by Deacon Dana Nearmyer
This summer will be the 29th anniversary of Camp Tekakwitha in the archdiocese. Camp registration opens Jan. 27 for Extreme Camp and then Middle School and Kateri/Family Camp opens on consecutive Tuesdays.
The directors of Camp Tekakwitha are working hard to create the best summer thus far by hiring holy and engaging staff and developing deep faith experiences and outrageously fun activities.
You can help, too. Please share your memories about camp with your family and friends. Think about all the memories that you made with friends and with the Lord himself. If you did not attend Camp Tekakwitha, please ask some 45,000-plus campers who have.
So many marriages and lifelong friendships started by meeting wonderful holy friends at Camp Tekakwitha. Even more importantly, vast numbers of campers each year say that their prayer time became more real and meaningful. Most junior high and high school campers say that they had a deep, personal encounter with Christ, often during eucharistic adoration and Mass.
Please share your memories about camp with your family and friends, so they too can grow closer to their Catholic faith and to God.
Fifth and sixth grade camps, Camp Kateri, offer boatloads of fun things to do and introductory opportunities for campers to claim their faith as their own, which is a key step in a person becoming a lifelong disciple.
Going to Camp Kateri builds confidence and leads campers to meaningful prayer by praying before and after each activity about the simple and obvious challenges of the day.
Middle school in today’s culture is a lot more like what high school was for previous generations. These students are making adult decisions about their beliefs, relationships and identity.
Camp Tekakwitha knows that and connects campers with the church’s new and ancient wisdom in the matters that they care most about. The combination of raucous activities and prolonged silence and prayer time give campers the opportunity to find the peace of God, the opening for God to minister to them directly.
Extreme Camp is a powerful culmination of young disciples figuring out how to integrate the wisdom of God into their daily grind.
Family Camp, Special-Needs Family Camp and Spanish/English Track Family Camp are very special long weekends where entire families experience the peace and healing of God, while having a blast!
Camp Tekakwitha’s zip lines, mountain bikes, water slides, kayaks and campfires are only part of the story; the reason people come year after year is the closeness that they feel to God and the Catholic community.
