Diocesan Camps

family. Early on I was asked to step into a role of leadership, to help Brookwood kids have the best weeks of their lives at camp. While striving to accomplish this I found myself growing in my own faith. Without even trying to, I strengthened my relationship with God. I saw many of the other staff members and the counselors-in-training (CITs) sharing their lives with Christ too. Each week of the summer I was struck by the number of children who asked staff members about how they could live for God and become better Christians.

With the camp worship services, chapel sessions and a positive environment, I’d like to believe that Camp Brookwood does a fantastic job each year at shaping the youth of our area into believers. This past summer, with the help and support of the Brookwood board and the chair Mary Lee Phillips, the Brookwood family grew to accept not only an almost entirely new staff, but also the new and returning campers as well. The staff and the campers reaffirmed their faith and had a great time doing it. All this makes Camp Brookwood like a second home to many in our community. It is open and accepting to all those who wish to experience the Light of God as so many of our campers and staff members did last summer.

One week of camp last summer was all children from the inner-city of Saint John. All the campers knew each other and as a staff the eight of us were anxious to get to know them as well. Before they arrived we were concerned about potential behavioural problems, but we needn't have worried. It turned out we were greatly touched by these children. I was amazed by each and every one of them. I think the only way to describe them is as a close knit family. The love and compassion we saw between the campers was almost as astonishing as the way they defended one another if the need arose. I strongly believe that the Saint John kids gave more to me and the other staff members than we gave to them. These kids gave our effort back to us and opened themselves up to us and God. When the week was over and they prepared to re-boarded the bus, many of the campers gave tearful hugs and even some of the crafts they had made to the staff.

As the bus pulled away we chatted among ourselves. We were exhausted, as usual, but our spiritual relationships with God and one another were strong. We agreed that it was one of our best weeks at camp and we are confident that we were able to reach these kids ways we had not reached others.

The Brookwood family welcomes us all from near and far, even kids from hundreds of kilometres away in inner-city Saint John.

Gillian Sullivan was assistant director of Camp Brookwood for the 2011 camping season.

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