Pilgrim Point Camp
Staff & Leaders

Gigi & Robin

Gigi Nauer grew up in a suburb of St. Paul. As a youngster, she spent time at Camp Northwoods while her mother was director. She remembers it feeling like being in a huge family. From there she went on to attend canoeing and backpacking and music camps. Later, she became a staff member at the same camp she explored as a child. Many of you have seen Gigi participating in music at the MinnesotaConference Annual Meeting or the Women’s Retreat at PPCR. She is a talented musician who plays many instruments including guitar, mandolin, banjo, piano and drums. As a teacher of students ranging in ages from 4 to 76, she empowers her students to find their own voice on whatever instrument they feel called to play. She sees singing groups, drumming groups, outdoor activities, and farming, as ways to create intentional faith communities that connect us to each other and to the land. Even if these communities are temporary, they provide connections that last long after the event is over. She has seen this happen everywhere from at Pilgrim Point Camps & Retreats to the fellowship hall in a local church. The wider church community in an outdoor ministry setting helps us all step outside of our “daily” lives and share in that intention of being God’s community. Robin Raudabaugh is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. She is a teacher, a sustainable farmer, an outdoor enthusiast, an artisan bread baker, and fiber artist. Robin was called to Pilgrims UCC Maple Grove in November of 2006. She has been a prophetic leader at Pilgrims, encouraging the congregation to explore and live out what it means to be an Opening and Affirming, Just Peace and Earthwise church. Robin is one of those few fortunate people who can look at her career and say she cannot imagine anything else she would rather do. The fact that she has multiple careers may help her feel that way. She is bi-vocational, working as the owner and farm manager of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Farm in Harris and serving as the pastor for Pilgrims United Church of Christ in Maple Grove, and now as the co-Camp Program and Site Manager. Robin is an empowering leader, helping others find their strengths and challenging them to think “wider.” As a worship leader and teacher, she brings a fresh perspective on life and the church. Working as a minister, as a farmer and in the out-of-doors allows her to integrate the different parts of her life, her love of God, her love of the planet and her love of the farm. She believes that sustainable farming and work in the local and wider church are all about celebrating radical hospitality, breaking bread, sharing and celebrating community and caring for all of God’s gifts.