her parents.  The income from the gift was  “to be used for purposes of the religious, charitable and educational work of the said Diocese.” Over the past few years the Bishop, Diocesan Council and members of the Diocese went through a very public and thorough discernment process that resulted in the closing of the camp and the marketing of the property.  A chronicle of the events can be found here. The property had been on the market since February 2010.

Diocesan Council has directed that the net proceeds of the sale, after expenses related to the sale will be used to establish the Bement Future Fund, to provide opportunities for Christian formation for adults and youth in the Diocese. The Rev. Mac Murray, Rector of Trinity Church, Milford, is heading the committee to discern the shape this effort will take. 

Special thanks are due the Bement Real Estate Committee for their significant and outstanding work: Paul Barten, chair, Laura Beckman-Devik, Wayne Gass, Steve Abdow, and the Rev. Meredyth Ward. We’d also like to thank our real estate brokers, David Rosen and Slater Anderson of LandVest, Inc., and our legal counsel, Chancellor Chip Doherty and Kathy Bernardo of Bulkley, Richardson, and Gelinas.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact Steve Abdow at Diocesan House

Previous Updates - The Sale of Bement Camp Property

The closure and sale of Camp Bement has stirred many responses and this is understandable given the long and often nostalgic history many have had over the years with the camp. The updates below provide a history of developments which lead to the sale (see above). For a historical context and earlier developments on the sale of the property, download this PDF document on the Story of Camp Bement.

November 2010 Update on the Bement Property

The camp property in Charlton and Spencer continues to be marketed by our real estate agent, LandVest. There has been interest in the property by many groups and individuals, but we have yet to receive an offer that meets our criterion.

At their last meeting in September, Diocesan Council authorized a committee consisting of the Rev. Meredyth Ward, Paul Barten, Wayne Gass, Laura Beckman-Devik, Steve Abdow, and Bishop Scruton to review all offers presented by LandVest and make a recommendation to Council, who will make a final decision on a buyer.

Our caretaker continues to live on the property with his wife and young child, and has been maintaining the grounds and buildings excellently. The leaders of the Diocese are determined to follow a path that leads to “the greatest good, for the greatest number, over the long run.” We are hopeful that God will help us achieve that end soon.

May 2010 Update on the Bement Property

The grounds and buildings at Bement survived the winter season without incident and continue to be well maintained by the on-site caretaker.  There was little or no damage from winter weather so our costs have been modest. The diocese continues to maintain the property in order to maximize its value to prospective buyers.

As noted in earlier updates, our real estate broker, LandVest (www.landvest.com), held an on-site meeting on February 3, 2010 that was attended by religious, camp, and conservation groups, land trusts, and state agencies.  They were encouraged to explore collaborative approaches to purchasing the camp and the land that would be consistent with the interests and needs of the diocese.  Several informal proposals were discussed but noacceptable formal offers by groups were received.  

Therefore, in accordance with the recommendation of the Bement Property Discernment Group (BPDG) and the endorsement of Diocesan Council, the property will be listed for sale on the open market by the end of May. The preferred groups noted earlier are still eligible to submit offers on the property.  Uses that are inconsistent with the principles of the Episcopal Church will be prohibited via deed restrictions.  Prospective buyers must be financially qualified; the diocese will not provide financing. 

The marketing and management process has been and continues to be under the supervision of the Finance Officer, Steve Abdow, the chair of the BPDG, Paul Barten, other members of the BPDG, and the diocesan legal counsel, with regular updates to Bishop Scruton and Diocesan Council. 

Finally, it is important to note that the net proceeds of a sale will be used to establish the Bement Future Fund. Uses for the fund will be recommended by The Next Generation Discernment Team for Christian Formation, chaired by the Rev. Mac Murray, past chair of the Bement Board of Directors. The team has been formed and the work of looking to the future, celebrating new opportunities, and honoring the ministry of Camp Bement by recommending programs for children, young people and adults across the diocese has begun.

Update on  Bement Property - February 2010

After many years of determined effort to increase the use of the Bement Camp and Conference Center by the churches of the Diocese (from its peak in 1994), address the ever-growing list of regulatory requirements, and fund the associated backlog in maintenance and facilities work, the Diocesan Council voted to close Camp Bement on June 25, 2009.  Immediately thereafter, the Diocesan Council commissioned the Bement Property Discernment Group (chaired by Dr. Paul K. Barten, former Senior Warden of Christ Church Cathedral) to compile, review, and recommend options for a course of action that honored the 60 year ministry of Camp Bement and would be consistent the values and beliefs of as many parishioners as possible.

The Diocesan Council accepted the recommendations of the Bement Property Discernment Group at its December 11, 2009 meeting and voted unanimously to:

1. systematically explore options for the sale of the Bement property (with first preference given to viable offers from religious, camp, and/or conservation groups), 

2. retain LandVest, Inc. as broker and agent, 

3. establish the Bement Future Fund to receive all sale proceeds, and 

4. immediately commission the Next Generation Discernment Team for Christian Formation to make recommendations for using the Bement Future Fund to enhance programs for children, young people and adults across the Diocese of Western Massachusetts.

