Our History

Rabbi Raphael Levine and Father William Treacy met in 1960 and discovered a bond of kinship that crossed the boundaries of religion, culture and ethnicity. During fourteen years co-hosting the award winning KOMO-TV program, “Challenge”, they positively influenced the entire Puget Sound Region as they addressed the issues of the day from their interfaith perspectives. As a result of their friendship and with the help of friends in the business community, they purchased a dairy farm in Skagit County and in 1968 founded Camp Brotherhood to provide a beautiful setting in which to foster better understanding and harmony between and among religious faiths, families and individuals. This Rabbi and Catholic Priest never intended to eliminate the differences between faith traditions or create a uniformity of religions; “interfaith” for them meant celebrating and honoring differences while building cooperation based on shared values.

Our Vision

Inspired by Rabbi Levine and Father Treacy, we envision a world of peace and harmony where members of the human family recognize in each other similar guiding principles of universal compassion and unconditional love, and act on those principles to bring about peace and reconciliation.

Our Mission

Camp Brotherhood is an inclusive interfaith organization that offers facilities for educational, spiritual and experiential programs. We foster harmony in the human family by inviting dialogue and reaching out to religious, spiritual and secular groups, communities, youth, families and individuals of all abilities. We promote interaction between racial, ethnic, international and cultural groups, seeking to bring peace and reconciliation by increasing mutual understanding and compassion. We express our commitment to community as we extend superior hospitality in our serene retreat setting not only for Camp-sponsored programs, but also to those qualified non-profits and public agencies who utilize these grounds.

Values at Camp Brotherhood

• Our beliefs in God, expressed in various ways, which can bring us together.
• The forests, wildlife and peacefulness that surrounds us.
• Our ability to serve guests of all ages, families and organizations.
• Ecumenical involvement (intra- and inter-faith).
• Opportunity to meet people from a wide variety of backgrounds.
• Caring for and ministering to our guests.
• Good stewardship of our resources.
• Volunteers and friends who give of their time, talents and treasures.
• Our staff and trustees for their service and loyalty.
• The heritage of our founders and this retreat center, which is an answer to their prayers.
  

“Fostering Harmony Within the Human Family in an Interfaith Setting.”

KOMO-TV’s “Challenge” show

The Camp was originally envisioned by Rabbi Raphael Levine and Father William Treacy, who were the principal panelists (along with various Protestant ministers) on KOMO-TV’s “Challenge” show (1960-1974). The Camp was established in 1968 with donations from their friends in Seattle’s Rotary Club, and is available to be used only by non-profit charitable, educational and religious groups.

The vision of the priest is for members of the human family to build a retreat and conference center in a setting conducive to creative thought. And, that from different backgrounds and experiences, we would listen to, learn from, encourage and support one another, as together we prepare ourselves and our children to more fully live in the 21st century.

The dream of the rabbi was for all people of the Northwest to live in harmony and helpful cooperation, guiding one another along life’s path as members of the human family. And, having been created by the Living God, we would accept responsibility for our brothers and sisters.

Both Rabbi Levine and Father Treacy have written autobiographies. Click here for more information.

Board of Trustees

Our 2009 volunteer Board of Trustees

Ann F. Hanson, President

John A. Beyer, VP/Secretary

Joseph L. McGavick, Treasurer

Father Jim Dalton

Mohammad R. Fani

Colleen H. Fisher

John E. Hale

Rev. Barry Keating

Richard T. Kennedy

Richard W. Lawson

Jamal Rahman

Jeanie K. Rosen

Gov. John D. Spellman

Hon. Charles Z. Smith

Jean Thompson, Esq.

Father William Treacy

Rabbi Daniel A. Weiner

Doug Wheeler

Dr. Eugene W. Wiegman

Evelyn P. Yenson

Father William Treacy

Father William Treacy was born in Borris-in-Ossory in south central Ireland in 1919. In 1932, he left for St. Kieran’s College, a boarding school 30 miles from his parents’ home. It was during that time that Father Treacy decided to become a priest and in 1937, entered St. Patrick’s Seminary, Maynooth. He was ordained in June 1944. In 1945, while the Second World War was still raging, Father Treacy left for Seattle, Washington to fill a temporary vacancy at St. Alphonsus Church. In 1989, he retired after 50 years of service in Washington State. In addition to his duties within his parishes and interfaith projects, Father Treacy was active in faith-based and service organizations that provide aid to the poor as well as those in spiritual need, both at home and overseas. Today, Father Treacy continues to deliver his message of the importance of service and interfaith communication.

Rabbi Raphael H. Levine

Rabbi Raphael H. Levine was born in 1901 in Vilnius, Lithuania. At the age of eight, he immigrated with his family to the United States. They settled in Duluth, Minnesota. He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree as well as a Law Degree from the University of Minnesota. After practicing law for a short time, Rabbi Levine decided to pursue his interest in teaching about Judaism. Though raised in an Orthodox Jewish family, Rabbi Levine chose to train as a Reform rabbi at the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati. He graduated from rabbinical school in the midst of the Depression. His first position was in Liverpool, England. In 1942 he became the rabbi of Temple De Hirsch in Seattle where he served until his retirement in 1970. He died in 1985 from injuries suffered in a car accident. Throughout his career, Rabbi Levine was committed to promoting a dialogue between faiths.

Father Treacy’s Reflections

“I am not a scholar, but a Catholic priest who has spent almost 60 years attempting to live the message of Jesus and to communicate my understanding of that message to others. It was said of Jesus that he grew in wisdom, age, and grace. I hope to some degree this is true for me. That means there are insights and understandings that I have after almost 60 years as a priest that I did not have at the beginning of my ministry. During my 14 years on television, I tried to communicate my insights to a mixed audience of about 300,000 people every week. I attempted to do this with a pastoral, rather than an academic emphasis. Their regular viewing of the program gave me some assurance that I was on the right path. It is in that spirit that I present this book.”

- Fr. William Treacy, from the introduction to Reflections of a Pioneering Priest