Camp Is On Now!

All Saints of North America Orthodox Christian Camp 2018 is underway! Most of the staff and a whole bunch of campers are here already, eagerly awaiting the “any minute now” arrival of the bus with the rest of the campers and staff.

This year’s theme is “It’s Not About Stuff”. Here’s this morning’s story on that theme, which is based on today’s daily Gospel and Epistle readings and is about John the Baptist:

Camp is one month away!

Greetings to all friends of All Saints of North America Orthodox Youth Camp!

It’s just over a month to Camp!!!

We have nearly 60 campers in place and close to a full staff!  We still need a few more leaders in specific places, primarily male counselors.  Aside from campers and staff we also need ‘a village’ to raise this camp.

We have decided to break down a few of the needs for this year’s camp and invite people to take on a project that is both meaningful and affordable.  Unfortunately, donations to camp are not tax deductible, as we are not a legal charity, but that said it is a great cause! This year’s theme is ‘It is Not About Stuff,’ our goal is to Glorify God and give the kids who come a week to remember.  Here is what we need to make 2018 a fantastic summer!

It’s about the Kids!

  • Sponsor a camper (camp is expensive, and every year some kids can’t come due to finances)
    • This donation will be an anonymous, in that the donor will not know who gets their sponsorship, and the camper will not know who gave it.
    • 50% of camp costs at $185 / 25 % of camp costs at $95

Some stuff, although not the most important, helps camp work

  • Camp service books (costs of printing new books, the previous ones were destroyed by mold in storage)
    • $600 (permanently bound, reusable year after year)
  • Camper prayer books (for campers to take home)
    • $200 (simple photocopy and bound with staples)
  • RubberMaid storage containers (we can store some stuff at camp, but it needs to be weatherproof)
    • $100
  • 1st Aid Supplies
    • $100
  • Chapel Lights (patio lights or white Christmas lights)
    • $100

Donations of Time and Skill

  • Curtains (the 12 cabins each have two windows, but no curtains, these would be permanently installed at the camp as a thank you to the camp for letting have camp at the facility)
    • Back window Dimensions 3’ X 2’, Door window 2’ X 3’
    • Curtain rod will be approx ½ inch (if willing to sew, please email us first to confirm details)
  • Curtain rods
    • Any design, wood, metal, just need to be durable and match a simple wood interior (nothing fancy please)
    • Also magnetic rods to support the door windows without needing to drill

Random Stuff you may already have

  • White Christmas Lights (or any string lights)
  • Icons of any Saints of North America

If you are able to help with any of these things, or have any questions please contact us at director@allsaintscamp.ca

Lots of Exciting Camp Developments!

Just a quick note to let everyone know that preparations for this year’s camp are well underway – and going extremely well! Some highlights:

Our camp directors this year will be Graham and Xenia, supported by Biss… and Lysa! Some of you who have been with camp for a while will remember Graham was one of our directors a few years ago – we’re looking forward to having him back with his energy and experience and enthusiasm! And of course Xenia and Biss and Lysa are all well-known to any of you who have been to camp in recent years… We’re really excited about how the camp leadership and organization is shaping up!

Speaking of which, we have a new-to-us, but experienced and well-known-to-some-of-you head cook this year… none other than Fr. Matthew Francis of Holy Apostles Mission in Chilliwack! He was head cook at the OCA’s Alberta camp last year and had lots of fun doing that, so we stole… um, recruited him for our camp this year!

Phil is also back. This year he’ll be leading our Teen Program, which should make that program even more interesting than ever!

And I’ll be back (Fr. Justin) to teach and tell stories.

And there will be lots of other familiar faces… too many to name here. Maybe I’ll write another post soon to highlight more of them.

So, if you haven’t already, sign your children up now (the early bird discount will be ending soon!) – and sign yourself up to volunteer if you’re interested!

Staff and Camper Registration are OPEN!

We have just opened up the 2018 staff and camper registration forms. More information will be coming soon, but if you want to volunteer and/or get your camper registered really early, feel free to try out the new forms!

Note that the camper early registration discount ($365 instead of $395!) will be available until May 31st.

There is, as always, no charge for volunteering, although we do ask volunteers to pay for their own transportation to and from camp (and we do charge a nominal accommodation fee for any under-age children volunteers may need to bring with them).