ANTIOCHIAN VILLAGE CAMP

NOVEMBER 2022

AN UPDATE FROM THE ANTIOCHIAN VILLAGE

GIVING TUESDAY

This Saint Nicholas Day, Tuesday the 6th (although we welcome donations now!), we're officially kicking off our big Fall Fundraiser for our most ambitious project yet:

Renovating The Old Dining Hall is going to be a roughly $450,000 project, and we need the help of every member of the AV Family to bring this historic building with us into our modern day camp programming.

So, here's the deal:

A $200,000 MATCH!

Thanks to an incredibly generous donor, all donations made through the end of 2022 will be matched up to $200,000! If we're able to meet that match by the end of the year, we believe that we can start work on Namie Hall by next Fall (yes that rhymed!)

...speaking of which...

OLD NO MORE

We've seen how beautiful the renovations will look, and there's no way we can call The Old Dining Hall, well, "old," anymore.

Fr. Michael Nasser, when he was camp director from 1996-2006, always wanted to name something big after Fr. John Namie, The Antiochian Village's founding camp director. Well, we decided to listen to Fr. Michael, and we agree that Fr. John deserves to have his name on something that's nearly as big and foundational at camp as the spiritual impact he's left on generations of Orthodox campers.

And so we are privileged to announce that upon its renovation, The Old Dining Hall will be named Namie Hall. But what will we use it for?

AN EDUCATION CENTER

The new Namie Hall will be used in the summer for Christian Education during morning program, cabin times, staff training, and so much more. In the non-summer months, it will be a great location for our speakers to give their presentations for programs like Adult Camp, Family Camp, Winter Camp, our Alumni functions, and guest groups - literally every one of our 20+ groups and programs that use our facility throughout the year. Making the building safer and more welcoming with new siding, a new roof, renovated fireplaces, floors, doors, windows, insulation, HVAC, gutters, bathrooms (basically everything but the skeleton!) will establish Namie Hall as an ideal space for the education of every camper, young and old, who comes to The Village seeking a deeper understanding of living the Orthodox Faith in daily life.

Of course, we have to acknowledge how rowdy things could get in The Old Dining Hall, so:

COLOR WARS? HOW ABOUT "SESSION WARS"?

We know there's a lot of session pride out there, well now let's see which session can raise the most money!

Every donation can be made towards a specific session, and when that happens, we'll be regularly updating everyone on our website and social media on which session has put the most towards the Namie Hall project.

Do you want to prove that your session is the best session? Well, we want to see it! We're already counting the donations, and we'll start posting Session numbers on December 6th!

SO LET'S DO THIS!

Keep your eyes peeled for the big fundraising push this December! Share our video we'll be dropping on St. Nicholas Day (December 6), tell your friends, and let's bring this community together to do the improbable: raise enough to treat our Old Dining Hall with the love and care it deserves after decades of providing a place for campers to come together, and prove that we as a community are ready for the big projects our program sorely needs.

Scan this QR code to go directly to the camp donation form.

FULL TIME STAFF UPDATES

Moving On

It is with bittersweet sentiments that we say goodbye to one of our assistant directors, James. James Matthews has been our Director of Operations since 2020, and in that time he has become an integral member of the day to day life at The Village. We've gotten to see him grow personally, foster growth in our staff, and build a loving family. That's why, as excited as we are for this next stage of his life, we are sad to announce that James, Emily, and Baby Basil are moving to Alaska at the end of the year.

It does us good to know, however, and we can attest to this: that wherever James goes, the world will be better for his presence. May God grant you many years, James, Emily, and Basil. Thank you for your ministry and presence these past three years with us.

Settling In for the Long Haul

Nick Oldziey, our three-time Summer Videographer and current intern, has accepted the newly created full-time position of Communications Director.

Nick has been and will be continuing the efforts begun by former intern and Summer Staff member Zayd Dayeh, who proved through his hard work last year that a full time communications role was the next full-time need to be filled at The Village. Among the many responsibilities of the communications role, Nick will be overseeing all social media for The Village, The Gathering Place Newsletter, video projects, and much, much more.

And on a personal note from me, Nick, the guy who writes these newsletters, I want everyone reading this to know how excited I am to be a part of this community in this communications role. You can't have communications without a community, and your continued presence, whether through prayers, keeping up to date with The Gathering Place, or coming in person to our camping events is what makes me love this position.

Thank you for making me believe it every time I call this community "our AV fam," and please say a prayer for me as I begin this full-time adventure.

THE BIG SEARCH

Our ministry is growing at a fast pace, and we are looking for someone devoted to Orthodox ministry in the camping environment to fill James' large Director of Operations shoes.

If you or someone you know has ever gotten to the end of the Summer and thought, "I could stay at camp forever," then head to the link below for more information about this position and to apply.

The deadline to apply is December 4th!

Feel free to reply-to this email if you have any questions as well!

Apply Now/More Info

LIGGY DAYS '22 BREAKS RECORDS

This past Fort Ligonier Days, dozens of staff and alumni returned to The Village to help sell gyros at our annual gyro booth. In addition to being an absolute blast, we sold more gyros than ever, made more gyros per hour, and brought in a record $27,000 profit over the weekend!

We are incredibly thankful to the hard workers who volunteered their time to make this Liggy Days successful, and we hope you join us in thanking God for a great turnout as we celebrate this huge blessing.

BUSY TIMES, PLENTY OF PROGRAMS

Since we last wrote, we've met for Fort Ligonier days with our Summer Staff and Alumni, then gathered together with our 2000's Alumni and beyond for Alumni Weekend, and most recently hosted St. George, Charleston, WV for their annual Family Retreat. We even met via Zoom this past weekend to hear Uncle Paul Finley speak with our alumni, and if you missed that, you can view the talk here at this link.

There really is something for everyone at this point at The Village, and we hope we can see our constantly-growing AV family's faces back here sooner rather than later, maybe even in Namie Hall!

DECK THE HALLS WITH AV ORNAMENTS

This just in! We've got a new batch of Christmas trinkets on the way! Head over to our camp store on the website to order our brand new Village ornaments - available on our website store now! (they will ship after December 6)

Buy the AV Christmas Tree Ornament