Programs
Explore
Explore is a day camp program for campers (entering grades 1-6 in fall of 2025) to adventure into God’s deep love through creation, friendship, and faith. Enjoy archery-tag, creek stomping, hiking, arts & crafts, music, bible lessons, Mass, and field games, gaga-ball and NEW THIS YEAR our high and low ropes course!
Mission Week
The mission is a week-long work camp for high school aged youth. (entering grades 9-12 in fall of 2025) Some youth already feel an undeniable call from God to go out and minister to God’s people. At the very heart of this mission week is prayer, sacrifice, evangelization, service and a deep love for Mary.
Venture
Venture is an overnight program for campers entering grades 7-12. Campers will discover how daringly bold and joyful it is to live for the Lord as they make new friends, spend days full of exciting activities and bible studies, and spend evenings full of shenanigans and prayer.
Camp Staff
Are you a young adult (age 18+) who’s in love with Jesus and the Catholic church, loves to have fun but also dependable, and wants a paid job helping kids have the best summer ever? Come build God’s kingdom with us!
Volunteer at OLMC
We love that you want to lend your hands and heart to our mission. Please let us know what you like doing, how God has gifted you and we’ll put you to work!
Why choose olmc?
Experiential education works, and whether we realize it or not, every experience we provide as a church teaches people. At OLMC, we are passionate about providing young people with experiences that are engaging, vibrant, and fun which will draw them into a relationship with Christ. It’s not enough to have “the fun stuff” and separate out “the God stuff”. This teaches a faith that is separate from so many things that we naturally love: family, friends, sports, leisure, hobbies, and more. The OLMC difference is Adventure Catechesis: intentionally weaving the faith naturally into the exciting and fun activities of camp. The method is the message, and we want to empower young people to bring their faith into everything they do.
OLMC Camp & Retreat Center
The mission of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Camp & Retreat Center is to provide authentic opportunities for people to encounter Christ, His Church, and one another through outdoor programming and retreats.
Outdoor programming and retreats accomplish organically what so many of us fight to achieve in our homes and parishes each day: interrupting the onslaught of busyness, technology, and messaging and creating more space for relationship, beauty, and quiet.
WHY WE BOUGHT A CAMP
%
Confirmed Catholics in PA leave the faith by age 21
(2014 Pew Research Study)
We have all heard the bleak statistics about the number of Catholics leaving the Church. Catholics in Pittsburgh who are still active are particularly concerned about our children: we want to know how to help our children experience and nurture a vibrant, lifelong faith.
What is working in other dioceses across the country:
Adventure Camps & Retreat Centers!
Dry Bones ministries
Dry Bones Ministries is a new 501(c)3 nonprofit whose mission is to revitalize the faith of and build a future for Catholics in Pittsburgh. We are a grassroots evangelization ministry made up of local priests and lay people who want to identify and meet the needs of the people in our Diocese.
To that end, we have started OLMC, a perfect place where people can experience the power and beauty of nature and be totally immersed in the power and beauty of Catholicism. Outdoor programming accomplishes organically what so many of us fight to achieve with our families each day: interrupting the onslaught of busyness, technology, and messaging and creating more space for relationship, beauty, and quiet.