Virginia Episcopalian Magazine Winter 2015 Issue | Page 15

#ShoutIt: Our Campaign Leadership

By now, you’re probably familiar with the description of Shrine
Mont as a “lab for leadership” in the Diocese of Virginia. In
this issue of the Virginia Episcopalian, we’re taking a look at
leadership in a different way: by getting to know our campaign
co-chairs. Barbara McMurry, a member of Grace, Keswick, is
a veteran camper, counselor and director. The Rev. Andrew
Merrow has been participating in parish retreats at Shrine Mont
for 30 years in his capacity as rector of St. Mary’s, Arlington.
Q: What’s been the most rewarding part of your experience so
far as a co-chair of the campaign?
Andrew: Far and away the most rewarding part of helping
with the Shout it from the Mountain Campaign is that, as I
talk to folks about the campaign, I get to see a smile broaden
across their faces when they remember their time camping
on the Mountain. It is the same kind of remembering that is
at the heart of the Eucharist, the past made present. I think
there is a profound connection between the experience of
Shrine Mont Camps for campers and counselors as young
people, and later in life their remembering just how much
God loves us.
Q: How have you seen Shrine Mont live into its
reputation as a “leadership lab”?
Barbara: In my own life, my parents brought me to church
as a “cradle Episcopalian,” but my time spent on the
Mountain at Shrine Mont kept me in the church. My
very first job after college was a direct result of the
Shrine Mont entries from my resume. I served in
leadership roles at camp, and my employers
found that valuable.
Q: If you could pick only one favorite
Shrine Mont memory, what would it be?

of my life. I am proud of those staff members and campers
who have taken their place as leaders of the Church. Many of
them are active participants in the Shout it From the Mountain
Campaign. We will be in good hands for the next 50 years.
Andrew: Shrine Mont, for me, has always been about
community – youth group retreats, parish weekends, clergy
conferences, St. George’s closing Eucharists. Yet my favorite
memory is a solitary walk through the forest at the height of
the fall colors. Red, yellow and orange leaves bathed in the
sparkling light of a brilliant autumn sun from a cloudless, blue
sky. And then as I silently walked, only the crunch of fallen
leaves beneath my boots, I was flooded with the realization
that mine was not a solitary walk, but rather, I was hiking with
the Lord of all Creation.
Q: What are your hopes for Shrine Mont in the next 50 years?
Barbara: Dear Lord, continue your grace and goodness
toward us as we minister to campers and staff and families for
another 50 years.
Andrew: Shrine Mont is an anchor in a wildly changing
and increasingly unpredictable world. Over the next
50 years, I hope that we, the people of the Diocese
of Virginia, will lead in a way that allows Shrine Mont
to continue to fulfill its mission. What is that mission?
To continue to be a sanctuary that nurtures souls who
then can come off the Mountain renewed and ready
to engage the issues of our world. I hope that it will
continue to be a place that sends an unmistakable
message to young people: “You are beloved
of God, and nothing can ever take that
away.” I believe Shrine Mont sends that
same message to all of us. t

Barbara: During my first year as director
of St. George’s Camp, the staff and
campers held an all-night “Easter
Vigil.” That was one of the most
powerful experiences of my life.
The quiet, candlelit Shrine and the
conversation we had as senior staff
members, sitting on the star-lit ball
field, watching the cabins take turns
at the vigil, will stay with me all

WINTER 2015 / Virginia Episcopalian

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