Dear People of the Diocese of Maryland,

For nearly 70 years, The Claggett Center has provided a peaceful environment where friendships are formed and relationships with God are developed, renewed, and strengthened. And now, in 2022, Claggett has launched its Raising the Barn Capital Campaign to restore its iconic and historic barn that will expand our diocesan center’s meeting, dining, and gathering space for multiple and large groups. The barn will especially advance our ministries centered on children and youth, the people who will build our Community of Love for the future. 

I am asking you to support this exciting project!

As a 17-year-old I committed my life to Christ while attending a youth camp. Claggett is that place in the Diocese of Maryland where this kind of special experience happens for so many of our youth – and quite a few adults as well. Our mission in the Diocese of Maryland is to encounter Christ and engage in God’s work of reconciliation; that is, reconciling all people to Christ and to each other.  Claggett has a long history of bringing people together from all walks of life, bridging racial divides, and forming lifelong bonds that center on our common humanity as children of God.

Claggett is a place of beauty and rest. As “the garden of the diocese” it lives into its calling to be good stewards of God’s creation. There you can renew yourself by walking its labyrinth, trails, riverbank and fields. As you gaze upon and hike these sacred grounds, you can also nurture your inward spiritual journey in solitude and reflection. 

We’ve inherited Claggett due to the generosity of previous generations, and now we have work to do. The funds raised in this campaign will be used to renovate its historic barn so that we can invite and accommodate more people to experience the love of God there. What we do today will not only maximize our ability to reach out to children and youth in our lifetime, but also ensure that future generations can benefit from our efforts. In partnering in this Campaign with our neighbors, the Diocese of Washington, our two dioceses are investing in our children’s future for many generations to come.

Raising the Barn is a $3,000,000 campaign, and we have already raised more than 80% of that goal! Our wonderful Claggett co-executive directors, Lisa Marie and James Ryder, the Claggett Board of Directors, and our Campaign Committee of volunteers led by the Revs. Stewart Lucas and Dina Van Klaveren, have all worked diligently and faithfully to make this project a reality.

Will you participate in this effort? I’ve made a personal commitment to give sacrificially to this campaign; it is that important to me as bishop of this wonderful diocese.  Please join me by prayerfully considering a pledge, payable over the next five years. Visit the Claggett website and social media (Instagram / Facebook) for a video from myself and others on the importance of this project. You can them complete a pledge or make a gift online.

Through this Raising the Barn campaign you will give back to the place that has given so much to us and our children. Blessings to you as you share in this journey of faith!

Faithfully yours,

+Eugene