Come, let me show you the way
By Erin Monaghan Kamran
This is my first time at Shrine Mont.
Well, it is and it isn’t. I’ve been to Shrine Mont before,
but it was always as a diocesan staff member, helping host clergy retreat or
the Bishop’s conference. This is the first time I’ve come to Shrine Mont as a
guest, the first time I get to experience this, a place apart, as it’s meant to
be.
When my husband and I arrived after a long busy summer of
work and internship, I was ready to do what so many people can’t wait to do at
Shrine Mont: sit on the porch. During my three years in the Diocese of
Virginia, I’ve heard stories about how special Shrine Mont is, and for some
reason, people always talk about sitting on the porch. So I tried it out. We
sat down on the porch of Virginia House, and I looked at Celal and said, “Now
what? What do people do when they sit on the porch?”
He looked at me and said, “I don’t know.” So I suggested we
play Twenty Questions. Never in the six years we have been together have we played
Twenty Questions. But somehow, this place made room for that. That which is so
out of the ordinary, felt like the perfect thing to do.
Later he showed me Bear Wallow spring, where, on his
suggestion, I tasted that ice-cold penny-water. He took me to the candy shop
where he would buy candy cigarettes and yoo-hoos with his friends on parish
retreats. He showed me some of the things that made his early years at Shrine
Mont special, as if he was saying, “This
is holy ground. Come, let me show you the way.”
I’ve heard that camp is a time where deep friendships are
made, with others and with God, in just a few days. Not having gone to camps
growing up, I wonder, how does this happen? Maybe it’s the place. This place, where
so many have made deep connections before. Making deep connections with people
you’ve just met is an extraordinary thing, and when we experience the
extraordinary, we want to share it. We want to bring others in to that
marvelous place. That place where those who have come before say, “This is holy ground. Come, let me show you
the way.”
At the St. Elizabeth’s Camp talent show, I watched as campers
and buddies celebrated each other. Some danced, some wrote skits, some sang and
some popped balloons for humorous effect. It was so fun my face hurt from
smiling. There was no telling who had more fun during the talent show – those
performing, or those in the audience. In this short week of camp, a community
of friendship and encouragement was created, and this talent show was a way to celebrate
that, one last time.
As I sat on my porch after the talent show, I felt an ache
in my chest at the thought of this group separating tomorrow. This group,
exactly as it is, right now, will never be the same again. But next year, there
will still be a St. Elizabeth’s Camp. Next year, there will be another group of
campers and buddies who will create a new community. A community that will include
some who’ve been there before, and some they have yet to meet. I know, without
a doubt, that those returning will meet those joining for the first time saying,
“This is holy ground. Come, let me show
you the way.”
Erin Monaghan Kamran is
the Communications Associate for the Diocese of Virginia, where she oversees
the diocesan website, social media and e-newsletters. Erin’s favorite part of
her job is uplifting stories of God at work through the people and ministries
in the Diocese of Virginia. She lives with her husband, Celal, and their dog,
Clifford, in Alexandria, Va.
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