Under the auspices of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Southern Diocese of the United States
What to Expect at Camp?
PARENTS
Your child is going to Kids Camp! Below you will see a list of activities from a sample schedule (times not included as they are subject to change based on year and weather)
Optional Morning Exercises
Morning Prayers & Praises
Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
Bible Study (Small group followed by large group recaps)
Stations (small group activities)
Bible Contest
Free time (camp activities- season dependent)
Bonfire
Vespers
Divine Liturgy
ACCOMODATIONS
Rooms are cabin style with multiple bunk beds in each cabin with 1 bed for each child/servant. There is a bathroom with 1-2 stalls and a shower to clean up in. Click Here for more information and photos from the Lake Swan website for accommodations.
Rooming is done by gender and grade . Rooming requests are unable to be honored. Attempts will be made to have at least one other person form a church in the full cabin, depending on registration and overall rooming. Parents who serve at camp will not be placed in the same cabin as their children that are attending camp. Servants may not be assigned exclusively to children from their home church. Specifics of rooming are determined after registration, based
on the number of children and servant from each church, gender, and grade; this causes variations year to year in order to keep the 1:4 ratio.
CARE
Each Servant will be responsible for 4-5 children at camp and will be sleeping in the same cabin as them as well as watching over them during large group activities and prayers.
Parents may read below the expectations of the servants that are responsible for their kids while at camp.
CONTACT
As stated in the FAQ page, children both and servants are not permitted to use cell phones during any of the scheduled activities at camp. Cabin servants will contact the parents of their assigned cabin children the first night of camp so that they have a point of contact while at camp. Children will call their parents in the morning and at night before bed while at camp.
SERVANTS
Kids camp is a true "labor of love" (Hebrews 6:10) and is an intensive service over the course of these 4 days.
Servants will be assigned either a group of children or be assigned the responsibility of various activities throughout the course of the camp. Cabin servants are expected to be with their children at all times. Activities servants will be responsible for facilitating planned activities at camp as well as aiding cabin servants for breaks or any times when they are needing help watching their assigned kids.
In addition to getting themselves and their kids to all scheduled events, servants are expected to attend a late night servant's meeting in small groups (so as not to leave any children unattended in the cabin). These meetings are for the spiritual nourishment of the servants at camp as well as for any important updates regarding the next day schedule.
Prior to attending camp, in addition to having their home church priest approve their attendance and service at camp, servants are expected to take an online course reviewing the lessons they will be giving in the cabins as well as taking and passing a general knowledge quiz to ensure that they are well prepared to serve the kids at camp. First time servants attending camp will also be asked to attend a short virtual meeting going over expectations and to answer questions prior to attending camp for the first time as a servant.