The Legacy of St Stephen

We have officially begun our 2016 camping season which is evident to anyone within earshot of Quail Ridge Road from the laughter, music, cheering, and splashing of the lake water.  These are the memories of summer camp, these are the activities which make the best photos, but these activities are truly not the legacy of St Stephen’s Summer Camp.

How fitting that this year summer camp began on Sunday, June 26th – the Feast of All Saints.  We welcomed over 120 living and breathing saints to the Diakonia Retreat Center to spend a week amidst God’s creation while growing in the image and likeness of Christ.  These saints – individuals like you and me – are learning to practice forgiveness, love of neighbor, and to become beacons of our faith.  It is a challenging task, it is not easy, yet we are constantly reminded that the Holy Spirit is a spirit of unity, and it is in this unity, this drawing closer to one another and to Christ, that is the essence of St Stephen’s.  

May we all spend our summer, whether at camp, on a beach in Greece, in the mountains of North Carolina, or in our own backyard, focusing on our faith and practicing the Christian virtues, so our own light may “shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

See you at St Stephen’s!

Julie Moricz
Youth, Education & Hellenic Culture Coordinator
Metropolis of Atlanta