|
Friday-Sunday, 16-18th November 2007
by Andre Theng
|
|
Confirmation camp is often an experience that all secondary 3 students
in our parish go through; it is an annual activity at our parish and a
rite of passage as we proceed
onto Confirmation which marks our 'graduation'.
This year
was no different and there was over a hundred Confirmands.
The
theme of the camp was "Love Love Love" and it was
held at
St. Anthony’s Canossian Convent. There were many activities
in
store for us, sessions by speakers such as the Redemptorist
Mission Team, Fr Valerian Cheong and some of our catechists. There were
also team building games and praise and worship. Other activities
included Talent night and a short bible quiz, traditions of Risen
Christ Confirmation camps.
One of my favorite activities was the
'Shalom' dance where we sang a simple folk tune to
each
other offering peace while standing in a circle.
I enjoyed the camp very much and came away with clearer perspectives on
situations I had been in, through sharing sessions we had with our
group. An
example was during a session on the Holy Spirit when one of our
catechists,
Lester, shared on a
camp at a Methodist Church he had organized, and how he felt he had to
reach out to a teenager in the crowd who was not participating.
I
recalled an incident during another camp where I had encountered a
similar experience, and I did not know how to handle the
'problem' teenager. I also enjoyed Talent Night,
everything from the preparations to watching the skits the groups had
put up; many of them were extremely entertaining. It gave us each a
better understanding of the parables we were supposed to portray.
More
than just a talent show, it was also an offering up of the talents God
gives us.
I also had a much better understanding of what confirmation was really
all about. Confirmation is really about answering the call to God, and
being an instrument of God‘s love to those around us. It is a
call to be a man of God, a decision to commit oneself to Him.
Having gained new insights on our Catholic faith, I left on the third
day feeling spiritually ‘revived’ and raring to go!
I also
was glad to have made new friends, met many new, cool people and
learned a lot more about friends I already had, through the sharing and
teamwork we went through. It allowed us to find out about a side of
each other we don’t usually see, and problems we never
realized
each of us would have.
A week later we had our confirmation mass celebrated by the Archbishop.
It brought an end to the many years of catechism classes we had, and a
new beginning for us, as we proceeded on to a new chapter in our
Christian life of service to the community, as blessed soldiers in
God’s army! Lastly, we cannot forget our ever loyal and
hardworking
Catechists, who did so much to make the camp a memorable one for
us.
|
