The Beginning 故事的開始
Our initiative first started near the end of 1977 by a group of young Chinese Catholics from Toronto and Windsor, with the help of Rev. Bob Seguin. It started off as a summer conference called the Eastern Canada Chinese Catholic Community Conference (the “ECCCLC”) with the intention to give young Chinese Catholics, especially students in Canada, an opportunity to get together for spiritual growth. The first ECCCLC was held at Our Lady Queen of Apostles Renewal Centre in Mississauga, Ontario. It was extremely successful and brought tremendous encouragement to young Catholics. It was then decided that ECCCC should be run every year. Since then, participants have come from many areas, including Waterloo, London, Kingston, Guelph, Greater Toronto Area, Ottawa and Montreal, taking turns to share the administrative responsibilities.
In 1983, the name ECCCC was changed from a “Summer Conference” to “Living Camp”, which signifies – ‘daily living nature’ of our event – the importance for perseverance to live out our faith in our daily lives and reflects the livelier nature of the event to profess our faith.
Ever since 1977, ECCCLC has been an annual cross-parishes event created by youth for youth.
加東的故事始於一九七七年底，一群來自多倫多和溫莎的年輕華人天主教徒在鮑勃·塞根神父（Rev. Bob Seguin）的幫助下，開始了一個名為「加拿大東部華人天主教社區會議」（Eastern Canada Chinese Catholic Community Conference）的夏季會議。會議的目的是為加拿大的年輕華人天主教徒—特別是學生—提供一個聚會的機會，以促進靈命成長。第一屆會議在安大略省密西沙加市的 Our Lady Queen of Apostles Renewal Centre 舉行。會議非常成功，為參與的年輕天主教徒帶來了巨大的鼓勵。自此加東被認為應該每年舉行一次。 從那時起，來自滑鐵盧、倫敦、京士頓、貴湖、大多倫多地區、渥太華和滿地可等許多地區的參加者輪流協助舉行會議。
一九八三年，加東的名稱由「夏季會議」改為「生活營」（Living Camp），意為帶出此活動的「日常生活性」，強調在日常生活中堅持不懈地實踐信仰的重要性。生活營的名稱也更好地反映加東的活潑性，在富有活力的活動中宣認信仰。
從那時起，加東成為一年一度由青年主導︑為青年而設的跨堂區生活營。
Pre 1990 ECCCLC Objectives 一九九零年前的加東目標
According to the old handbooks, the following set of objectives was used from 1978 (the 2nd Living Camp) until 1990 (the 14th Living Camp):
- To promote spiritual growth through dialectic and spiritual sharing
- To bring both Christians and non-Christians closer to God’s love and truth
- To contribute to an experience of a living Christian Community
根據舊手冊，以下是一九七八年（第二屆）至一九九零年（第十四屆）生活營的目標：
- 透過辯證和靈性分享促進靈命成長
- 帶領基督徒和非基督徒更接近天主的愛和真理
- 為一個活生生的基督徒社群的體驗作出貢獻
The Organizing Committee 籌備委員會
1991 was an important year in the course of ECCCLC history. Prior to 1991, ECCCLC was organized by one particular local community, which most of the time turned out to be either Toronto (Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish) or Montreal as they have better human resources. At the end of the 1990 ECCCLC, representatives from different communities gathered, trying to decide which parish should be responsible for organizing the 1991 ECCCLC. All local communities, including Toronto and Montreal, found it difficult to handle such a task as they were already occupied with other parish responsibilities.
Fr. Thomas Au, at that time, suggested a new way to organize ECCCLC. He proposed one single planning committee is to be formed by people joining voluntarily regardless of which community they belong to. His suggestion was well received. This system has then been used. Every year, participants in ECCCLC are asked to volunteer themselves to be organizers for the next ECCCLC. Those who take up the role of coordination would form the Organizing Committee. Those who are responsible to execute program would become members of the Working Team.
一九九一年是加東歷史上重要的一年。在一九九一年以前，加東均由一個特定的堂區團體—多數都是多倫多（嘉模聖母堂）或滿地可主辦，因為他們有比較充足的人力資源。在一九九零年的加東生活營完結時，來自不同堂區的代表聚集在一起，試圖選出負責組織一九九一年生活營的堂區。可是，所有堂區包括多倫多和滿地可都表示很難再處理這個任務，因為他們的堂區職務已很繁重。
當時，區耀邦神父提出一種新的籌備方式。他提議成立一個義務性質的籌備委員會，不論堂區，有興趣的人都能加入。大家都讚同他的建議，並自此採用了這個方式。每年，加東的參與者都會被邀請成為下一屆的義務籌備成員。有興趣承擔規劃及聯絡工作的人會組成籌委會，而那些執行活動的則組成工作小組。
Post 1990 ECCCLC Objectives 1990年以後加東的目標
From 1991 (the 16th Living Camp) till present, the ECCCLC objectives are to enrich Christian faith through:
- Spiritual sharing
- Community life
- Chinese culture
從一九九一年（第十六屆生活營）至今，加東透過以下的方式來豐富信仰：
- 靈性分享
- 團體生活
- 華人文化