What is serendipity and what does it have to do with the Council Ring where the Lodge Ceremony is held?

By Pati Egan

What does the Council Ring have to do with the word serendipity? First, we need to define the word. According to the dictionary, it means the “faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for.” How does this tie in to our Council Ring?

Since 1960, campers, staff, and volunteers have walked down to the Council Ring every Thursday night. Yes, you read that right – since 1960! Camp’s first summer was 1959, but the Lodge Ceremony was not held at that site. It was held in the Grotto.

While researching this story I spoke with a remarkable priest, Fr. Leo Hayes. He was one of the administrators at Camp in 1959. I sought him out because two volunteers who were at Camp that first summer – Jim Shively and Marge (Vail) Downey – did not think the ceremony was held in the Council Ring that first summer. They are correct. Fr. Leo found the current Council Ring quite by accident! He recalls walking around, finding this spot and thinking this is where the Lodge Ceremony needs to be held! He found a valuable place not sought for. The site was perfect and has been since that point forward.

One can only imagine Fr. Leo looking down at the Council Ring and seeing the space full of campers. Camp only had four units when fate led him to this spot. There was plenty of room for everyone. By 1964, there were seven units and seating was getting a little tight. No one ever considered moving the location – even when Camp grew to 12 units. Seating got creative and campers sat on this big rock.

This picture only shows one unit on the rock but by the 1980s two units were seated there. It should be noted that campers did not bring backpacks down to the Council Ring. No one had them to bring!

While looking at these pictures of the empty Council Ring, it doesn’t feel like a “ring,” but when you are sitting in the Council Ring, it seems to take on a circular shape.

The location of the fire pit has remained basically in the same spot since 1960.  Even though hard rains have washed out the remnants of past fires, I like to think that a few ashes remain from the original fire and the fires from the last 65 years.

It’s remarkable, when you think about it, that when a camper enters the Council Ring today, they are walking in the past footsteps of 66 years of campers. Their mom, dad, grandma, or grandpa might have walked into this same area and felt the same magical feeling campers feel today.

The Council Ring is a tight fit.  It always has been, but there is no better place in Camp to hold the ceremony. There is something mystical about entering the Council Ring that can’t be described in words, just emotions.

Thank you, Fr. Leo Hayes, for finding the perfect place for the Lodge Ceremony. Serendipity certainly played a significant role on that fateful day!

Your Name Is Called…

Most newly called initiates felt a wave of pride, pure excitement, and a little apprehension as they got up to begin the process of becoming a Lodge member. Did your heart seem to skip a beat as your name was called? Did you hesitate for a second before getting up just to be sure it really was your name that was called? Were you a little apprehensive about walking all the way to your unit without your flashlight to get your sleeping bag (it was done this way for a number of years before a staff member went with you).

For six years two or three campers from each unit heard their name called out to begin the initiation into the Lodge of Tekakwitha or the Lodge of Ondessonk. The first campers were called out from Camp St. Philip in 1967. Marge (Vail) Downey recalls the thrill of being called out while attending Camp St. Philip. Camp St. Philip preceded Camp Ondessonk. Marge, as is likely true of all of the original Lodge members from Camp St. Philip, felt the thrill of having her name called out as she began the journey to becoming a Lodge Member.

Friendship From a Shared Experience – Suzy & Pilar

Suzy Munn Mahoney recalled her feelings of being called out for Lodge in 1984. “I was elected into Lodge in 1984 when I was a third-year camper in Goupil with Cheri Tobin as the Unit Leader. It was the first year I went alone and didn’t feel the burden of having to hang out with only my school friends and appease them. I was surprised and absolutely elated. I didn’t have far to walk to get my sleeping bag, but I was still very nervous in anticipation of initiation. Pilar Velez was a camper in another unit and we were initiated together. It was the beginning of a friendship that still exists today. I remember our service activity was soaping saddles in the old barn. Can’t remember the name of our work boss, but those saddles sure were spotless by the time we were done! And then I went on to be as active of a member as I could. I lived in Decatur, which was part of the Springfield diocese at the time. I got to go on a Spring work weekend of sorts in 1985. Not sure what they called it back then, nor do I remember what we worked on, but it was the beginning of my volunteerism at Ondessonk.”

Receiving Your Sash

Perhaps the most exciting feeling, other than having your name called out, was completing the initiation and receiving your sash. Campers in the beginning got them in the same way as is done today, at the Friday Night Campfire. This was not the way it was done in the 1970s and early 1980s. This photo shows new members getting their sashes at the Cathedral in Belleville. New members would arrive from near and far. The ceremony was usually held in December. The anticipation the new members felt at finally getting their sashes was evident in the faces of the new members. This method of getting your sash was dropped around 1985, since it was not fair for the campers and staff who lived quite a distance from Belleville.

I think one thing Lodge Members from Camp St. Philip and those who just got their sashes this year have in common, is, when they hear their name called, it’s pride. Proud of their accomplishment at being chosen, a special feeling that you have been called to join a special group of individuals who have consistently met since 1958. Most importantly, after you have received your sash, there’s a commitment to support the Camp you love for the rest of your life.

The times have changed. Around 2018 Camp, along with many other Camps around the country, started questioning whether we really were honoring Native American Culture by performing this ceremony. Much soul searching, research, and debate went into moving away from a Native American Ceremony to the Ceremony we have today. Change is good!

Click here to learn more about Camp Ondessonk’s Mission & History.