Fun and faith with a medieval theme

20 Silverion Group

by DANIEL CÔTÉ DAVIS

A group of 47 Catholic young people from various parts of New Zealand had a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ and Our Lady at Silverion Summer Camp 2020, held at Ngakuru Tyburn Monastery, near Rotorua, from January 17-19.

The camp is an annual Catholic medieval fantasy summer camp for 8- to 16-year-olds and this year brought together 47 children and 35 adults in the “Kingdom of the Holy Spirit” (Silverion).

The mission of Silverion is to form young boys and girls into men and women of God and provides a “rite of passage” into a personal adult faith that has the courage and daring to last a lifetime with all its challenges.

Among the priests serving the mission of Silverion this year were Fr Michael Therese of the Community of St John and Fr Gregoire Vidal of the Community of the Beatitudes. Also present were Sister Clare Lyons and Sister Therese Assemat of the Community of the Beatitudes.

Camp director Daniel Côté-Davis, DRS at John Paul II High School in Greymouth (and who plays the character Ranger Earendel in Silverion) said, “Silverion Camp is held on a site of perpetual adoration and, with the foundation of a year of prayer from the Tyburn sisters for our Children of Light, in this way it draws its strength directly from the testimony of the
Tyburn martyrs, who preferred death than to renounce their faith in the face of tyranny”.

“Our young people who attend this camp, learn through the Tolkien-inspired story-line which they are immersed in, as well as from catechesis, rosary, Mass, adoration, good role models and fellowship, how to train and fight for the Lord through the gifts of the Holy Spirit and through the complementarity of authentic masculinity and femininity. It’s also a lot of fun!”

One young person said “at the camp we learned of the importance of Jesus and the Holy Spirit being in our lives. A part of the fun was dressing up and learning how to either wield a sword or a bow and arrow”.

It is safe to say the young people are already looking forward to Silverion 2021. One said: “Everyone had a blast, can’t wait for next year.”

Next year’s camp will be from January 15-17, 2021 at Ngakuru Tyburn Monastery. “Joy in the White Stag (Jesus Christ) and the Lady of Light! (The Virgin Mary).”

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