Every evening at 10 p.m., when the mountain is still and quiet, staff come together in prayer. The camp chaplains, administrative staff, and any counselors who aren't tending to campers gather at Vienna House, the administrative staff headquarters. They sit in a circle, on the floor, on chairs and couches, and join in compline. Together, they reflect on the day through prayer. Silently and aloud, they pray for the needs of the camp: for the counselors, for the parents at home, for the campers who are homesick. Compline has a special place in the prayer life of Shrine Mont Camps. Every night, every camp sings The Good Night Song (a rearranged version of Good Night by The Beatles), followed by a prayer from a counselor or director. The antiphon from compline always follows the last prayer of the day: "Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping; that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace." At Vienna House's compline. one staff member might lead the group - in word or in song, reading aloud the words from the Book of Common Prayer. On this particular evening, John Garland "JG" Wood (below left), one of the two chaplain interns on the mountain, led the group in a chanted compline prayer. And when they are done, they depart in peace, ready to prepare for another day of camp on the mountain.
By Emily Cherry
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The view from the mountainSpreading the good news of Shrine Mont Camps into the Valley of the World.
AuthorsThe View from the Mountain is written by a rotating cast of staff writers and contributors. Archives
September 2018
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