1. PLYMOUTH DIOCESE CATECHETICAL SUMMER CAMPS

2. Who are we? We are a group of volunteers from across the Diocese and beyond who co-ordinate the running of 3 summer camps at Buckfast Abbey. This involves: Helper recruitment Providing a training weekend for helpers Choosing a theme for the camps Promotion of the camps across the Diocese Administration of application forms from campers

3. What do we do? Provide a fun, safe environment where children from the ages of 8 to17 can explore their faith whilst living together in a community. We run 3 camps: Junior (ages 8-11) Senior (ages 12-15) St Petroc’s (ages 16-17) with the support of the Benedictine Community at Buckfast Abbey

4. Rise and Shine

5. A typical day 8:30 Breakfast 9:30 Morning Prayer 10:00 The day’s theme is introduced and the camp splits up to work on the theme in age groups 11:00 Break 11:30 Continuation of group work; brought together in a liturgy 13:00 Lunch

6. Our day continued 14:00 Afternoon activity e.g. Bouncy Castle; Woodland Walk with the Education Centre; Treasure Hunt; Drama; T-Shirt painting; Trip on Steam Train; Sport 17:30 Team planning / Time to visit the Abbey 18:00 Dinner 19:00 Evening activity e.g. Quiz, Cinema, Camp Fire 20:30 Night Prayer 21:00 Bedtime story/Night time activity 22:00 Children asleep!

7. Camps and the CWL The CWL ran camps in the Plymouth Diocese from 1952 to 1992. For the next 7 years, they were run in partnership with the Diocesan RE Commission. In 1999 the National Executive of the CWL decided they could no longer run the camps, however, Plymouth Branch continued to organise the camps pending a review. In 2003, the first committee of volunteers, led by Maureen Nixon, sought to continue the sterling work of the CWL and with your continued prayers and support, the committee on which I serve, continues to give children a holiday with God.

8. Our seniors... A fun packed week combining celebrating faith and fun A great experience that offers you various ways to get closer to God, from meditation to a friendly game of rounders A fun week that you will never forget and that you will want to get back to A great experience that enriches your faith each time you return Camp is the highlight of my summer every year I have made lots of friends and have tons of good memories I cannot put into words how valuable these camps are to my life I love this camp it feels like a big family