Father Engel's fight for PLC

By SISTER MONICA MURPHY, CSJ- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

Rev. Paul Engel loved the Adirondacks, and particularly the 800 acres which are now called Pyramid Life Center on Pyramid Lake. This old Adirondack Lodge was purchased by the Albany Diocese many years ago to serve as a summer camp for girls called Marian Lodge. Father Paul played an integral role in each phase of the development of this facility until his health kept him from his sacred mountains.

Father Paul is fondly remembered as the young man who loved to lead hikes and to explore the Adirondacks back in the Marian Lodge days when he was a seminarian assigned to help out in the summer. He had become the camp's director when, in 1977, the Diocese closed Camp Tekakwitha, a boys' camp at Lake Luzerne, and merged it with Marian Lodge at the Paradox site with a new name, Pyramid Lake Camp.

During the 10 years that followed, a new concept was developed called family camping, described in a brochure as giving families the opportunity to experience nature and recreation in an atmosphere that fosters family interaction and group activities. Many of the families who started coming to "Family Camp" between 1977 and 1986 still come each summer. The children of the original family campers are now bringing their own children so that they can enjoy all the wonders of nature and community that are such a wonderful part of growing up.

By 1986, fewer families were sending children to camps and the Diocese was going to be forced to close the camp. Father Paul was one of the first people to step up and try to see what could be done to keep the place going.

In 1987, Pyramid Life Center began, a place where people can come to retreat as individuals or as a group. Parishes from the Albany and Syracuse Dioceses bring as many as 140 people for a week or a weekend at a time and work hard to build community while swimming, hiking, boating, cooking and praying together.

Music and leadership camps, writers' retreats, storytelling, nature retreats, Hispanic retreats, Native American craft weekends and other programs use the facility. Colleges, high schools, Scouts and group homes come to enjoy outdoor activities.

Father Paul brought to this venture his love of all creation as he led hikes up the high peaks in the early years and less strenuous trails in his later years. Going on a hike with Father Paul was an unforgettable adventure as he spoke in his quiet tone of the magical world surrounding us. He invited so many of the people from his parishes to come and volunteer so that the center would survive.

When it was Father Paul's day to lead the nature retreats, music was always an integral part of the programs. One never knew when dance would also be expected as part of liturgies. He also introduced all those who came to his retreats to the sounds of the various birds - in particular, to the ever-present loons.

Father Paul described the nature retreats by saying that the natural beauty of Pyramid Life Center serves as a catalyst for exploring how God speaks to us in sound, sight, touch, smell and taste. It is all connected to our spiritual journey.

Father Paul passed away April 9, 2013, but his dream of having a place in the Adirondacks where people can come away, search for peace within and connect with the magic of creation continues to be a reality. For more information about Pyramid Life Center, see www.pyramidlife.org.