During the week of July 20 through 24, over one hundred current and future St. Viator students participated in a weeklong camp consisting of community service and worship through song. This year marked the third running of Service and Song, led by president Fr. Corey Brost.

The program’s slogan, “Praise, Serve, Live,” emphasizes its core principles. Every day, participants actively praised God through song and prayer. They served by participating in one of two “tracks” that make up the name: service, which assisted local groups helping those in need, and song, which taught musical skills for singing or playing instruments at Mass. The event hopes to inspire those involved to continue to live out what they did during the week.

The attendees, who ranged in age from sixth through eighth grade, were led by St. Viator students, faculty, and alumni as they served various organizations, such as Feed My Starving Children (where they packed over 50,000 meals to feed 139 kids for a year), Wounded Warrior Project, Sisters of the Living Word, the Viatorian Provincial Center’s garden, as well as numerous others. The campers were divided into about ten groups, each with a parent leader.

Those in the song track spent the day rehearsing for the songs they sang each day and ultimately for the final Mass, under the direction of Ms. Norma Garcia.

Junior Kaitlyn Baxendale, who helped in the song track, enjoyed the “impromptu jam sessions” they had. “We sang a bunch of fun songs, and everybody bonded during it,” she said.

The program concluded with a family mass in the chapel showcasing the efforts of the members of the song track.

“I hope the participants gained a love for service and liturgical music and cont
inue to serve in their everyday lives,” said Baxendale.