'Life Is A Voyage' At 2018 Rock Your Faith Summer Camp
St. Joseph Parish in Jasper hosted the 2018 Rock Your Faith summer camp for middle-school-aged young people from Dubois County parishes. “Life is a Voyage” was the theme of the July 9-11 camp, which operated daily from Noon to 8:30 p.m. More than 100 young people participated, and high-school-age volunteers assisted with the event.
Jimmy Mitchell of Nashville, Tenn., founder and curator of Love Good, a media company headquartered in Nashville, led the event for the second consecutive year. Mitchell offered inspiring talks about the relationship God wants to have with each of us and how we are all called to take part in passing it on to others.
On July 9, campers stayed at the Saint Joseph Parish Center for talks, games, eucharistic adoration and confession. The concluded with s’mores and a DJ on the plaza. On July 10, the group traveled to God’s Country in Perry County for a day of prayer and meditation on the Stations of the Cross. On July 11, campers split up for community service. Some went to four of the local nursing homes to visit with residents; some went to Restore; some went to Memorial Hospital Health Care’s Hope Garden; and the others went to the local parishes to assist with cleaning.
After the campers returned to St. Joseph Parish, an outdoor celebration followed the camp’s closing Mass.
All three nights, campers gathered on the St. Joseph plaza, between the parish center and the church, for night prayer. Mitchell is a co-author of a prayer book titled “Oratio, Rhythms of Prayer from the Heart of the Church.” Within the prayer book are prayers for daily use, prayers related to the sacraments, devotions, Compline (night prayer) and hymns. Many campers shared that night prayer was one of their many favorite parts of the camp.
Please continue to pray for these and all young people across the diocese, and pray that this movement and others like it continue to serve as an opportunities to strengthen the next generation to carry on the faith.
