Welcome to
Wojtyla University!
We would like to welcome you to Camp Wojtyla University — a required 5-part video series in which we will share with you a serious of videos to introduce and explain concepts that are part of our culture and a way we approach our ministry at Camp — both with the campers and our own summer staff community. It serves the purpose to help get yourself familiarized with concepts that are at the heart of our culture — a way of seeing and doing our ministry at Camp Wojtyla.
We encourage you to pace yourself and do one section per week, though you must complete all sections before you arrive on May 20th. At the bottom of each section is the due date in order to watch one section per week up until the week of staff training. However, I do encourage you to start early, and you are more than welcome to work ahead. We will expect you to be familiar with these concepts when you arrive.
To watch the video, click on the bold title for each session and the hyperlink will direct you to the video.
Week 1 — Prayer Life
Above all else, the key to the Camp Wojtyla mission is prayer. If you don’t have a daily prayer life, the time to start is now. St. John Paul II often spent 6-8 hours a day in prayer and mediation with the Lord. If we are seeking after sainthood, prayer must be a part of our daily lives.
“The more deeply people develop within themselves in their interior life, the more prone they are to silence…Every great work, all holiness, is born in silence and recollection…Only falsehood wraps itself in a flood of words, Truth is brief.”
- Cardinal Karol Wojtyla
Watch by 4/13/2024
Week 2 — Vulnerability & Confronting Shame
The second video is a TED talk from Breneé Brown. She discusses vulnerability, shame, guilt and very useful concepts that are important for us in our approach to the campers and to our community.
We are a team and our leadership staff is here to support you in any way we can. We hope that this community becomes a true family - full of love and support. And I need each of you to embrace vulnerability and courage to be open and approach our leadership team if you’re not getting the support you need. We truly are here for you!
Disclaimer: On a couple occasions during the video she uses language to express her point (Sh**, “God’s" name out of context) that does not fully represent Camp Wojtyla or our beliefs, but her message is well worth the watch and truly represents a lesson we are trying to teach at Camp Wojtyla, just pardon the few offenses, please.
Please take your time to listen to it attentively.
Watch by 4/20/2024
Lesson 3 of Wojtyla University is a a strong and amazing message from Monsignor James Shea on the value and dignity of every human person.
There is an inherent dignity and value in every camper you will get the privilege to serve this summer. The campers in your teepee group are not there by coincidence. Some campers will test and challenge you more than others, but never forget that each and every camper assigned to your specific teepee is part of our Lord’s Divine plan - and has been entrusted to you for a reason. We will have campers this summer of different faith levels, cultural backgrounds, maturity, developmental abilities, intellectual abilities, and the list goes on. You must arise each morning to trust the fact that the Lord’s ways are so much higher than our ways and it was He who allowed for each specific camper to be assigned and entrusted to your respective teepee group - maybe the camper really needs you or maybe it’s you who have something to learn from that camper (and probably both)!
Disclaimer: Msgr. Shea’s message is given within the context of a fundraising event for the AoD Catholic schools, but the heart of what he is saying applies directly to us all. Thus, please bare with the few minutes where the talk is focused on the fundraising aspects.
Watch by 4/27/2024
Week 4 — Ownership
Here is our next video for part 4 of this Camp Wojtyla University series. Jocko Willink’s delivery is more intense than our prior videos. It requires humility established on prayer, vulnerability of one’s pride, and recognizing others’ dignity through assuming the best of another for this essential aspect of our Camp Wojtyla staff/counselor culture - ownership.
Remember, the purpose of this series is that we want you to be prepared - this summer will be full of trials - we prepped each of you on this in the interview regarding your resolve for the “nitty-gritty” of Camp Wojtyla.
From taking ownership for the safety of your campers, being intentional to offer each camper a transformative experience to know Christ, and the concern for the well-being and protection of this community, remember this - God called each and everyone of you here! I (Kelton) can personally attest to that for each hired summer staff member knowing the prayers and discernment that went into a highly competitive hiring process. With that, let’s take ownership - together - in Camp Wojtyla’s mission for the greater glory of God!
Watch by 5/4/2024
Week 5 — Embracing Our Differences
(Unlike the others, this lesson is Optional due to its video length, but highly recommended - 90 minutes that may change your life!)
Here is our final video for the 5-part Camp Wojtyla University series. This one is quite longer than the prior videos, so break it up as you need. Also, maybe save this one for after any hard exam - it’s an intellectual bomb but with a message needed more now than ever before. Democrat/Republican, Atheist/Christian, Non-denominational/Catholic, COVID-19 views, Latin Mass/Novus Ordo, and even conflicts within members of our own USCCB - the “diablo” is at work everywhere. But at Camp Wojtyla, let us see past the differences, the masks we impose on others who we disagree with, and embrace each other and our campers with Christ’s eyes - our brothers and sisters of one Body.
Please enjoy this video (and trust me, it’s worth every minute!)
P.S. As alluded to prior, past presenters' occasional choice of words do not reflect the opinions, culture or style of Camp Wojtyla. For this one, the moderator of this presentation can be quite a controversial figure, so please embrace that with patience.
Watch by 5/11/2024