AV CAMP

May 2026

Summer Camp is right around the corner!

If you have a camper joining us for summer camp, here are some last minute reminders and resources to prepare for the best 2 weeks ever!

Camper Parent Zoom Meeting

Tuesday, June 2nd @ 8pm EST

Meeting ID: 477 676 7914

Passcode: village

Check out our Camper Parent Handbook to prepare fully for camp!

By the grace of God, our 4th annual AV Golf Open at Champion Lakes was amazing!

Thank you to all of our sponsors, volunteers, and players who came to enjoy the day with us and raise money for camp!

Because of all the support from team registration along with our 50/50 raffle, gift basket raffles, and silent auction items, we raised a net of $26,000 for AV!

Thank you for giving back to this ministry!

Congratulations to the winners, for the second year in a row,

The Turbo Guys!

Summer Family Camp

May 22 - May 25, 2026

Tomorrow we are excited to welcome home families coming for our summer Family Camp! We have a fun weekend planned out with church services, afternoon sports and activates, and special evening programs! Stay up to date on our social media pages for pictures and live updates!

We are also blessed to have our support staff join us today, starting the first week of our Discipleship Training!

Homecoming Weekend

July 31 - August 2, 2026

This is a chance to catch up with old friends and meet new ones during a weekend of fun and fellowship here at AV! Leave the children (3 and under are welcome) at home and come be a kid once more!

Registration opens up on May 27th at 12pm EST!

We hope to see you there!

Adult Camp

September 4 - 7, 2026

Adult Camp is for anyone ages 21+ who wants to spend a weekend growing in our Orthodox Faith and become a kid again! We have services daily and something for everyone to look forward to, whether you like outdoor activities or indoor vibes!

Registration opens on June 1st at 12pm EST.

Join us and and our amazing guest speaker Kh. Melinda Johnson, CEO of Ancient Faith Radio!

AV Camp has just gotten smoother! Last week the track around AV got repaved in preparation for this summer! Now campers, staff, and volunteers can enjoy a track without holes and dips. This will decrease the chance of injury.

The repaving added a few helpful paths, specifically to the volunteer cabins as well as two parking spot next to the health center, and some retention walls!

Support our Summer Wishlists

We have 3 wishlists for this summer that we would love any support on! Our Office Wishlist for all things office and registration related, our Program Wishlist for our morning/afternoon/A&C/evening programs, and our Health Center Wishlist which has all of our infirmary needs.

When you purchase a wishlist item from one of these lists get its shipped to camp and you will receive back a thank you note from the full time AV staff and a camper note thanking you for helping us have the best summer!

Hi Villagers!

For those of you that may not know me, I’m Fr. Joel Gillam. Currently I am the pastor of St. George in Upper Darby, PA, where my family and I have lived for the last 16 years. Before that we lived in New Kensington, PA for 8 years. I am originally from New Orleans, some of you may even have enjoyed my gumbo and jambalaya. I am a big fantasy/sci-fi fan, and can quote so much pop culture that my wife Renee and my kids, Charles and Gabrielles, won’t watch movies with me.

When I started coming to camp in 1980 it’s because I was “forced to”. My parish priest at that time was Fr. Stephen Hardy. He encouraged my mom to send me and trust God. Now 30+ years later, I couldn’t imagine my life without the Village. Fr. John Namie was a huge influence on my life. His loving, yet firm (sometimes very firm lol), care showed me a life in Christ that my 12 years old mind was only just starting to waken to. Fr. John was such an amazing gift from God to me and many others. Then there was Aunt Pearl. The mother to FJ’s father. She took care of our overtired, over heated physical needs with the same loving kindness that FJ took care of our spiritual ones. And when necessary she had no problem throwing us under the bus and letting him know that we had “errors in judgment”, lol. It was at the Village that this boy from New Orleans met people from all over the Archdiocese, and formed friendships that last to this day. When I became a counselor, at Fr. John’s insistence, my 1st camper was Khalil Samara. He later became one of my closest friends, and even was a groomsman at my wedding. It was at the Village that I met my future brother-in-law, Ron Sahadi, before either of us would ever have thought about that kind of future. There’s not enough space or time for me to talk about all those Villagers who have made such an impact on my life. Two of my most special moments were when each of my children, Charles and Gabrielle, became campers and shared in this Village love; the other most special moment was the 1st time someone at the Village called me “FJ”, to be linked to Fr. John that way is such a gift. May God through the prayers of the Saints, especially our Antiochian Village patrons, and the prayers of all you Villagers bless our western PA home unto many years.

Fr. Joel Gillam

Village class of…way to many to count

Sign Up For Our Upcoming Programs!

Stay tuned for registration opening for our programs!

Our Nookstore is online - check out all the merchandise from sweatshirts to Christmas ornaments. AV swag makes great Christmas gifts! Don't forget our new thrift store as well!

AV Thrift Shop!

Hey AV Alumni! Do you love flipping through our photo albums when you come to visit? Well our previous Director of Communications Constantine Kallaur has scanned 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. Our Director of Operations, Nick Dujmovic, has collected camp videos going all the way back to the 1990s as well.

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