The San Juan Bautista Parish family exemplifies the Gospel message of their patron saint: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (Jn 3:30). For 25 years the parish community has been sacrificing their personal wants and needs to support the San Juan Bautista Summer Camp that Father Allan Wolfe and Judy Gantz founded. As we prepare to celebrate the Feast of St. John the Baptist on June 24, let us pray for the intercession of the cherished saint for the continued success and support of this worthy and honorable ministry.
Recognizing the need to provide a summer program for neighborhood children ages 5 to 17, San Juan Bautista Parish has been providing the materials, funding and volunteers necessary to plan, organize and implement a faith-filled, exciting and educational experience that benefits the entire community — and for 25 years, that commitment has not wavered. The program was founded by Father Wolfe and Gantz, a former Resurrection School pre-school teacher. When Gantz stepped back from active ministry, Linda Torres took the reins and has carried the camp forward ever since. Torres remembers the time before the COVID pandemic when the camp served approximately 350 campers in two, two-week sessions. This year saw more than 70 campers for a one-week camp. Torres explains, “We’ve never advertised for [the camp], it’s all by word of mouth.”
And sometimes, it is by observation. The royal blue shirts of the volunteers and campers are easy to spot as they travel around Lancaster on foot, sometimes for up to five miles a day. On Tuesday and Friday, the walk includes a jaunt to Lancaster Central Market, the oldest farmer’s market in America according to its website. The campers, under the watchful eyes of volunteer counselors and junior counselors, peruse the market vendors and, with funds provided by the community, choose purchases for a balanced lunch. The campers learn important lessons about healthy choices, polite and respectful interactions and financial responsibility.
On market days, Torres sets out a jar for donations. “Whatever the people can give – five cents or more – goes in,” she says. “The money is split equally across all groups, so every child has something to spend.” This year, donations on Tuesday totaled $160; by Friday they had risen to $240. The generosity speaks for itself: the community believes in this camp. But as much as the week offers in activity and adventure, its deepest priority is a solid spiritual foundation for every camper.
Every day begins with prayer in the church, and on Friday, the campers attend Mass. Father Kevin Key — just beginning his assignment as parochial vicar of San Juan Bautista and St. Anthony of Padua Parishes — spoke to the campers in both Spanish and English about spiritual goals worth pursuing: patience, forgiveness and humility — not the material things that fade.
The message lands. Torres has witnessed its lasting fruit: “We’ve had kids that started out at the elementary school here who have now become Catholic because they’ve come to this, they’ve come to the Mass, they like it, and they’ve gone through the program.” The campers do not need to be Catholic to participate, but what they encounter here is Catholic faith at its most generous and alive — and that tends to draw people in. Not only is Christ encountered in the holy sacrifice of the Mass, but the camp provides opportunities to encounter Christ in his creation — through a stream study and a day at Muddy Run Park that invite campers to see God’s gifts with fresh eyes. Longtime volunteers carry that same spirit of encounter into every interaction.
Nancy Velasquez is a dedicated volunteer. She says, “I’ve been doing this since the beginning – over 20 years.” As a retired teacher, Velasquez brings expertise in the skills the camp needs to function well. With patience and love and with a calm demeanor that is not easily shaken, Velasquez converses with and guides the campers and junior counselors. Navigating the busy Lancaster Market would be daunting to some volunteers, but Velasquez made her way through the Market with a small group of young ladies and accommodated the individual tastes and preferences of each camper. Not until each camper made their lunch choices did Velasquez think about her own need to choose food for herself.
Many people in the Marketplace noticed the campers. As one patron made her way through the Market, she asked many questions of one young camper and was impressed by the conversation and manners the young lady displayed. The camp is an outward sign of a successful ministry to the parish and community. The campers do not realize what a wonderful witness they provide; they just like “the food – and all the places we go. It’s the funnest thing ever.” However, the favorite activity of another camper was undoubtedly the St. Anthony craft.
So many wonderful activities and lessons are enjoyed throughout the week, and Velasquez comments, “I love that we allow anyone from any faith – even those who don’t practice – to come in. We take anyone; they don’t have to be Catholic.” That open door is itself an act of evangelization — and it works. The St. Anthony activity — a camper favorite — wove together the stories of both San Juan Bautista and St. Anthony of Padua Parishes, planting seeds of unity as the two communities prepare to share a pastor and parochial vicar. The children thought they were doing a craft. They were also learning what it means to be one Church.
Twenty-five years in, the San Juan Bautista Summer Camp endures because the parish community keeps choosing to decrease so that something greater can increase — in the lives of children who may not yet know they are being changed. Children who show up for the food, and leave having glimpsed the face of Christ. St. John the Baptist, pray for us — and pray for the faithful people of San Juan Bautista Parish, who have made his spirit their own.
If you would like to support San Juan Bautista Summer Camp, donations can be sent to San Juan Bautista Parish, 435 S Duke Street, Lancaster, PA 17602 or you can access the online giving platform here: https://osvhub.com/sanjuanbautistalancaster/giving/funds.
(Photos by Laura Loose, The Catholic Witness.)
By Laura Loose, The Catholic Witness
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