Children’s spring camp – the joy of Easter

Children’s camp is usually associated with summer, however this year the Saint James Vicariate decided to hold a short spring children’s camp during the Passover school holidays, which fell this year during the week after Easter. 46 members of the kehillot (Hebrew speaking Catholic communities) – children, youth and seven adult counselors) went off to the convent known as Deir Rafat (Our Lady of Palestine), near Beit Shemesh for three days during which they relived Holy Week and the Easter celebration but this time in order to transmit the Easter joy and the message of the feast to our children.

On Wednesday, April 11, they gathered in the convent and were received warmly by the nuns who pray in this place and the volunteers who help them. Games to get to know one another helped the children new to the group to get to know the veterans but most of the children are already used to come to this place in summer for the annual summer camp. Children from all the different kehillot participated as well as nine members of “Desert Flower”, the youth group and there were seven counselors, Fathers David, Apolinary, Piotr, Brother Alberto, Sister Camelia, Benny and Sinead. After the evening prayer and meal, a film was screened and popcorn generously distributed.

The following day, they began with morning prayer. After the meal, the children gathered in the classroom for the first of three lessons that focused on Easter, the meaning of the feast, the preparation time before hand, Holy Week and the seven weeks that follow the feast ending with Pentecost and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Father David, who taught the classes, also emphasized the roots of the feast in the Scriptures of Israel and the many connections between Jewish Passover and Christian Easter.

The important activity for these three days of camp was the preparation of a show: under the supervision of Brother Alberto, the children painted the sets for the show: a donkey on which Jesus rode (a painting glued to a chair on wheels), the backdrop of Jerusalem, the table of the Last Supper, etc. Directed by Benny, they learnt songs for each scene: Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, Holy Thursday with the meal and the wahing of feet, Holy Friday with the trial of Jesus, his death on the cross and his burial, and finally the women who discover the empty tomb, hear the news of the angels: “Christ is risen” and the appearance of Jesus in the glory of the resurrection. The actors were chosen from among the children: Jesus, his disciples, the women, the angels and of course Pontius Pilate. Many hours of work were invested in the show but with much joy and love.

Between the lessons and the preparations, there was time for games and fun.

On Friday, after the last lesson and final preparations towards the show’s premier, some of the parents began to arrive. The children received them happily and there were moments of family reunification. Then everyone gathered in the church for a solemn and joyful mass. Before the final prayer, the children proudly presented their show. To the applause of all present, the show ended with the resurrection of Jesus and song and dance. After the final blessing, everyone was invited to lunch – the children in the dining room and the parents outside with a picnic they had brought.

Thanks to God for these moments of great joy and also for everything we learnt. Special thanks to all who worked to prepare the camp, to the nuns and the volunteers at Deir Rafat and to the organization, Kirche in Not (Church in Need) who helped the Vicariate cover the costs.