Our Camp Prayer
O God our Father,
Give me clean hands, clean words, and clean thoughts;
Help me to stand for the hard right against the easy wrong;
Save me from the habits that harm;
Teach me to work as hard and play as fair in Thy sight alone as if all the world saw;
Forgive me, when I am unkind, and help me to forgive those who are unkind to me;
Keep me ready to help others at some cost to myself;
Send me chances to do a little good every day, and so grow more like Christ. Amen.
Faith at Kahdalea and Chosatonga: Christian Camps
We are traditional North Carolina Christian summer camps with a deep commitment to spiritual growth. When Anne and David Trufant assumed leadership of CKC in 1990, they dreamed of sharing their love for their faith through summer programming.
Inspired by the relational ministry of YoungLife and the work of Fr. Michael Scanlan at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, David and Anne modeled our community after the wholesome, faith-filled environments of these ministries.
How Faith is Lived Daily:
We hire staff who are serious about their walk with God. We surround our campers with role models who live out their beliefs daily. We never want to push or force; instead, we focus on the development of human virtue set upon a bedrock of prayer.
We recognize that it is the Holy Spirit who ultimately calls and converts. We simply provide the environment where that invitation can be heard. Our camp is a place where faith is “caught” through friendship and respect, allowing it to blossom naturally.
Spiritual Routines:
- Morning Watch: On campus or on trail, we start each day with a staff led reflection and quiet time.
- Morning Prayer: After breakfast each morning we join one another in reciting our camp prayer together.
- Morning Inspiration: At the conclusion of morning announcements, a short reflection is offered. This brief inspiration at the beginning of the day is meant to point our community towards Heaven and to encourage personal spiritual growth.
- Prayer Before Meals: We offer grace before each meal as a community.
- Sunday Worship: We hold an interdenominational chapel service for all staff and campers on Sunday mornings and have a Catholic mass available during our Sunday Rest Hour.
- Cabin Devotions: Each night the staff lead reflections with their cabins. These progress throughout the session from personal sharing to scriptural reflections.
A Home for Catholic Families:
While interdenominational in our approach, Kahdalea and Chosatonga are terrific homes for Catholic campers. The owners and directors of CKC are a Roman Catholic family who view their work as a vocational mission and an opportunity to share the Gospel. In this sense, we are Christian camps with a Catholic worldview.
- Sacraments: Mass is held every Sunday afternoon for Catholic campers and staff, and frequently daily mass is available as well. Confession is generally available on weekends.
- Real Presence: We have a Catholic devotional chapel on the property with the Eucharist present in the tabernacle.
- Clergy: Many visiting priests are CKC alumni who understand our mission—some even discovered their own vocational calling here!
Most of our counselors and campers are practicing Catholics, providing an inviting and sacramental presence within our broader Christian community.
