by Lucia Anderson

Ben Gregory came away from Camp Booyah with a deeper understanding of God. 

“God gave me this great God moment, where I truly understood fully God’s love, specifically how never-ending it is,” the 16-year old Colgan High School junior said. “God waiting for us to come back to him, like the father of the prodigal son.”

Ben was one of 14 teens from All Saints’ Church, Woodbridge, VA, who attended Camp Booyah, a six-day Anglican missions/adventure camp in Scottsville, Virginia. And they all speak of spiritual growth, while having tons of fun.

“I got to know more about God, and He got to know more about me,” said 14-year-old Mary Shafer, a freshman at Colgan.

“It was nice to take a break from my phone and just everyday life to concentrate on God. It felt like a retreat for my heart,” said Addie Gregory, 14, another freshman at Colgan. 

Camp Booyah was founded in 2015 as a place for Anglican middle and high school students to come together for worship, community, and mission. Two hundred eighteen campers from 18 churches spent the week making connections with other Anglican youth, going deeper in their faith, contributing to the local community and experiencing new adventures. 

The schedule included daily time for service projects and time alone with God for meditation and prayer. It also had room for activities like a high ropes course, a mud tug-of-war, swimming, a zipline into the lake, skate boarding, paintball, an escape room, campfires and even a talent show.

Anglican traditions were observed with morning prayer after breakfast each day, and compline before lights-out if the very busy schedule didn’t run long. This was appreciated by the Rev. Jedd Trenum, associate rector at All Saints’ and the church’s youth group leader.

“I really liked the daily structure,… introducing the kids to the rhythm of Anglican spirituality,”  he said.

This is a core goal of the camp, according to camp director Melissa Lewkowicz.

“We want to see more Anglican churches get involved,” Lewkowicz said. “There isn’t anything [else] like this offered to Anglican youth. It can feel pretty isolating. [Camp] gives them a chance to feel part of the larger Anglican church, to know that people in other parts of the country follow this liturgy, have the same world view.”

For their time alone with God, campers were introduced to lectio divina, an ancient spiritual practice designed to move one deeper into communication with God through meditation on a passage of Scripture. A different passage was assigned for each day.

In the evenings there was worship and teaching based on Luke 15:11-32, the parable of The Prodigal Son. That was followed by “cabin time,” a period where campers met with their cabin leaders for a guided discussion of the evening’s talk. That often led to wider-ranging sharing as well.

Several of the ASC campers noted cabin time as a highlight of their day. 

“I grew a lot, grew closer to the Lord every day. Cabin time was a time when you were able to be vulnerable,” said 16-year-old Luke Pedersen, a junior at Forest Park High School. 

“[It was ] Taking time to discuss really hard stuff,” said Addie Gregory. She explained she meant things like school, relationships, hard things in everyday life.

The adult leaders were quick to appreciate the value of cabin time. Jason Wills, father of two of the ASC campers, said the cabin time discussions were an important part of the program, leading to discussions on theology that one wouldn’t expect at the teens’ level.

“It was a joy to see. By the end of the week they had gotten so comfortable with sharing that we occasionally had to bring them back on task,” Wills said.

For Heidi Reichert, another of the four All Saints’ adult leaders, this was a challenge.

“The idea of being responsible for the spiritual development of the kids was overwhelming. I was willing to be support, but this program required more of me, like leading talks in the cabin.”

She found strength in the refrain from the song “Yet Not I, But Through Christ in Me” by City Alight.

“This week forced me into something I would not do on my own,” Reichert said.

There were other instances of spiritual growth during the week.

“I was angry when I got to camp,” said Lydia Pedersen, 17, a senior at Forest Park High School. Lydia recently had surgery on her knee and has been on crutches for weeks, which meant she had to sit and watch while the other campers engaged in physical activities. “But as the week went by, God taught me to appreciate being still and enjoy peace, quiet time.”

“God spoke to me one of the nights we were there,” said Reilly Pachecano, 15. He’s a junior at Hylton High School. “I heard him  speak to me and he called me by name and said, ‘Come home Reilly, you’re not too far.’ ”

The worship experience was fulfilling as well.

“I would say the best part was the worship sessions,” said Luke Pedersen. “It was fun just singing and dancing.”

“Seeing everybody coming together in genuine worship,” said Ivey Pachecano, 14, a freshman at Hylton. “At the beginning of the week a lot of people were uncomfortable,” but that changed as the week went on.

“I loved being with hundreds of Anglican teen-agers and worshiping with them,” said Lydia Pedersen. 

“Swimming or doing obstacle courses with friends is a great bonding experience,” Mary Shafer said, “but worship is a great bonding experience with God.”

Although spiritual development is paramount at Camp Booyah, there is plenty of time for other activities as well.

“Everything at camp was fun — EVERYTHING!” said Ivey Pachecano.

“I got to hang out with my friends and made many more. I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and had so much fun! I went on many things, like the high ropes course, the Blob, mud tug-of-war, paintball and more.”

Making friends across congregation lines is another feature of Camp Booyah. Although the campers were assigned to cabins by churches, they were separated into 10-person teams with a mix of ages, churches and gender. It was in the teams that they participated in the various group activities. 

“There were real friendships forming with groups from other churches, having quality in-depth religious discussions with like-minded religious people,” said adult leader Jason Wills.

Many found the service projects rewarding work. 

In previous years the campers went into the community to help repair and beautify homes for those in need of assistance, but this year’s plan was different, according to Director Lewkowicz.  

“As attendance has grown, and especially with Covid, we decided we need to stay  on site with the service projects. Getting 200 campers to all the locations with the tools they needed was just too difficult,” Lewkowicz said. 

And the campers found satisfaction in the on-site projects.

“Our team actually completed one birdhouse!” said Sarah-Joy Reichert, 14, a freshman at Forest Park High School. “It was difficult — took us 90 minutes to compete the one.”

The birdhouses were destined for the yards of elderly residents in nearby Scottsville. The campers also packed bags with school supplies and toys for less fortunate children in the community, among other projects.

What happened at Camp Booyah hasn’t stayed at Camp Booyah. Lydia spoke of continuing to begin her day with morning prayer, something she hadn’t done before. Luke said he’s praying a lot more.

“I do devotions every day and he continues to help me through daily challenges,” Luke said.

Ivey noted that she has been trying to separate herself from secular things like certain types of music and books. Addie is using a daily schedule to read through the Bible in a year.

All in all, the All Saints’ campers agreed that this had been a transformative experience, one worth sharing with others.

“I would encourage others to go  so they could experience the power of God working through them, either in worship or through service projects,” Sarah-Joy said.

“There was something there for everyone,” Reilly said. 

“The atmosphere was amazing, and the fellowship was really fun,” Luke said.

The adults endorsed the sentiment.

“If we as leaders, clergy and lay leaders, are truly seeking to see our youth fully engaged and fully integrated into the life of the Anglican tradition, Camp Booyah is a must,” Trenum said. 
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More information about Camp Booyah can be found at campbooyah.com.

Enjoy photos and videos from Camp Booyah here.

Lucia Anderson is a parishioner at All Saints’ Church, Woodbridge, VA.