August 2023

With 8 weeks of Summer Camp behind us, we pray that our campers and staff are taking

The Village home.

We're at the end of the summer, and we already miss all the campers, staff and volunteers who came through the arch throughout the past 8+ weeks.

Our campers learned about Genesis during morning program, they learned how to perform every day activities with Christ-like love during afternoon program, and we bonded as an entire family in fellowship every night during evening program.

Our cabins went out of their comfort zones and grew closer to each other during their time on the challenge course.

Last but not least, we all grew closer to God and to each other every time we had a church service.

During the overnight program our campers get the chance to enjoy the beauty of creation and the fun of each other's company, and we've been blessed to have so many guests helping us along our journey through the summer.

WHAT"S COMING UP?

Adult Camp Registration is Now Open

Adult Camp is a wonderful opportunity for newcomers to camp who have never had the chance to experience it as a youngster, or for those of us who have grown up at camp to come back and experience it again.

St. Raphael Pilgrimage

Join us on November 3-4 for a pilgrimage to St. Raphael of Brooklyn who is buried on camp grounds. Join us for Vespers on Friday, November 3, and Orthros & Liturgy on November 4 to celebrate his feast day. We hope to see you there! Click here for more information!

A Word From Program Director and Arch Week Coordinator Cat Beasley

Our second year of Arch Week has come to a close and to say we spent this week in "worship, fellowship, service, reflection, and education" would be a grotesque understatement. In the last day's sermon, Fr. Matthew recounted everything we had done from picking up trash in the community to playing a game of angleball that was the equivalent of running 5 miles to worshiping God in every activity we do.

This group of Archers are a force to be reckoned with and truly shine with the light of Christ. Thank you to the amazing members of our community who came and spoke with us and helped make this program thrive.

To our 2023 Archers, we love you all so much and cannot wait to see Christ work through you. Remember, the bread of life, is the bread for life. 

If you are graduating high school next year and are interested in learning more about Arch Week, please check out our page or email me.

PATRIARCHAL VISIT TO THE VILLAGE

We were blessed with an amazing opportunity when His Beatitude Patriarch JOHN X, His Eminence Metropolitan SABA, and Mother Macrina visited us at The Village during Session 3. The campers had opportunities to get to know them and ask questions, and His Eminence Metropolitan SABA even joined us for Evening Program one night! We loved having them visit, and we hope they can return soon!

Each month, you will have the opportunity to hear directly from campers and staff members about their experiences at camp this past summer. For the month of August, meet Elliot Capshaw, Nick Kassis, Michael Saykali, and Lis Hultink!

Elliot Capshaw | Session 2 | Cabin 42

"I always have a great year and many great experiences when I go to camp. An example from this year is during the ropes course, we all participated in a challenge. Through the support we received while on the course and encouraging words shared with each other, we built a strong relationship."

Nick Kassis | Session 1 | Cabin 47

"Camp this year can just be simply described as amazing. Every year I look forward to coming to my second home and seeing all my brothers and sisters in Christ again. I love the environment of camp and just having the home on top of it just took it to a whole new level. There’s truly nothing like it."

Michael Saykali | Counselor

Hey everyone, I’m Mikey, I am from New Jersey, and I am a junior at the University of Pittsburgh, H2P! I was a camper at the Antiochian Village for nine years. This was my first year on staff as a counselor, and it was the best summer of my life. This summer taught me so many lessons, and my campers rewarded me with so much love and countless blessings. Thank God for every moment and camper I was blessed with. If I were to sum up my summer in one sentence, I would say to “Reflect on the past, Live in the moment, and Pray for the future.”

Lis Hultink | Counselor

“My name is Lis Hultink, and I was blessed to serve as a counselor this summer for the most beautiful campers (9 years old all the way to 17). I never could have imagined all of the moments of growth and joy I’d experience - laughing so hard I cried during our serenade night song, swimming and dancing in a river in the rain with my hikers, processing life during late night porch talks, and feeling overwhelming peace and joy during the services in St. Ignatius. This was by far the most challenging and most rewarding experience of my life, I’m so blessed by everyone God gave me to love, and I wish I could do it all over again.”

There are a couple of projects that are close to being finished, like the Shrines and renaming of the cabins to Saint names. In addition to those projects, we are excited that as a result of the fund-drive this past Fall, we will begin work on remodeling the old dining hall into Namie Hall this coming fall.

The Village is a great place to lose our anxieties about the future, to take a break from the worries of life and be present in the moment with God. But that doesn't stop us from taking a look at the road ahead. We're always asking ourselves, "what's next?" What can we do to grow and improve our ministry? What will the needs of this camp be in the next year, the next five years, the next decade?

We've started compiling a list of our dreams for this camp; some things we see as answers to needs we have now, and some things that will set up future campers and staff for effective ministry.

We now have a "Dreamboard Page" on our website with a list of desired projects for us to undertake next, and we invite you, our AV Family, to take a look and get excited about them.

Hey AV Alumni! Do you love flipping through our photo albums when you come to visit? Well our intern Constantine Kallaur has spent the last year scanning all of our photos from our photo collection going all the way back to 1981! In an effort to preserve the history of The Antiochian Village, we are in the process of digitizing as much content as we have. God willing, we'll have every session video going back to the 1990's online in the near future as well.

Check out our SmugMug photo-site below to re-live the AV memories!

Adult Camp

September 15-18, 2023

Guest Speaker: Karen Hanna

Registration Now Open!

St. Raphael Pilgrimage

November 3-4

All Are Welcome