Article from the Catholic Courier about Camp Koinonia
Families can bond, share faith at camp
(Publication Date: 01-03-2007)
By
Jennifer Burke - Catholic Courier
Sara and Dan Kelly met
there in July 1993 and were married there the following summer. Deacon John and
Belinda Brasley brought their children there 12
years ago, and the kids had such a good time that they insist on returning each
year. Both Deacon Brasley and Father Joseph Marcoux
believe their respective vocations were at least partly inspired by the
experiences they had there.
This revered place that seems to hold a special spot in the hearts of many
local Catholics is none other than Camp Koinonia, a small camp snugly nestled in
Italy Valley, just outside of Naples. For three weeks each summer the camp hosts
Family Camp, a Catholic program designed to help family members deepen their
faith while bonding with each other and with other families.
Family Camp has been in operation for more than 30 years, said Dorothy Hoysic,
a member of the Catholic Community of the Blessed Trinity in Wolcott. In the
early 1970s Hoysic, her late husband George and
several other people formally founded Family Camp, modeling it after an informal
camping retreat attended annually by a group of families and priests in the
Southern Tier.
Family Camp also was an outgrowth of the adult-education program at Holy
Trinity Parish in Webster, noted Father Daniel Condon, diocesan chancellor and a
former Family Camp staff member. For the first decade or so Family Camp was held
at Camp Stella Maris on Conesus Lake, but the
program moved to Camp Koinonia in the early 1980s when the group of families
organizing Family Camp purchased Camp Koinonia from the United Methodist Church,
he said.
Family Camp is currently offered during three weeks in July. Interested
families sign up for a particular week and spend it in one of the camp's eight
cabins. Camp Koinonia also includes a lodge, two bath houses, two shower houses,
an infirmary, craft lodge, swimming pool, outdoor pavilion, camp store and
athletic fields, as well as both indoor and outdoor chapels.
The camp's simplicity adds to the natural beauty around the camp, which is
surrounded by hills looming so high that campers who shout "Amen"
after praying can hear their prayers echoing back to them, Deacon Brasley
noted.
At camp, families are away from such modern diversions as televisions,
computers and telephones, so they're free to focus on their faith and each
other. Families begin each day together with breakfast in the lodge before
splitting up for a few hours. The children break into small groups according to
their ages, and teen staff members lead the children in games and activities
related to a specific theme for the day.
Meanwhile, the adults gather to discuss how that same theme relates to
their own experiences, and the families regroup for lunch before enjoying free
time in the afternoon. All the families gather
together again for Mass and dinner before participating in such evening
activities as campfires or square dancing.
At first it was hard for Belinda Brasley to
let her children go off with the teen staffers each morning. That first year her
youngest son was just 1 year old, and all three children were very shy and
rarely had been left with baby-sitters at home.
Under the teens' attention, however, her children blossomed. They opened
up and formed relationships with other campers of all ages, especially the
teens, whom she said they practically idolized.
The adults place a lot of trust in the teen staffers, who recognize that
trust and take great pains not to abuse it, said Father Marcoux,
parochial vicar at St. Luke the Evangelist Parish in Livingston County who was a
former teen staffer at the camp. The priest now is
Family Camp's spiritual director.
This trust helps the teens realize they are good, holy and pure people,
and they in turn serve as positive role models for the younger children, added
Deacon Brasley.
"I think they realize that's a great responsibility for them, because
those kids are watching them all the time," he said, noting that two of his
own children became teen staffers as soon as they were old enough.
Family Camp has helped their children to become faith-filled and loving
people who have grown to love Mass through their participation in daily Mass at
camp, the Brasley's said. Other Family Camp
activities, such as family sharing, have become part of everyday life for the
McBride family and have helped his family members remain open and connected, Dan
McBride added.
Like the Brasley children, Sara Kelly attended
Family Camp with her family as a child and eventually became a teen staffer.
She loved coming to Family Camp as a child, but said she appreciates it even
more now that she's accompanied by her husband, Dan, and their five children.
"I especially realize how I as a parent need support," she said,
noting she's found that support from the other adult campers. Family Camp also
provides a rare opportunity for her and Dan -- another former teen staffer
-- to spend some much-needed time alone.
Kelly suggested that families considering Family Camp should not be
intimidated by the program's religious focus. In her experience, faith seems to
naturally blossom in the Family Camp setting.
"The spirit there is very Christ-centered and very Catholic, but at
the same time I always feel like it's such a gentle, natural way of being with
religion," she said.
"It's what I
thought church should always be like," agreed Father Marcoux.
"Everyone's valued. Everyone is treated with dignity, respect and love
there."
EDITOR'S NOTE: For
more information about Family Camp, contact Gary and Carol Stevens at
585/637-0601 or visit www.CampKoinoniaNY.org.
For More Information Contact: Gary
and Carol Stevens
Camp Koinonia
1455 Italy Valley Rd Middlesex, NY 14507-9717
Tel: 585-637-0601
Internet: stevens@campkoinoniany.org
