Fellowship Camp
wrote Orlo Kaufman in the Mennonite Weekly Review. It was during the tension and
violence of the 1960’s that the camp was developed.
This was the South in the sixties. Racial issues involved not only black and white, but
also Indians who were discriminated against and who were a subject of controversy.
Many persons, both young and old, put themselves in dangerous positions in taking
a stand against the injustice. The Nevin Bender Family and its involvement with these
injustices, played an important part of the Christian camping in Mississippi.
Nevin had both experienced and observed injustice. He had a long-felt desire to live
and work among people that suffered injustice. When he came to visit his son, Titus,
in Meridian, Mississippi, he saw the possibility of doing something to ease the
tensions. The first several years were full of hardships and certainly a test of their
dedication.
The Benders remained and later purchased a plot of ground near Meridian. Within a
year they had organized an association to provide freedom for Indians, Blacks, and
Whites to come together for fellowship and reconciliation.
**The story above is an excerpt from the book, A Vision and A Legacy, by Jess
Kauffman, written in 1984, about the camp's history.
Since the 1960's, Pine Lake Fellowship Camp has continued its ministry to many
people of different races and backgrounds, and still today the spirit of fellowship and
reconciliation shines upon everyone who comes to camp.
You can also contact Titus Bender at benderta@intelos.net for more information
about Pine Lake Fellowship Camp's history.
