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Camp Is Natural Fit For Reverend

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By DEREK MAUL, Tribune correspondent

Published: January 12, 2008

The Rev. John Reiter lives in the middle of the woods. It's where he played as a child, it's where he found his calling and it's where he met his wife. Today it's where he is raising his children, and he couldn't be happier.

Reiter is program ministries director at the CedarKirk Camp and Conference Center, 1920 Streetman Drive, Lithia.

"I grew up as a camper out here," Reiter said. "This place has always been very formative for me. We have a huge backyard, and it's a beautiful place to live. I have a seven-minute commute by walk."

Reiter grew up in Brandon. His dad, the Rev. Paul Reiter, was pastor of Brandon's First Presbyterian Church from 1977 to 1995, and the family spent a lot of time at the 170-acre camp on the Alafia River.

When he graduated from Bloomingdale High School, ministry was the last thing on Reiter's mind.

"People would say, 'Are you going to be a minister like your dad,'" Reiter said. "That would be a resounding NO! I was interested in environmental engineering, so I went to Maryville College in Tennessee to study chemistry."

Experience as a camp counselor changed Reiter's mind.

"I learned how camp affected people," he said. "Then God made it clear. I wanted to make a difference in people's lives."

Reiter met his wife when she was life-guarding at CedarKirk. Loli Ross, also a "P-K" - preacher's kid - shared his calling.

"We both enrolled in Union Presbyterian Seminary" in Richmond, Va., Reiter said. "We both got our master's in divinity, and we both earned our master's in Christian education."

After graduating, Reiter worked as program director at Camp Bethel Woods in South Carolina while his wife served as a pastor in nearby Rock Hill.

"It was a very positive experience," Reiter said. "Then at the end of 2006, we moved here. God was clear. It really felt right to come back."

So Reiter's life came full circle. Camp CedarKirk may not be the same place he loved as a child, but its spirit remains insistent and undeniable.

"Camp and conference ministry is unique because such emphasis is placed on community," Reiter said. "Camp provides an opportunity to truly experience what Christian community can look like and can serve as a model people can take home to further God's kingdom.

"Many people experience milestones in their faith journey at camp," Reiter said.

He wants to see that experience reach people in the Brandon area.

"Come on out," he said, "see the facilities, see what we're about. Let us show you Christian hospitality. We'd love to be a resource to the community. I'd love to see more folks discover us. We're open to groups, people, family reunions - whatever. We have a unique setting, and special things happen here."

There's a lot to do on the camp property: high ropes, low ropes, a swimming pool, fields for games, trails, a climbing wall, zip-lines and venues for tubing, kayaking, canoeing and hunting for shark's teeth. There also are plenty of porches with rocking chairs.

"We still have large congregational gatherings at least one weekend a month," Reiter said, "but now we're seeing more varied and smaller groups."

Summer, of course, is all kids all the time.

"We have the traditional first- through 12th-grade camps," Reiter said, "plus our Challenge to Change youth camps. We run around 100 kids a week with about 900 participants over the summer."
CedarKirk is owned and operated by the Presbyterian Church. This year the denomination celebrates 100 years of camp and conference ministry with the theme "100 years of Sacred Space."

"The setting, the location, it all speaks that this is God's created world, and we're entrusted to be stewards," Reiter said. "Us and God, us and neighbor, us and the world around us."

With development moving into Lithia, the future remains a concern.

"We have the river, plus there's some government land that serves as a buffer," Reiter said. "Then talk of a Brandon bypass made us nervous."

County planners dropped a proposal for the bypass after a public uproar.

A camper at heart, Reiter enjoys the outdoors, simple times with his family and most of all what he calls the "spiritual refreshment" of camp and conference center life.

"Jesus would go away to rest," he said. "Think about it. Even God incarnate took time to be away, to rest, to reflect, to find refreshment."

The camp song "Here I am Lord" remains Reiter's favorite. "It's a song about call," he said. "So many people experience that here."

MEET JOHN REITER
NAME: John Reiter, program ministries director, CedarKirk Camp and Conference Center

BORN: New Port Richey, 1975

RAISED: Brandon

MARRIED: Loli Ross, 1998

CHILDREN: Isabel, 4; Olivia, 1

Derek Maul can be reached at derekmaul@gmail.com.

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