We welcome you WITH OPEN ARMS!
Won’t you join our Capital Campaign to help ensure that Mar-Lu-Ridge continues to be able to welcome ALL?
Campaign Background
Despite our desire for Mar-Lu-Ridge to be a place that welcomes all people, some of our spaces do not reflect this commitment. Unintentionally, some areas of our buildings limit accessibility and full participation.
Increasingly we turn guest groups away because we are unable to meet their accessibility needs. This is not the hospitality we claim and does not reflect our aim in welcoming all people to engage in this sacred place.
As we plan for the future of MLR and the next generation of outdoor ministry, we are committed to be good stewards of our spaces and resources by:
- improving accessibility for all visitors and guests
- refreshing spaces within our existing footprint that will honor our commitment to conservation while better serving our ministry
- clearing the remaining debt for the reservoir to position MLR for strong financial footing
Congregational Campaign Resources
Utilize these resources to help us spread the word within your congregation.
Ways to Give
We appreciate all gifts – large and small.
– Give via Check – please put “Capital Campaign” on the memo line.
– Use Giving Intent Form.
Checks and forms may be mailed to 3200 Mar Lu Ridge Road, Jefferson, MD 21755
Project List
As contributions to the With Open Arms Campaign are received, we have prioritized the following improvements to increase MLR’s hospitality, inclusion, and accessibility for all people:
1. We will make the Ridge Inn fully accessible for all guests and visitors. An elevator will be installed so that guests with mobility needs may easily and safely access the top floor. Adding public restrooms on the lower level and installing automated doors will expand our hospitality in new ways.
2. Next, we plan to improve Cabin 3—our most-requested, most-used cabin—with an accessible restroom and a refreshed interior. Siding will replace the log exterior to prevent further decay from pests.
3. Carpenter bees have damaged a significant portion of Potomac Lodge’s exterior log structure. New concrete siding will be added to protect this building.
4. Cabins 1 and 2 are beyond repair and are no longer in use. These buildings will be removed to allow for increased green space. The old swimming pool at Area 3 is no longer serviceable. We plan to remove this feature and level the ground for group gathering space. This area is in near-constant use thanks to renovations and upgrades by MLR staff. In time, we will develop this space with an accessible pavilion.
5. In 2020, MLR secured the main camp water reservoir, which was leaking. Gifts to the With Open Arms Campaign will help to quickly clear the remaining $220,000 debt acquired for the reservoir development.
Letter - Bishop of DE & MD Synod
At Mar-Lu-Ridge, the Holy Spirit comes near in the creation and community, reminding us that we learn much from the diversity that is, rather than the uniformity of what was. Truly this is a place where we live out our baptismal vocation to honor the dignity and belovedness of all people. I have experienced that at Mar-Lu-Ridge, as have my children.
My family is supporting the With Open Arms Campaign in order to assure such a place and ministry for the next generation, as well. With much needed improvements, Mar-Lu-Ridge will be more accessible, more useful, and more beautiful for the community that will be able to
use our marvelous facilities!
I often speak to our Delaware-Maryland Synod family, reminding them that Mar-Lu-Ridge is our little slice of Heaven; there’s no denying that the view has something to do with that, but it’s the community gathered in this holy place where we see God come especially close.
Thank you for your generous response to With Open Arms! It is because of your prayers and support that we live more fully into our commitment that all are welcome in this place.
Come and see!
The Rev. William (Bill) Gohl, Jr., Bishop
Delaware-Maryland Synod, ELCA
Letter - Bishop of Metro DC Synod
Many children and youth come to Mar-Lu-Ridge wondering, “What’s the point? Why am I here – at Mar-Lu-Ridge and in this world?” They leave with life affirming answers by way of new friends, stories, and dreams; by way of experiencing the hope their spirits long for. This may be because Mar-Lu-Ridge is an expression of who we are as synodchurch together.
Mar-Lu-Ridge is a holy and sacred place where campers and leaders alike discover the possibility of relationship with the Triune God through interaction with God’s beloved and beautiful creation. It’s a place where those who visit expand their worldview and come to realize they have belonging: in and with creation, in the community, and in this messy complicated world and season in their lives; it’s a place where healing occurs because love is unconditional and available for all who enter, without exception.
Thanks be to God for Mar-Lu-Ridge and its faithful ministry; one that insists upon welcome, belonging, and hope.
In Christ,
Rev. Leila M. Ortiz
Bishop of The Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Synod
Fundraising Progress
Goal: $2.5 million – Amount Reached: $895,000
Campaign Updates
4/24/23 – Feeling grateful and blessed! We were able to update our progress thermometer from $240,000 to $327,100.
7/20/23 – Fundraising progress is now at $435,000!
11/14/2023 – We’ve passed (and surpassed!) the half-million dollar mark of this campaign. We’ve reached $642,000 and are humbly grateful for your generosity.
3/1/2024 – So grateful and blessed! $715,000 raised by donors, staff and congregations. Thank you so much for all your support so far. Keep it coming – help us spread the word.
7/2/2024 – Good news! We have signed a contract with JCS Communications to begin work on the Ridge Inn December 1, 2024.
8/14/2024 – Great way to start the day surpassing 1/3 of our goal. Thank you for everyone’s support!
A Letter from our Executive Director
Friends of Mar-Lu-Ridge,
God is moving through and among this ministry. For scores of summer campers, youth, adults, and families, Mar-Lu- Ridge is a place of sanctuary. It is a place where the noises and distractions of the world fall away, allowing space to engage with God’s created world, to hear God’s reassuring promises.
What a welcome gift in these times! We are a community with a rich legacy. Our retreat groups and campers are diverse and faithful. As we build on the commitments of leaders and supporters from the last 63 years and position Mar- Lu-Ridge for a strong and vibrant future, we are renewing our efforts to provide a safe and inclusive environment which reflects the lessons Jesus taught us: To love one another, even as I have loved you. (John 13:34)
Renovating Ridge Inn for increased accessibility and hospitality is a big step for Mar-Lu-Ridge, but one that will have even greater return on our investment in welcoming people to encounter God’s love through sacred hospitality, deepening relationships, and care for creation. Through this plan, we will be able to serve people in ways we are unable to at this time – especially groups and individuals with mobility needs. When these campaign initiatives are completed, the manner in which we welcome people will be more fully realized.
I am energized by the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of youth and adults of every walk of life and by the restoring messages of God’s grace and love shich will frame the way we think of each other and of ourselves. The impact of Mar-Lu-Ridge lives on in generations of campers, retreat guests, staff alumni, and our congregations.
I hope you’ll join in this campaign for Mar-Lu-Ridge—for the future of our ministry throughout the region and beyond.
God’s peace,
Sarah Lefler, Executive Director
Mar-Lu-Ridge Staff Alumni
Alumni staff are the heart of Mar-Lu-Ridge. Over the past 64 summers, young people have shared their enthusiastic love for our campers, for this beautiful natural environment, and for this community. These alumni gatherings have been a place to tell our stories, and to catch up with each other while learning about the future plans for Mar-Lu-Ridge. Folks are excited about our projects and are asking good questions about how the new accessible spaces can serve people more fully. We look forward to many more alumni gatherings.
Ridge Inn First Floor Diagram
Ridge Inn Second Floor Diagram
