Messenger, Troy. Holy Leisure, edited by Troy Messenger, University of Minnesota Press, 1999. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/smith/detail.action?docID=310454.

Chapters:

2. Setting the Stage - Exploring the second-wave of Methodist summer retreat sites, differing ideologies on how these camps should be run, and the exclusivity, deterioration and cyclical changes in Christian ideals and ideas of leisure. 

"“The origins of the camp meeting, which seemed to have appeared on the American frontier full blown in 1800 as the most striking manifestation of the Great Revival, have long been hid in obscurity. . . . One
day the frontier was a godless place . . . and the next it was all aflame with religious zeal.” (5, Messenger)

3. Holy Space - "But however much the reformers whitewashed sacred space and dislocated worship through circuit riders, river baptisms, and camp meetings, they never entirely banished the sacred from American evangelical architecture.
Even in the woods, the sacred was visibly represented through the creative shaping of environment—a circle of canvas tents, an elevated wooden preacher’s stand, the jumble of produce and whiskey sellers just outside the
perimeter, the plank seating that separated males and females, blacks and whites, and the brush arbor “cathedral in the wilderness.” (51, Messenger)

*Great explicit references to Laurel Park, MA

Focus on the geographic locations of camp meeting sites, the capitalist development that arose next to some sites (shops, railroads, ports), and the differing ideologies that sprung up from these opportunities for greater community development at the expense of intrusion upon holy leisure, sacred natural space, and purity (especially on the Sabbath).

"Landscape historian J. B. Jackson found
camp meeting sites remarkable only for their dullness. Flat and austere, they lacked
the grand tableaux of majestic mountain landscapes favored by fashionable hotels
and romantic artists.9 Instead, camp meetings stressed the spirituality of their private
spaces. The camp meeting, with its typical leafy enclosure, formed an interior space
where guests could reflect on the divine presence in Nature, apprehend God’s immanence, monitor their internal states of grace, and focus without distraction on the journey to salvation." (6 , Rieser)

Steeped in perfectionism, autonomy, exclusion, homogeneity, this reading was helpful in constructing a thought process when thinking about how religious actors can have an influence on a geographic location and space. Draws points on the past and present state of Ocean Grove, HOA, renters v. buyers, the revitalization of Ocean Grove, and the overall stronghold that Methodist communities instilled on the site.

"Religious ideology was at the forefront of the CMA's (Camp Meeting Association) vision for Ocean Grove, while
the need for economic development and accumulation of capital was secondary. Some
125 years later, the order is reversed for the HOA, which has prioritized the need for
redevelopment and increased property values. And yet the normative vision of the HOA
is not all that different than that of the Methodist founders. With its agenda of a
homogeneous, middle-class, family oriented community that is physically and socially separate from the adjacent community of Asbury Park, the HOA continues to shape the
landscape of Ocean Grove based on ideologies of perfection, homogeneity, exclusion,
and autonomy. They have accomplished this through the creation of architectural
boards, zoning plans, locked gates, and performing arts centers, through the obstruction
of community mental health services, and through the destruction of boarding and
rooming houses." (603 , Schmelzkopf)

"``What would remain of religious ideology if it were not based on
places . . . ? What would remain of the Church if there were no churches?''[11] Another
reason is that sacred spaces not only reproduce religious ideology, they re¯ect prevailing economic and political ideologies of the time period. Harvey makes the point that being a religious haven does not exempt a place from having to make accommodations to capital accumulation similar to that of secular communities." (590, Schmelzkopf)