Bishop Scruton and the Diocesan Council are pleased to announce the appointment of a chair for the Next Generation Discernment Team for Christian Formation ― the Reverend William (Mac) MacDonald Murray, Rector of Trinity Church in Milford, Massachusetts (immediate past chair of the Bement Board of Directors).  The Rev. Murray will be joined by the three Diocesan Christian Formation Missioners to form the nucleus of the team.  Bishop Scruton will be working with the Rev. Murray and the Missioners to refine the scope of work and charter for the team and expand its membership to effectively represent the Diocese.

September 2009 update on the Bement Camp property

On September 17th, the Bement Property Discernment Group will have its first meeting and receive the report from LandVest, a real estate consulting firm. The group will be chaired by Dr. Paul Barten, former Senior Warden at Christ Church Cathedral and associate professor at UMass Amherst. Paul is a nationally-recognized expert on forest conservation and land use and is well suited to lead this effort. There are eleven other members including clergy and lay leaders from all three corridors of the diocese. (Their names are listed at the bottom of this memo.)  The group will be meeting several times this fall. At the end of the discernment process they will make recommendations to the Diocesan Council on the future use of the land. Our hope is that as a result of their advisory work the Council will be in a position to find appropriate ways to continue the Christian formation mission of Bement.  We will be open to a spirit of discernment as we investigate possibilities for the property. We want to honor what Bement means to the people of the diocese and renew the ministry that has taken place there with a new vision. 

We have heard concerns that Bement will be sold to developers at the highest price, with no consideration of other alternatives.  This is simply not accurate. The Bement Property Discernment Group and Diocesan Council will objectively consider a wide range of alternatives such as: sale or lease to another camp, sale as open space, sale of development rights, as well as sale to real estate investors.  The optimal result may a combination of these possibilities. Both groups will weigh the spiritual, ethical, practical, and financial implications of a diverse set of alternatives.

There have also been questions and theories about Miss Mary V. Bement’s 1946 bequest to the Diocese.  Her Last Will and Testament simply stated that the earnings from the fund were to be used “…for purposes of the religious, charitable, and educational work of the Diocese.”  It was the decision of the Trustees and Bishop Lawrence to use part of her bequest to purchase the land and establish a camp.  Miss Bement was a resident of Greenwich, CT and New York, NY.  During the last 15 years of her life she was a summer resident of Stockbridge, MA, worshipping at St. Paul’s.

The Bement Property Discernment Group and the Diocesan Council will be guided by the terms and conditions of Mary Bement’s bequest and her special interest in youth programs.  The proceeds from rental or sale of the property will be returned to the Bement Fund.  As a result, increased earnings would be available to support Diocesan activities that build on the legacy of Camp Bement in ways that extend the Christian Formation ministry to current and future generations. 

Thank you for your continuing prayers about Bement. May God bless you during the joys and challenges you are facing this fall.

In Christ,
The Venerable William H. Coyne, Secretary to Council
Steven P. Abdow, Finance and Administration Officer

Bement Property Discernment Group

Update on Bement as of June 30, 2009

Diocesan Council is attempting to continue to be good stewards of the Bement property. As of April 15 the camp is being well maintained by an outstanding caretaker who is a resident of Charlton and is living on site with his wife and child. A previously scheduled wedding ceremony and reception for a member of the Lawton family was held at the camp two weeks ago. Guests included many former Bement counselors and campers. A number of young people from our Diocese are attending other Christian camps in the region this summer.

A team lead by Dean Jim Munroe has been out to the property several times to make sure valuable resources and memorabilia are being utilized and saved, and the team is developing plans for a Diocesan wide gathering at Bement later this year. While the future of the Bement property is not clear Council has taken some steps to help us increase our understanding of realistic possibilities before a decision is made. At its June 25 meeting, after much discussion, Council unanimously voted the following resolution:

MOVED: Council believes that it would not be good stewardship to hold onto the Bement property for an undetermined length of time in hopes that we might re-open a Diocesan camp, and Council votes to engage the consultant firm of LandVest to aid in the decision for the future use of the property at Bement. 

We have been working with the realities of Bement. We need to catch you up with the next steps as we see them. Council is very aware of the importance of using the assets in ways that will carry on a legacy of Christian formation and education for young people and adults which was the intent of Mary Bement’s initial grant which enabled us to buy the property in Charlton. 

In the seven months since the Bement summit no information has emerged to change the reality that it would take 3-5 million dollars plus $250K annually to reopen the facilities as a viable camp. Even if the camp was opened there is no evidence that we would have enough users to sustain it. Given the declining economy the diocese and parishes have had to cut budgets so the probability of raising enough money to experiment with the idea of reopening Bement is highly unlikely.

The firm Landvest is a reputable company that has worked with a long list of private schools, colleges and universities, land trusts and religious orders including the Diocese of Massachusetts, our own Christ Church Fitchburg for Camp Monomonac, The Sisters of St. Margaret in Duxbury, Old Sturbridge Village in the area of land planning and real estate consulting. We have spoken with the above mentioned groups about them, as well as two different land trust directors, and all have made favorable comments. They will be exploring and developing possible uses such as sale or lease to another camp, sale as green space, sale of development rights, and sale to developers. Their website is www.landvest.com. After Council receives the report opportunity will be given to the diocese for feedback on their recommendations before Council makes a decision. 

Thank you for your continuing prayers about Bement. May God bless you during the joys and challenges you are facing this summer.

In Christ,

The Venerable William H. Coyne, Secretary to Council

Steven P. Abdow, Finance and Administration Officer