By Bob Reddy (Florida Catholic)
09/20/2016
Each Wednesday throughout the summer women from the Venice area have been gathering for a summer camp. Unlike camps for children, the “Mary and Me” camp at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish is intended to bring the participants closer to Mary and her son, Jesus.
Participants in the Mary and Me summer camp for women at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Venice make rosaries during a rencent gathering.
Organized by Gail Davey, of the Council of Catholic Women, the camp came out of an idea of keeping the women of the parish active throughout the summer when many clubs and other programs slow down or shut down completely.
“We wanted to continue what we do during the season for the year-round women,” Davey explained.
The result was the “Mary and Me” day camp.
Divided into short sessions of one to two hours, participants can come and go as they please, take part in what they are interested in. Segments include: rosary making, dress making, a book club, brown bag lunch, and Bible study.
Partipants in teh Mary and Me summer camp for women at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Venice sort through material to make dresses for the needy.
“It’s ideal for people who are busy but still want to participate,” Davey said. “There is no pressure, just a fun time for everyone.”
The day begins with prayer and then the rosary makers start stringing the beads. The rosaries will be distributed to Rosaries International, which sends them to locations in need around the world.
“This is a lot of fun,” one new rosary maker said. “It was hard at first but it is for a good cause.”
The next session includes dress making. Donations from Jim and Catherine Kelly helped get the group started. Some dresses are made from scratch out of donated materials, others are created by sewing a shirt and skirt together.
“It’s not high fashion,” said one of the dressmakers. “But they are practical and some of them are really cute.”
As with the rosary makers, some of the dressmakers are so into the effort that they do a lot of the work at home. The dresses for needy women and girls will be distributed to local charities and possibly to missions in the rural U.S. and Caribbean.
The book club includes weekly reading selections from different inspirational books, mostly from Catholic authors, including Pope Francis.
The Bible study revolves around the readings of the week, with a particular emphasis on the coming weekend Gospel selection. Time is allowed for reflection and discussion.
Throughout the day, the number of women participating varies from a dozen to more than 40. Each week the numbers also varied, but that is okay as far as Davey is concerned. “It is great to have everyone getting together. This is something fun to do. Putting our faith into productive action.”
Surprised by the overall success of the camp, Davey is working to keep the momentum going hoping to find space at the parish to accommodate the group into the fall and winter. Even with that challenge, Davey is confident the group will keep meeting in some capacity. “We started something great. We have to keep it going.”
For more information about the “Mary and Me” camp, please contact Our Lady of Lourdes Parish at 941-497-2931.
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