On May 28, many from Covenant Pines gathered at Salem Covenant Church in New Brighton to celebrate the life of Sarmita Peterson. Sarmita, her husband Cal, and their entire family share a deep history with camp, and her story of faith, service, and transformation has shaped countless lives – leaving a legacy that will continue for years to come.
Sarmita’s connection to Covenant Pines began in its early days as a summer youth camp. She spent several summers on staff, where she met her husband, Cal. From the beginning, they both recognized how meaningful camp could be for young people and families. Covenant Pines quickly became a significant place to their family. A place where they invested their time, gifts, and relationships.
Over the years, Sarmita returned as a speaker for summer youth camp, often sharing with campers along the beach about God’s faithfulness in her life, including her experience fleeing Europe during World War II with her family. Three of their five children later served on staff, continuing that connection into the next generation.
Cal and Sarmita appreciated all the ways camp experiences had impacted their family, and began to volunteer at Covenant Pines nearly every month for over 30 years. Cal, a gifted carpenter, and Sarmita, with her keen eye for detail and willingness to jump into any project, worked side by side to care for camp. Together, they left their mark on nearly every building – bringing both craftsmanship and care to each space. Just as meaningful as their work projects were the relationships they built.
Former Executive Director Bruce Peterson shared:
“Cal and Sarmita’s fingerprints are on nearly every building at camp. While volunteering, they became good friends with ALL the staff including staff kids and volunteers, ministry staff…attending their sporting events, graduations, weddings. They were really CPBC super-staff.”
Cal and Sarmita exemplify what it looks like for a family’s connection to camp to grow and deepen over time. What began as a summer job became a lifelong commitment – one that shaped their family and blessed an entire community. Sarmita will be deeply missed at Covenant Pines, but her presence is still felt in the spaces she helped create and in the lives she touched.
Covenant Pines remains a special place for Cal, a place he continues to believe in and support. He still likes to say it’s a pretty great place to meet your spouse and build a shared sense of purpose as a family.
In honor of Sarmita, the Peterson family has designated the Covenant Pines scholarship endowment fund as a memorial. Through this, her legacy will continue to open the door for campers to experience camp for years to come.
As you reflect on Sarmita’s story, we invite you to prayerfully consider how you might be part of that ongoing legacy – whether through a gift to the scholarship fund or by sharing your time and talents at Covenant Pines. You can also consider including Covenant Pines in your own legacy planning. To learn more about this, contact Executive Director, Dave Cairns.
