Quaker Camps
From the Charlottesville Friends Meeting Newsletter, January 2010:
Baltimore Yearly Meeting’s Summer Camps offer extended time in living, functioning Quaker communities that encourage tenderness, loving concern, dynamic activity, laughter, respect, work, honesty, silence, and joyful noise.
Baltimore Yearly Meeting Camps: Nurturing the Fire at the Center
There are four camping options available in BYM. Shiloh Quaker Camp lies on 432 acres of land in Madison County, Virginia, nestled near the Shenandoah National Park. Shiloh offers in-camp and trip experiences. Trips include backpacking roads and trails; canoeing the Rappahannock, Rapidan, James, and Shenandoah Rivers; and technical rock climbing instruction at several sites mostly within the Shenandoah National Park. In-camp activities include arts and crafts, dance, drama, music, informal sports, and playing in the creek which runs through the front of the property. Work projects and chores also play an important part in the community’s life. Learning about the natural world around us, becoming comfortable living in nature, and treating the earth gently are important components of the Shiloh curriculum. Spiritual development is nurtured through daily silent worship at the fire circle, regularly scheduled campfires, and in less formal ways by example and through continuous sharing of love.
Catoctin Quaker Camp lies just below the ridge of Catoctin Mountain and is adjacent to protected state forests and the Frederick watershed. The nearest town is Thurmont, Maryland. Its program is similar to Shiloh’s.
Opequon Quaker Camp is located just north of Winchester, Virginia. Campers live in screened cabins and share meals in the pavilion in the center of camp. The day includes all-camp activities, art projects, games in the playing field, swimming in the pool, and exploring in the creek. Art activities might include digging Opequon Creek clay to create original pieces for firing, carpentry projects such as building tree houses and tipis, painting life size murals, weaving fiber and words, and workshops in theatre, dance and music. Other activities include cooperative games, exploring in the woods, singing and working together, performances, playing musical instruments, making sailboats for the creek, fire circle, and tons of other cool things like batik, volleyball, puppet making, star gazing, candle making, and tubing on the creek. Rooted in nature and celebrating our connections to the earth and to one another, we nurture the divine within and around us. We experience community through fun and through working together. Everyone at camp begins the day in worship at the fire circle.
The Teen Adventure Programs are outdoor adventure programs for youth ages fifteen to eighteen. Originating from a base camp in Lexington, VA, trips are three weeks long and are comprised of twelve campers and two trip leaders. Campers have considerable responsibility for the day-to-day planning and management of trips, which consist of backpacking, white-water canoeing, rock climbing, and service projects. Campers are encouraged in their emotional and spiritual development as they grow through these wilderness challenges in collaboration with their peers.