Κατασκήνωση της GOYGB

Η GOYGB είναι η Οργάνωση Νέων, η οποία δραστηριοποιείται μέσα στο πλαίσιο της Ιεράς Αρχιεπισκοπής Θυατείρων και Μεγ. Βρετανίας. Η Ομάδα αυτή οργανώνει διάφορες εκδηλώσεις στη διάρκεια του χρόνου. Η κυριώτερη όμως δραστηριότητά της είναι η καλοκαιρινή κατασκήνωση.

Κάθε καλοκαίρι, για 2 εβδομάδες, η κατασκήνωση αυτή φέρνει σε επικοινωνία Ορθόδοξους έφηβους και νέους από διάφορες εθνικές παραδόσεις. Μένουν μαζί, παίζουν, τρώνε, προσεύχονται μαζί και αναπτύσσουν φιλίες μεταξύ τους. Φέτος η κατασκήνωση θα είναι από την Τρίτη 26 Ιουλίου μέχρι την Πέμπτη 4 Αυγούστου.

Σύμφωνα με τη σχετική ανακοίνωση: During the Summer camp the children share a tent with other Orthodox Christians of their age. They attend lessons on Orthodoxy with a range of people, including our clergy members, Fr Stephan Maxfield, Fr Luke Holden and Fr Christodoulous Christodolou, and also with Nuns, Presbetyras and the leaders from the camp. These lessons attempt to focus on a particular aspect of the Orthodox Church (recent topics have included ‘The Liturgy’, ‘What makes us Orthodox?’, and ‘The Resurrection’).

At camp everybody prays together, morning and evening and at mealtimes. We also have the Blessing of a visit from Archbishop Gregorios and the opportunity to celebrate the Liturgy together. Since children from a variety of backgrounds attend, most of who have grown up in the UK, the primary language used is English.

In addition to attending to the children’s spiritual needs, the camp provides an environment to nurture confidence and skills and to teach participants valuable tools for everyday life. Participants have many opportunities to take part in a variety of activities, such as Quad biking, White water rafting, football tournaments, camp Olympics, a variety of Arts and Craft workshops and archery. Other fun activities include performing in St.’s plays, designing a stall or activity for the rest of camp to utilise at the Summer fete, providing entertainment during the talent show and having a sing song around the campfire.

All participants are expected to perform daily duties with the other members of their tent, as well as being responsible for maintaining their tent. In this way they learn the necessity of team work and the importance of each member of the community.

The Summer Camp takes place near much Wenlock, Shropshire, in a field acquired with the Blessings of Archbishop Gregorios. GOYGB acquired this site for use a few years ago, and has strived to appreciate and nurture God’s creation by using environmentally friendly products, planting a range of fruit trees and trees for coppicing, and by allowing sheep to graze on the field, which encourages a range of wildlife to flourish.