The search for a new diocesan camp began with the decision to sell Camp Reese, the diocesan camp on St. Simon’s Island. Even in the interim, Summer Camp sessions continued. The Diocese rented Kolomoki Mounds State Park near Blakely each summer for several years. A successful fundraising drive provided funds to build a permanent camp and conference center on land provided by Brunswick Pulp and Paper Company on Dover Bluff Road in Camden County bounded on the East by Honey Creek; hence the common name for our retreat center.
In 1955 a young architect, Blake Ellis an Episcopalian fresh out of Georgia Tech, was approached by Bishop Albert Stuart to layout a master plan and design the buildings for a new camp and conference center in Camden County. Many names of buildings from the former Camp Reese were honored at Honey Creek. Ellis, a long-term communicant at Christ Church in Valdosta, designed the Chapel of Our Savior, three dormitories, a dining hall, and two cottages on the 100-acre maritime forest along the tidal creek. These buildings and a pool were completed in time for springtime retreats for adults and the first summer camp session in 1960. The Department of Christian Education of the Diocese planned programs which were participated in by 622 men, women, boys and girls. It was an invaluable experience in Christian living and Christian education. That the first year of use of the new Center proved to be such a smooth operation with such fine results was due to the careful planning and hard work of the teaching staffs and permanent staff, and above all to the devotion of Mr. and Mrs. Sherman Hammatt, the first resident Custodians. Bishop Stuart also facilitated a widely acclaimed free annual camping program for 400 underprivileged children at Honey Creek. Credit for the success of the program was widely given to the organizer, Commander Robert Clinton of St. John’s in Moultrie.
In the 1970’s, Reese Dining Hall and kitchen were expanded to allow for more indoor gathering space. The 1970’s also brought a new and larger meeting space named Stuart Hall for the Bishop. In the early days of the 1990’s, under the leadership of the Rev. Charles and Dot Hay, a successful environmental education program began, and a new campus office was built, along with twenty additional lodge rooms.
When prior debts threatened the center in 2010, Bishop Scott Benhase worked to bring to fruition the Honey Creek Commission’s plans to restructure the debt into bonds. He also hired Dade Brantley as the Executive Director and oversaw the restructuring of the staffing model to have as needed staff for dining hall, cleaning, and maintenance to bring an end to the center losing money. Before stepping down as diocesan bishop, Benhase got a plan in place to pay off the bond debt through a three-year 2% assessment approved unanimously by the Diocesan Convention. That plan completed at the end of 2022, having successfully cleared the debt. The Honey Creek Retreat Center continues to serve as the parish hall for the Diocese of Georgia.
Pictured: Bishop Stuart laying the cornerstone at the Chapel of Our Savior at Honey Creek on October 31, 1959 (top); and (below) Pam Guice leads singing with assistance from the Revs. Jim Parker, Henry Louttit, and others.
