Chaldean Youth Camp & Our Lady of the Fields
Campers enjoy many activities, including a ropes obstacle course.
By Michael Antoon
Chaldean Youth Camp, or CYC for short, is a summer camp program containing a variety of traditional camp activities such as sports, team building activities, art projects, campfires, and indoor games, while at the same time promoting the values and ideals of the Chaldean Catholic Church.
The CYC was created in 2014 and is held annually at Our Lady of the Fields Camp & Retreat Center in Brighton (previously Camp Chaldean). A group of seminarians and volunteers pioneered this camp to bring our Chaldean youth together while making faith fun. In our rapidly evolving world, cultural heritage and identity play an essential role in connecting us to our roots. This camp serves as a beacon for Chaldean youth, providing them with an avenue to (most importantly) foster faith while also being connected to their culture.
Our Lady of the Fields Camp has become a haven for our community to connect and unite. Bought in 2007 from the City of Detroit, it was originally named “Camp Chaldean.” In 2010, construction began on the beautiful St. George Shrine, which was completed in 2012. The property and shrine, located around Euler Lake, was purchased and built with money donated from the Shamaya (Sam) Kassab Fund, the late father of Mary Ann Kassab Ayar.
In 2014, Chaldean Youth Camp was officially in business, offering day and overnight sessions. Later in 2018, His Excellency Mar Francis Y. Kalabat renamed “Camp Chaldean,” giving it the new name Our Lady of the Fields Camp and Retreat Center (OLF). The Diocese also hired Mr. Michael Hickey to be the Executive Director of OLF.
Under the great leadership of Mr. Hickey, 2019 saw the introduction of the high and low ropes course, and the gates of OLF were further opened beyond the Chaldean community. Through 2020 and 2021 OLF continued to host Catholic youth groups and many schools from the Archdiocese of Detroit, as well as from the Diocese of Lansing.
In 2022, OLF partnered with Damascus Mission to host over 1,200 campers over 8 weeks, on a yearly basis. The diocese also purchased an additional 54-acre parcel of property that will be used for future development.
Today, in 2023, the Camp has just about anything, and maybe more than you can even ask for. It features a renovated dining hall with a new deck overlooking the lake, renovated sleeping cabins with new bunk beds and showers, a high and low ropes course, kayaks and canoes, a beach, large sports fields, a rock-climbing wall and zip-line, GAGA pits, updated pontoons for lake cruises, an inflatable water activity course, basketball courts, bonfire pits, and much more!
Many thanks for the camp’s successes are owed to Mr. Michael Hickey, the executive director. Mr. Hickey has been a theology teacher in the Archdiocese of Detroit for more than 30 years. He has taught at St. Frances Cabrini High School, Brother Rice High School, U of D Jesuit High School, and is now the campus minister at Marian Catholic High School. He was also the previous executive director of Camp Sancta Maria, a Catholic summer camp in Gaylord, Michigan. Mr. Hickey, his wife, and five children wholeheartedly dedicate their time to the Camp and its mission of fun, faith, and fellowship. Our Lady of the Fields would surely not be the same without Mr. Hickey.
With the support of OLF and Mr. Hickey, as well as the Chaldean Diocese, CYC’s committee has continued to nourish and inspire our future generations. With 5 different camps, 3 one day and 2 overnight, CYC continues to grow yearly. 1st and 2nd-grade students attend the Co-Ed Junior One Day Camp. 3rd to 6th graders attend the boy’s/girl’s one-day camps. Finally, 7th to 10th graders attend the boys/girls overnight camps.
With fully booked camps year after year, CYC also requires a strong base of volunteers. Many Chaldean young adults, including myself, give their time to CYC because of the fruit they know it bears.
Many (again including myself) were campers in the past and their values were formed through this camp in their childhood.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14) This is what CYC is about, bringing the youth to God.
“CYC provides a chance for our youth to connect with Christ, celebrate our culture, and simply have fun. All these aspects find their foundation in Jesus Christ,” says Chaldean seminarian Matthew Bakkal, who oversees the camp’s ministry program.
From committees to volunteers to activities, all must reflect on Jesus. This camp is such a blessing to our Chaldean community for many reasons, but at the heart of all, it reflects on Jesus.
The successes of both Our Lady of the Fields and Chaldean Youth Camp are ones that our community should take extreme pride in. OLF has become an esteemed retreat center, not just for those in the Chaldean community, and CYC has become a true part of our children’s formation.
If you feel called to support the future of Our Lady of the Fields, as well as our future generations of Chaldean youth, visit olf.camp. Also, visit Chaldeanyouthcamp.com for sponsorship information, and stay tuned to the CYC Instagram page or website for registration information coming in 2024.