PHOTO BY PAULA MULLER
Harry Smith gets a “shave” at an Egyptian barber shop by barber Bob Digiammarino during a bible summer camp at Our Lady, Star of the Sea Parish.
BY GAYLA CAWLEY
MARBLEHEAD — Children can explore ancient Egypt while learning the story of Joseph during bible school at Our Lady, Star of the Sea Parish.
The week-long summer camp started Monday and will culminate in a performance by the young parishioners, aged 4 to 8, on Thursday.
The focus is on a story from the bible, Egypt: Joseph’s Journey from Prison to Palace.
Mary Pagliarulo, director of religious education, said the story goes that Joseph, son of Jacob, was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. He was put in prison, where he learned to interpret dreams. The pharaoh wanted Joseph to decipher his dream so he was let out of the prison and taken to the palace. He eventually rose to vizier, the second most powerful man in Egypt next to the pharaoh.
“We’re going through what it was like at the time,” Pagliarulo said.
The 60 children who registered for camp split their time between rooms set up as an Egyptian marketplace and prison. In the gym, youths learned to sing and dance along to this year’s theme song, “One True God,” which will be part of their performance. The song was a favorite among the kids.
“I liked doing the dance and singing,” said 8-year-old Chloe Rowland.
Ryan Corrigan, 8, also liked the new dance and moves. The camp, which is in its seventh year, features a new theme song each time.
“I like the songs and meeting new friends,” said 8-year-old Ethan Harwood.
Different stations were set up in the marketplace room, which was run by Doris Hawthorne, a volunteer. She said the idea is for children to walk through what Joseph would have during his time in Egypt.
Stations included a barber, where boys could get an olive oil shave. Headpieces, resembling belts, with encrusted jewels were also being made there for the boys to wear during their show. A hairdressing station was set up for the girls, where their headpieces, designed after Cleopatra, one of the most famous Egyptian pharaohs, were being fashioned. The headpieces included beaded braids.
Another station allowed kids to write their name in hieroglyphics, the writing system of the ancient Egyptians. An embalmer station showed how people were mummified after death. The focus was on excess, as the Egyptians believed that everything was taken with them into the afterlife, Hawthorne said.
Food was also featured in the marketplace, where children can snack on figs, bread, dates, grapes and cantaloupe. Artificial farm animals were on display, as livestock were common in the market at the time.
Older students acted as helpers during camp. Ten-year-old Emma Hawthorne and Elena Imhoff walked around the marketplace volunteering their time.
Imhoff said she was helping her mother in the artist shop, where hieroglyphics and jewelry were designed.
Emma Hawthorne spent the day teaching children about the ancient gods. The Egyptians were polytheistic, believing in more than one god. Murals were hung around the room depicting common people and divine figures such as Isis and Osiris.
Doris Hawthorne said people would communicate by similar paintings at the time.
“I just walk around and tell the stories…of the gods or how animals were created by the gods,” Emma Hawthorne said.
Gayla Cawley can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley.