By:Education Specialist, Aaron Penciner

At the closing of Second Session’s Pride Shabbat, I felt goosebumps jump up on my arms and a sense of pride flow through me. Not only pride for who I am, but pride for the inclusive community I have the fortune to be apart of.

This was our third Pride Shabbat here at Camp George, and I can say with absolute certainty that it is moments and programs like this that propel camp towards its goal of inclusion. Since the very first Pride Shabbat last year, I saw campers come back this year, excited to experience Pride Shabbat once again. These campers were excited to wear their rainbow Shabbat clothes, excited to dance along to LGBTQ+ anthems and excited to learn about LGBTQ+ inclusion. This excitement was only the tip of the iceberg. Because of programs like Pride Shabbat, Camp George has become a more inclusive and welcoming place.

Pride Shabbat allows campers to practise inclusion beyond just the scope of one Shabbat weekend, but throughout the duration of camp. This ongoing sense of inclusion fosters a community where everyone can feel accepted and everyone can feel at home. Since the very first Pride Shabbat I have seen campers become more comfortable in their own skin and grow more comfortable being their true selves in the camp community.

As we said in the d’var Torah during Saturday morning t’fillah, “Now it is our turn to accept the stranger; people who are different than us and people who we may not understand. We must love the stranger regardless of their abilities, what they look like, who they love, or who they are.”

This message echoes throughout camp during Pride Shabbat and even now, a few days later, I can still hear it echoing.

In a new song we learned this year by Dan Nichols, campers sing the words, “Love is love is love is love is love.” This song has become an anthem for the summer which speaks volumes to the strides camp has made in becoming an inclusive and loving community. These words are heard around camp time and time again and they carry a message for the summer, the future, and for eternity.