A challenge of living in a rural diocese where only three percent of the population is Catholic and where most parishes are small and distant from each other is developing an understanding that as Catholics we belong to a Church much greater than our local parish. It is easy to keep a very local or parochial view of the Church, losing sight of the extent of the Catholic Church not only in the world, but also in history.
Every year the Vocations Office organizes summer camps for boys and girls from throughout the diocese, creating a Catholic context for the youth to pray and to play. It’s an opportunity for the campers, especially those from smaller parishes, to be together with fellow Catholics learning more about Christ and developing new friendships. The Call to Holiness camp for girls and Vocatio Dei camp for boys began many years ago and were first held at Camp Villa Marie in Savannah until 2002. Five years ago, two campers now turned into young ladies, approached the Vocation Director and expressed their desire to restart these camps. Camp had played such an important role in their faith development that they wanted to offer that same experience to the next generation. Men and women who are now priests, seminarians and religious participated in these camps in the 90s as children and still have many happy memories from those experiences.
This year, ninety-three girls and seventy-seven boys participated in the camps which were held at the Georgia Primitive Baptist Camp near Collins from June 21st to the 27th. The campers came from various parishes and three came from outside the diocese. Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, confession and prayer time played an important part of camp, along with exciting games of earthball, tug-of-war, water balloon launch and an enormous slip-n-slide. Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother from Jacksonville gave the girls talks about waking up to God’s presence in their lives, and invited them to ask God what it is He asks of them. The diocesan seminarians gave talks to the boys and also served as counselors. Bishop Hartmayer celebrated the closing Mass of the boy’s camp.
The camps were a success thanks to the many people from different parts of the diocese who gave of their time and effort to coordinate, cook, and serve as counselors. They have made a difference in the lives of these children. The Augusta and Savannah Vocation Ministries and the Knights of Columbus provided much appreciated financial support. Coming to the Vocation Camps allowed the campers to experience the Catholic Church in South Georgia in a new way, where they prayed and had fun with fellow Catholics, met religious sisters and the seminarians. They left camp very tired, but with smiling faces since they deepened their relationship with Christ, had fun, and made new friends.
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