Interest in the Damascus Summer Camp in Emmitsburg, Md., is high, with middle and high school students having committed to attend one of the weeks, according to the director of the diocesan Office for Catholic Youth, Young Adult and Family Ministry.
Dan Pin said that as of Feb. 6, 48 people had registered to attend the summer camp, which will be held in Emmitsburg for the first time in 2026. This follows an appeal from Bishop Koenig for families to consider the Damascus Summer Camp in the Jan 23 edition of The Dialog.
“A day at Damascus is packed full of adventure, providing opportunities for campers to step outside of their comfort zones, overcome fears and challenges with the help of their peers and counselors, and to experience the joy that comes with life in Jesus,” the bishop wrote.
The message must have resonated with young people and their families. Pin said that within days of the publication of Bishop Koenig’s letter, several dozen young people had registered for the camp.
Pin said the Diocese of Wilmington had not had a coordinated effort to send people to Damascus camps in Ohio in the past, but individuals and families had participated. There are eight weeks set aside for camps in Emmitsburg, four for middle school students and four for high school.
“Our people can go to any of them,” Pin said. “Bishop Koenig is encouraging people from the Diocese of Wilmington to go — the middle school week is July 5-10, and the high school week is July 12-17.”
If they attend with others from the diocese, Pin continued, they may see some familiar faces and make more local connections.
The motto of the Damascus Summer Camp is “High Adventure Activities, High Adventure Faith,” Pin said. The camps are a mix of traditional summer camp fun — high ropes courses, ziplining, paintball, water games and archery tag, for example — with “strong, strong elements of faith.”
The campers will break into small groups of six to eight people with whom they will spend the week. The day starts with prayer and includes Lectio Divina, shared meals, prayer activities, Mass, a nightly presentation on the faith, and adoration, he said.
“The model from a ministry perspective is that you’re trying to get kids to go outside their comfort zone with physical activities, and they want to draw them out spiritually as well,” Pin said.
The cost of the camp is $645, although the diocese has made scholarships of $145 available for the first 100 registered participants. Pin said the bishop does not want money to stop people from attending, so some additional need-based aid has been set aside by the diocese.
Pin said he is working with the people at Damascus to connect with the local campers before and after their week in Emmitsburg.
“Hopefully, they’ll bring some of these prayer practices and spiritual life back. We’ll have some events for them together,” he said.
Pin added that he would like to see the campers take what they have learned to their parishes as well.
More information about the camp is available at https://cdowcym.org/register-for-damascus-camp-now/ and also at www.damascus.net.
