Every summer, the St. Elijah Church Camp brings together children, families, and community members to celebrate and deepen their connection to Serbian heritage, Orthodox faith, and traditions. This cherished event offers a unique blend of cultural education, spiritual reflection, and fun activities, ensuring that each generation understands and honors the rich legacy of their ancestors.  

This year’s camp, held from June 9–13, carried the theme “SERBIAN ROOTS RUN DEEP” and was a resounding success. Each day of camp followed the chronological order of our Serbian Orthodox faith. Pentecost Monday started with liturgy followed by the history and meaning of our Slava celebrations. Teta Katerina Ilic delivered an interactive lesson with a beautifully set Slava table. This year we introduced “The Danas Show” which was a take on The Today Show. Our very own Agelina Kodic was our host and interviewed Fr. Rodney Torbic, where he talked about his journey to priesthood.  

Following lunch, each child made their own bowl of koljivo, Baka Vida Radovic taught the children singing and dancing, and then Fr. Torbic conducted a parastos in honor of each child’s family that came before them.

Building on the momentum of Monday’s activities, Tuesday brought new lessons and special guests.  Fr. Djordje Popovic served liturgy on Pentecost Tuesday and Teta Katerina Ilic taught the children about St. Sava the founder of the Serbian Orthodox church. The very special guest for Tuesday’s “Danas Show” was Protinica Ana Stepanov. Prota Stevan and Protinica Ana started the St. Elijah’s church camp 48 years ago and she brought pictures and articles from the early day of camp to share with the children and emphasized the importance of keeping our faith and traditions alive. After lunch, our camp coordinator Georgette Osman led the children through this year’s craft which was a cut out wooden tree painted red, blue and white and placed within the picture frame. And then after singing and dancing with Baka Vida the kids were off to Windmill for a game of miniature golf and an ice cream cone.

On Wednesday, the day began with morning prayers, setting a reflective tone for the lesson about St. Lazar and the pivotal Battle of Kosovo. This historical discussion emphasized the importance of courage and resilience in Serbian culture.  Our “Danas Show” special guest was Mim Bizic, live from Serbia, as the St. Elijah Choir was in Serbia for a singing festival. Mim taught the children the importance of understanding our history so that we know where we came from and where we are going.  

After lunch, Lynn Popovich taught us about the national flower of Serbia – Lily of the Valley or Đurđevak. This flower symbolizes purity, sweetness, and beauty in Serbian culture. Another national symbol of Serbia is Natalie's Ramonda flower, also known as the Phoenix as it reflects the resilience of the Serbian struggle in World War I and symbolizes the rebirth and revival of the country. Georgette led the kids in another craft and stenciled trees on flowerpots then assisted the children in planting their very own Lily of the Valley. And then after singing and dancing it was off to Hopewell Park for a hike in the woods.

Thursday started with Teta Katerina enlightening the children about Sveti Mardarije and the emigration of the Serbian people to the US. And our special guest for the “Danas Show” was Marianne “Meem” Rosati and the host was long term camper Luka Kosanovich, who came to camp to help. She brought with her picture of the ships that brought her grandparents to America as well as pictures of growing up in St. Elijah. The message that she conveyed to the kids was to participate in church events and offerings.

After lunch, singing and dancing, it was off to Chapel Pool for an afternoon of fun. And then to round out the week, after morning prayers, the kids received their annual church camp T-shirts beautifully designed by Haley Brnjilovic, and played a marathon Jenga knowledge challenge. During this marathon game, the children were quizzed on all the things they learned throughout the week. As each child answered their first question correctly, they picked a cross or icon keychain that Protonica Ana brought for the kids. After lunch it was off to Fun-Fore-All for an afternoon of Go-Carts, and various amusement rides.

Georgette Osman

St. Elijah Church Camp Coordinator