MARCH 2023

A few weeks ago we held our Winter Camp program here at the Village, welcoming 250 people for a weekend of worship, fellowship, and spiritual renewal. My favorite part of the entire weekend was walking into the Church on Saturday afternoon during Cabin Time to find dozens of young people waiting to take confession. I was humbled and deeply touched by the fact that our young people wanted to receive forgiveness from Christ, they wanted to unload the burden of their sins, and most of all they want to live a life in Christ! This was a profound reminder for me to come to Christ, to confess my sins, and to unburden myself as well. Thank God, Fr. Philip Rogers and I were blessed to hear dozens of confessions over the course of Saturday and Sunday, as a never ending line of young people sought to grow closer to Christ and by the grace of God received His forgiveness and healing.

This theme of seeking and asking forgiveness is how we began our Lenten journey just over a week ago with Forgiveness Vespers and the annual Rite of Forgiveness. I remember as a child I thought it very uncomfortable to ask forgiveness from people whom I did not directly sin against, even some people I hardly knew. However as I got older I learned that because we all make up the Body of Christ, that every time we sin, we sin not only against Christ Himself, but also against each other as His Body. This was a humbling and beautiful lesson for me because it taught me that we are all in this journey of life together, seeking the Kingdom of God.

I invite all of us to continue through our Lenten journey together by following the example of our "Wampers" by asking forgiveness and also by forgiving each other. I thank all of our Wampers for your example and your witness that encourages me to strive to be a better Christian and to grow closer to Christ. Please know you are in our prayers every day.

Lastly, I humbly ask your forgiveness for my sins.

In Christ,

Fr. Chris Shadid

For all the promotions we post on social media, in our newsletter, or on websites, nothing promotes camp like being there in person, except maybe the word of mouth that follows a camping program. This past Winter Camp, campers, staff, and volunteers came together from multiple sessions, joined by newcomers to The Antiochian Village, and proved how worthwhile every moment at The Village is. Old bonds were rekindled, and new ones were built.

Our speakers, Erin Ghata, Karen Hanna, and Fr. Philip Rogers came from across the Archdiocese to help spark our desire to learn more about the Faith, taking us back to the basics with stories from Genesis, and giving the campers, staff, and volunteers a chance for deeper reflection during evening cabin times. Due to the immense representation from our Summer Staff this Winter Camp, we even arranged for a special speaker for them in Erin's awesome husband, Joe.

Many attendees spoke of being recharged by being here for the weekend, and we have to reciprocate the feeling: we were recharged by you being here too.

Thank you to all our camp family who showed up, we love you and cherish every moment we all get together at this slice of Heaven on Earth.

It seems like we just finished celebrating The Nativity, and now Lent is already here. Well, Adult Camp registration is coming as quickly as the Paschal season is!

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.

Winter Camp speaker Karen Hanna will be returning to The Village to speak to us about "Overcoming Struggles Through Faith."

It's never too late to become a Villager! Join us this September 15-18! Registration is open to all ages 21+ starting 9am EST April 19th.

Register by May 31st for an early bird discount.

The first ever AV Golf Open is open for registration and sponsors! Sponsor a hole, sign up a team, but most importantly, join us for some fellowship as we hit the green!

Work has begun, and very quickly progressed, on some projects around the camp! A fact of life is that things get old and need to be maintained so that they can continue to be used for their intended purposes.

Our crews have gotten to work on some much needed repairs to the pavilion, as well as making the old infirmary livable again. God willing these projects should be done in time for the Summer and the buildings will, once again, be a regular part of the Antiochian Village life!

The Summer is almost full! We're officially at 98% capacity for all our Summer Programs! That means Session 2 has been full since registration day, Session 4 is full as of this week with a small waitlist, and Iconography Camp is full.

For Arch Week, our one week program for graduating high school seniors, we have 15 spots open.

For Byzantine Chant Camp, we still have 6 spots open.

Iconography Camp is full, with a small waitlist.

Session 1 is full for boys with a small waitlist, and has 7 girls spots open.

Session 2 is completely full, with a 73 person waitlist.

Session 3 is full for girls and has 4 boys spots open.

Session 4 is completely full with a small waitlist.

If you’re a graduating high school senior, Arch Week is just for you! Arch Week is a one-week program that seeks to provide resources for graduating high school seniors who are preparing to face spiritual, mental, and vocational growth. Arch Week helps students “bridge the gap” between life after high school and their beginning of young adulthood by helping “Archers” grow in their faith together through worship, fellowship, service, reflection, and education. All this takes place within the fun environment of camp, with classic camp activities like evening program, sports events, and cabin times.

The program is guided by clergy who lead the various church services throughout the week, teach lessons, and promote discussion. Arch Week also provides guest speakers who offer help with topics like mental health, serving Christ in the secular world, and transitioning to new environments. In terms of hands-on experience, Archers will get the chance to go off-camp to explore Pittsburgh and work with Neighborhood Resilience Project and Orthodox Volunteer Corps as their capstone. And, of course, it wouldn’t be camp without a fun group of counselors who take a week out of their Summer to help prepare this engaging and fulfilling program.

Arch Week has 15 spots left, so register now! All 2023 High School Graduates are welcome

to join us July 2^nd-9^th, 2023, at the Antiochian Village Camp. If you have questions, learn more at the lick below, or contact us by phone or email at office@avcamp.org, (724) 238-9565

Volunteer Staff applications are still open for this Summer. If you're interested in spending a week or two at The Village, contact volunteer@avcamp.org.

We're currently searching for Nurses who are available to help take care of our campers and staff for some or all of the Summer. If you're a medical professional seeking to perform this essential and ever under-appreciated ministry (because no matter our appreciation we will never truly be able to thank you for all our nurses have done), please get in touch with Fr. Chris at frchris@avcamp.org.

We just want to remind everyone that all deadlines this year (medical forms, payment, etc.) are the end of April! Please make sure to abide by the April 30th deadline to make preparation for Summer Camp smoother, and also to make sure to get back the medical fee.

We are still looking for interns for all or part of the 2023-2024 year. If you or someone you know has ever wanted to spend a year at camp, spread the word that we're looking for someone interested in any of the following:

• Program Intern
• Development Intern
• Operations Intern
• Communications Intern
• Professional Best Friend to Belle and Louie... but really that's everyone's responsibility
• Your big idea! Maybe there's a position here for you that we don't know needs to be filled yet!

We have a winner for the first ever Namie's Nook T-Shirt Contest!

"The Foundational Verse" was one of the three designs chosen by the judges, and received the most votes in the open vote.

Keep an eye out for this shirt in The Nookstore this Summer! Congratulations to the winning design and to all the awesome artists out there. We loved seeing your work and pray that we get to see more of your creative talents.

The Village isn't done going on the road! St. George in New Kensington, PA welcomed our staff for the day as we were blessed to join them for their Village at Home program!

We are so inspired by the team at St. George, and by all the communities in the Archdiocese who put their all into ensuring their youth have the love of Christ in their lives.

Family Camp

May 27-May 29, 2023

Guest Speaker: Fr. James and Kh. Gigi Shadid

Registration Full - Waitlist Spots Available

Summer Camp

June 18-August 11, 2023

Registration Now Open! CAMP IS ALMOST FULL!

Adult Camp

September 15-18, 2023

Guest Speaker: Karen Hanna

Registration Opens April 19th, 9am EST