“Knowing Christ and making him known,” Camp Gray’s mission statement, was especially present this year as the diocese’s summer camp entered its 71st year of operation.
It was the 1,400 campers – more than ever before at Camp Gray – that gave this summer special meaning.
Camp Gray in Reedsburg is owned by the Diocese of Madison and is comprised of 225 beautiful acres used for co-ed overnight summer camps, retreats, and rental opportunities.
Changes in the camp
Tim Chaptman, appointed Executive Director a year ago, spoke about how Camp Gray recovered from the global pandemic in 2020 and how Camp Gray is celebrating numerous successes today.
Chaptman explained that due to the lack of programming in 2020, when Camp Gray reopened in 2021, there were only about 750 campers in attendance, roughly half the number of campers in 2024.
In 2022 and 2023, “we’ll be back to our pre-COVID numbers,” Chaptman said, and “this year, I think, we’ll finally see the steep increase,” he continued.
Chaptman made suggestions that could explain the increase in numbers, one of which was the successful implementation of a number of long-awaited improvements to the camp grounds.
Modernization work at the camp has been taking place over the past decade and was completed this summer with the addition of a new sand court, but other new additions include new cabins, increasing accommodation capacity to 1,600 campers per summer, renovation of the Chapel of St. Francis of Assisi, a brand new dining hall and the new gymnasium.
Together, these projects have fundamentally renovated Camp Gray and improved the camper experience so much that it’s hard to imagine what the camp looked like before.
Another post-COVID success was that in 2021, Camp Gray celebrated the 100th year of its crazy competition for campers, the Cassidy Games. They embody the childlike joy of competition and are a special tradition for Camp Gray.
But more than anything else, Chaptman highlighted a larger spiritual transformation in the camp.
With its program, Camp Gray aims to educate participants between the ages of seven and 18 to be good young people in general and good Catholics spiritually.
And that education comes through what Chaptman describes as “living in the midst of a Catholic culture” where “the faith is more often instilled than taught.”
Chaptman emphasized the camp’s daily catechesis, which is on the program alongside “canoeing, archery and all the traditional, fun camp activities.”
In the morning and evening catechisms, in which camp counselors “immerse themselves in a saint’s story or their own testimony or talk about what it means to be a son or daughter of God,” and in the joyful fun in the fresh air, Chaptman has seen campers experience “a truly integrated life” of authentic Catholicism mixed with authentic fun.
Chaptman continued: “We try not to make it a retreat, we try not to do anything that is too emotional because I want it to be as close to normal life as possible and show them that we can always live like this.”
“We accomplish this with our campers by simply having a lot of fun, immersing ourselves in Catholic culture, receiving catechesis and seeing the joyful witness of our staff,” Chaptman said.
Father Luke Powers, parochial vicar of St. John Paul II Parish and chaplain of Camp Gray, also spoke about the changes in spiritual formation at the camp since he began working there as a summer volunteer in 2014.
“Things at camp have gotten a lot better,” he said, speaking of the opportunity for campers and staff to learn about the sacraments, and “the quality has really increased.”
“Prayer used to be encouraged, but now it is part of the staff’s daily routine,” he said.
“I offer confession to staff and campers, which wasn’t the case 10 years ago. And I think the best thing about camp is that prayer is a priority for staff,” Father Powers continued.
Every day, Father Powers celebrates Mass for campers and staff. As chaplain, Father Powers’ primary role at camp is to administer the sacraments, but he believes it is equally important to be present and visible.
He said: “It’s rare that people live in the same place as a priest. And just being there and being among people is great. The same goes for the nuns who come during the camp.”
Throughout each summer, Camp Gray invites several groups of nuns to join the campers.
With Father Powers, the sisters give camp participants the opportunity to learn about different vocations and experience how they are lived.
Mary Gernetzke, who was at the camp and is now completing her first year as a summer associate, agreed with Father Powers that religious should also be present for staff.
She said, “It’s really cool to watch a priest or a nun play basketball and think, ‘Yeah, they’re only human,’ and just witness their testimony.”
And Alyssa Tess, a mother, volunteer camp nurse and parishioner of St. Joseph Church in Fort Atkinson – which is part of St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish – added, “As a mother, I love that my children can have fun physically and mentally in a healthy, beautiful environment.”
She said that during her many years at the camp, she has been “impressed by the counselors and their behavior” because her “children see them living their faith and having fun.”
The rest of the year
Camp Gray is opening its grounds to more people this year.
Chaptman explained: “We are working more closely with communities and schools to ensure that the (summer) experience here does not take place in silos.
“I think there’s a danger that kids think, ‘Oh, I had a cool Catholic experience at camp,’ but then they go home and their relationships haven’t deepened and they don’t bring any of that home with them,” Chaptman said.
By inviting diocesan parishes and schools, “we want to focus on training our counselors and then counselors, teachers and parish leaders so that they too can bear more fruit. This year, 16 of the 44 diocesan schools are coming, which we are really excited about,” Chaptman said.
In addition, Camp Gray is pleased to host four open retreats for teens in the fall and spring.
The retreats in October and March are for middle school students and the retreats in November and April are for high school students.
To register a camper for an open retreat, visit campgray.com/weekend-retreats.
To learn more about Camp Gray, call 608-356-8200 or email [email protected].