"But who do you say I am?" Antioch 2024
For the second time in 2024 the sellout signs were up as, in September, another chapter was added to the legendary Antioch Camp at Woodend Christian Camp.
Following on from Revolution Camp in July, the theme of "But who do you say
I am?" was opened up by our keynote speaker, Christyna Malietoa-Brown from Auckland. A lively young wahine, her series of talks began by touching on who other people say Jesus is, before drawing the campers into answering the question for themselves.
A social highlight was the return to Antioch of the iconic Messy Games small group tournament. All participants were grateful for the early spring weather as they took each other on in games such as “Foam Heads,” “Hungry Hippos,” and “Human Battleships.” In the ever-iconic Saturday night session, local youth ministers Mark Currie and Ivory Wallace challenged the campers to open up to what the Holy Spirit might do, and asked them to truly answer the theme question, by drawing upon the metaphor of Christ knocking at their door (Rev 3:20). Supported by a testimony from local legend Ella Malone, this set the scene for a time of Adoration and Reconciliation. The queues for both that sacrament and prayer ministry were continuous, with one priest later remarking how impressed he was with the depth and humility of confessions.
The global Church's Year of Prayer provided the inspiration for Sunday morning, with campers having the opportunity to try a variety of prayer methods, including the Rosary, journaling, lectio divina, and the Divine Office.
One camper remarked on how they've incorporated two of these methods into their personal prayer life in the weeks after camp; a joy for the leadership team to hear.
Camp of course finished with a stirring final Mass on Sunday. Two weeks later, many participants and their leaders regathered for 2024's final Diocesan Youth Mass in St Mary's Pro-Cathedral.
But it wasn't the programme or the activities that impressed Mark Currie, Camp Director, the most. Rather, the serving hearts of a 34-strong camp leadership team, who helped deliver Antioch for
the 98 participants. "I always worry that I'm asking too much of our volunteer leadership team, but they went above and beyond in so many different ways and I couldn't be more proud of them."
Planning has already begun for the 2025 camps and Diocesan Youth Masses, with a special youth event being planned to celebrate the Jubilee Year.
