Virginia Episcopalian Magazine Spring 2013 Issue | Page 29

counselor at St. George’s in 1996 and, more recently, served as
camp chaplain from 2010-2012. “I cannot thank God enough for
working with teenagers and late teenagers,” said Pollach. “All
of that grows out of my experience at Shrine Mont Camps.”
•••
Faith, too, is something that grows out of Shrine Mont
Camps – and that journey of faith is something that sets
the Shrine Mont experience apart from others. “The stock
saying is that people feel closer to God there,” said Hopkins.
“I think that’s really true.” He added, “People become more
open to each other – and that’s kind of the way I see the
Holy Spirit working.”

Former counselors are quick to point out that “doing
church” on the mountain is different than anywhere else.
“Most faithful people think that there’s only one way to
worship,” explained Pollach. “What we experience when
we go to Shrine Mont is that it’s really a broad spectrum of
encounters with God throughout your life. But that’s true
worship. That’s what encounters at Shrine Mont taught me by
being able to live in that space where God is.”

“The faith that people have at Shrine Mont is not
necessarily about the Book of Common Prayer and lighting
incense,” said Westcott. “It’s about the love and the
acceptance and all those sorts of things that Jesus taught. To
me … if I had to identify a location of my faith, or where I feel
most in tune with God, it would certainly be there.”

Bishop’s Jubilee
July 5-7,2013
at Shrine Mont
Join old friends and new for a weekend full of fun,
including an alumni coffee house, a 5K run/walk,
group worship at the Shrine, the Family Fun Fest, our
annual Frisbee tournament, and musical stylings of
diocesan favorite Hoss. On Saturday, don’t miss the
main acts: performances by Drymill Road and the
Naked Mountain Boys.
Special weekend package rates will be available.
Visit thediocese.net for more information this spring!

Campers and counselors gather outside cabins at Music &
Drama Camp.

•••
At the end of the day, though, as Ball says, “It’s all about the
kids.” Ask a few counselors what they think is so special about
Shrine Mont, and you’ll find a common thread: a quality of
acceptance, combined with a high level of goofiness, which
contributes to that intangible quality that makes Shrine Mont
Camps what they are. “Something that I don’t see a lot of
other places is encouraging students or campers to really step
outside their comfort zone and expand on who they think they
can be,” explained Westcott. “If I put on a wacky hat to go to a
dance, it takes the pressure off the kids. It’s a place where they
don’t have to be cool.”

“I don’t think that there are many places in the world
… where kids can feel just completely safe,” said Hopkins.
“I don’t necessarily mean away from danger, but safe being
exactly who they are,” he added. “For me, that’s one of
the things that struck me about Shrine Mont. There was
absolutely no judgment there.”
•••
The counselor community is a tight-knit one. On the mountain,
counselors learn to depend on and support one another.
There’s a focus on “the pervasive idea that you’re in this
intentional community together,” explained Smith. “You’re
going to grow and learn. At the end of the day … there’s going
to be a commitment to each other.”
Off the mountain, too, that community continues, in
ongoing friendships, in shared secrets, in marriages. “My
marriage is a gift of the Shrine Mont Camp experience,” said
Pollach. “Woodford [my first child], spent his first summer
ever there. His daily practice of prayer is informed by the
Shouting Prayer,” the traditional Shrine Mont Prayer of love
and acceptance shouted from the mountaintops. “The deep
sense of communion and community both with each other
and within nature – you don’t get that elsewhere.” t
Learn more about the Shrine Mont Camp experience at
shrinemontcamps.net.

Spring 2013 / Virginia Episcopalian

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