Cover Photo: From left: Rev. Canon Gary Meade, Rev. Gabbie Munn, and event organizer John Jordan Proctor judge entries in the 2025 Culpepper Cookout BBQ competition
Camp Bratton-Green’s Culpepper Cookout was started with a three-part mission. By bringing crowds of rib-hungry Episcopalians and friends to the shores of Rose Hill Lake, organizers hoped the weekend would serve as an annual reunion for generations of camp lovers, an opportunity to showcase the camp to folks who’d never visited before, and, with any luck, a fundraising platform to help improve the facility.
When it comes to providing good times, CBG never disappoints. How much money could be raised, however, wasn’t clear at first. And yet, year one put $15,000 in the Alumni Association’s coffers, and after year two the total had surpassed $35,000. It was enough to fund the first project the association had planned—a full overhaul of camp’s aging challenge course (also often referred to as a ropes course), one of the most popular activities for kids and adults alike during the summer.
That project is now underway and the new course will be ready for use when summer camp begins June 1st. The work is not simply meant to modernize—the new design will make it more user-friendly for the guests at camp’s special sessions for adults with disabilities.
The Rev. Chris Robinson, former rector of Redeemer, Biloxi, and now of St. George’s in Germantown, Tennessee, is one of the event’s organizers as well as a former CBG Permanent Staff member who spent two summers running the ropes course in the 2000s. He understands well the importance of these new features.
“Our ministry at camp serves people with a wide variety of abilities and so the new challenge course is being designed with accessibility front and center,” he says. “Removing the obstacle of tree climbing or having to haul someone to the platform and replacing it with a simple walk up a ramp will allow people of all ages and abilities access to the exciting elements that will be added!”
Having met that goal in just two years—faster than anyone predicted—the organizing committee had the opportunity this year to look toward what’s next. The answer: cabins.
“This year, the funds raised by the Culpepper Cookout will be directed to the construction of new cabins,” says Robinson. “Returning from the pandemic we renovated Cabins A, B, C, 1, 2, and 3, but determined that Cabins 4 & 5 were not salvageable.”
Fewer beds to offer as well as an ever-shortening summer vacation schedule have put limitations on how much revenue camp can generate each summer, but the more important issue is making sure no one who wants the Bratton-Green experience gets turned away. Also, the new cabins are planned to be designed as multi-purpose facilities. In addition to being used for summer camp, they will be adaptable to different types of gatherings during the rest of the year. That flexibility will make camp better able to fill the void that has come with the loss of the conference center across the road.
The Alumni Association, via the cookout, aims to lead the way on not just preserving but expanding what CBG can be.
“This is the only fundraiser for CBG,” points out Audrey Ford, another of the cookout organizers. “Of course, people give throughout the year, but this is the main event. Since CBG is the only diocesan-wide space for our youth, this fundraiser is the one thing meant to raise funds for the youth of our diocese state-wide. I think that’s impressive and noteworthy!”
Diocesan support has been crucial for the cookout and the cookout has been a great introduction to camp for Bishop Wells and her staff. The Rev. Gary Meade, Canon to the Ordinary, was invited to be a judge of the barbecue contest last year.
Being asked to serve as one of the judges was an honor,” says Meade. “In fact, it was also an opportunity to stuff this still relatively new Mississippian with delicious food until I could be stuffed no more.”
As it turns out, being a judge is itself a bit of a challenge.
“Judges are encouraged, of course, to take only one bite of each entry,” he says. “Right—some were so good that, like potato chips, I couldn’t stop at just one. And then when I was convinced I wouldn’t need to eat again for at least a week, here came dessert. Wow! I’m pleased to report that some months later I think I’ve finally shed the pounds I gained that glorious spring day.”
More than a chance to eat some tasty ribs, the event is meant to embody the spirit of its namesake, the Rev. Chuck Culpepper, who loved camp and its people so well.
“We hope that by hosting an ever-broader gathering of God’s people in this holy place, some of them might be called by the same spirit that called Chuck into the ministry of Camp,” says Robinson, “so that they might be transformed by service as surely as they help transform others.”
The importance of Bratton-Green as a way for the church to reach the youth of the diocese makes the Culpepper Cookout, even as it enters only its third year, an essential event.
“Camp Bratton-Green not only connects many in our diocese with a rich history,” says Meade, “but also provides essential formation, encouragement, and connection for the young leaders in our Episcopal Church. My prayer is that many future generations will continue to find CBG a safe haven of joy, care, learning, growth, and deepening faith.”
The 2026 Culpepper Cookout will be held Saturday, May 23, at Camp-Bratton Green. You can get tickets and rent lodging for the weekend at msepiscopalian.com/culpepper.
