Ancient Songs, New Voices
We are filled with gratitude after an outstanding St. Gregory's Music and Leadership Camp. This year's four-day overnight camp welcomed 60 campers, a significant step forward from last year's two-day camp. The camp was made possible by a dedicated team of 20 volunteers and staff serving as music instructors, counsellors, cooks, nurses, and in countless other supporting roles.
The three themes of the camp were Faith, Culture, and Friendship, and each day was shaped around them. Campers heard talks on the four cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. They memorized definitions and scripture verses. They watched skits that brought the virtues to life with humour and creativity developed by our five interns. Our junior counsellors practiced their leadership skills all week, shepherding the younger students, helping them to integrate the lessons on virtue into their own lives.
Campers participated in one of three musical streams: voice, penny whistle, or fiddle. They also came together each day as a full camp choir to prepare music for our liturgies. One of the great blessings of the week was the richness of our common prayer. We were honoured to welcome Hieromonk Fr. Herman Majkrzak (Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Chicago), who celebrated the Anglican Ordinariate liturgy and the Divine Liturgy, and also led Great Vespers and Evensong. Fr. Roger Niedzielski (Archdiocese of Edmonton) joined us to celebrate Holy Mass in the Roman Rite. During the week, campers experienced the remarkable breadth and beauty of the Catholic liturgical tradition.
Our voice instructor, Mr. Alex McCune (St John Choir Schola School, Calgary) reflected on the experience, saying:
“The St. Gregory's Music and Leadership Camp this year was a very impressive experience. The rich and varied liturgies were moving, the other music instructors were professional and caring, and the overall culture of the camp was truly Catholic, fun, and full of worthy activities and thought. The organizing team brought together a passionate group of young counsellors and leaders, and the campers were clearly having a great time!”
Beyond the music and learning were unforgettable moments of friendship and fun, including large group games, soccer, skits, folk dancing, drama, men's and women's sessions, and an epic after-dark game of Mission Impossible. The week concluded with a beautiful recital, where campers shared the fruits of their hard work and demonstrated remarkable growth both as young musicians and as disciples of Christ.
We were especially encouraged by the campers' feedback. When asked whether they would recommend the camp to a friend, the average response was nearly 10 out of 10, a testament to the joy, community, and lasting memories formed throughout the week. We thank God for such a grace-filled few days and are already looking forward to next summer.
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