We joined the UUA

We joined the UUA as an affiliated organization! 

September 2022

We have officially joined the UUA! 

Throughout the history of Marwood, we have been guided by the Unitarian Universalist principles, most of the counselors and campers have been UU’s, and our legal name is Midwest Unitarian Universalist Youth Camp. However the camp was not formally associated with any one church or sponsored by any UU organization and we did not have an official connection to the UUA until September of 2022 when we joined as an affiliated organization.

Marwood was started in 1961 by Marion and Woody Baker who were members of The Federated Church in Avon, Illinois, when the UUA was formed in the same year. Camp oral history tells us that the first campers named Mar-Wood (the first way our name was spelled) in honor of Marion and Woody. Today we maintain the Marwood name as our beloved nickname in their honor. 

Marwood has rented many campgrounds over the years. We learned that the Marwood Spirit travels in our hearts wherever we go, and no matter where we gather we can bring that feeling forward and light our chalice. And we’ve learned that invoking the Spirit of Love is much easier when we do that on sacred ground where people have been doing the same thing for generations. Currently we are meeting at Pilgrim Park Camp and Conference Center in Princeton, Illinois, which is owned by the United Church of Christ (UCC), as is Tower Hill Camp and Retreat Center (where Marwood was held in 2021). We didn’t know when we came to these new campgrounds that The Federated Church has a dual affiliation with the UUA and the UCC–just an interesting little tid-bit of full-circle for us. 

All are welcome at Marwood. You do not need to be a member of any church or organization to apply for an open camper position. Our attendance policy supports families by admitting siblings, step-siblings, family of alumni, etc. before we bring in campers with no affiliation to camp. And we have found that even with this policy in place, we have open camper positions every year for new camper families. Many of our campers are UU’s, however certainly not all. This is also true in the counselor group (some of us are UU’s and some are not). We know that no matter where we all come from, we’re better together.

Marwood is growing in new and exciting ways. As we grow into the biggest version of ourselves we want to be sure we stay firmly rooted in our foundational principles, so joining the UUA as an affiliated member seemed like the obvious logical next step. While the last 5 years have brought many changes, one thing remains the same always: The Marwood Spirit is alive and well, rooted firmly in the UU principles and the hearts of those who carry the light of the Friendship Circle Marwood Candle in their mind's-eye.