SENT

What’s your witness? Social media and instant communication inundate us with updates, anecdotes, opinions, jokes, and jabs. But what is this ‘information’ telling us? Better yet, what are we telling the world? What is our story and how are we called to be a witness for Christ?

This retreat focuses on our call to evangelize. The content challenges all teens to recognize God’s movement in their lives. Once they recognize their faith stories, they are equipped with practical tools to share their story with others. “In the long run, is there any other way of handing on the Gospel than by transmitting to another person one’s personal experience of faith?” (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 46)

The goal of “Sent.” is to call and equip teens for the mission of evangelization. Using the stories and characters in the book of Acts as a basis, this retreat will help teens understand that they have an important testimony to share about how God is moving in and through them. It is our baptismal call to share that testimony with the world “so that the divine message may be known and accepted by all men throughout the earth.” (CCC 900)

FOCAL POINT

Scripture tells us that “the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). But the word “joy” quickly loses its strength in a society that conditions us to constantly chase after moments of fleeting happiness. As the search for happiness clouds our understanding of joy, many wonder if the joy the Lord offers us truly differs from the fleeting pleasures the world offers.

This retreat invites teens to rediscover the joy of the Lord. We explore how joy drastically differs from happiness, what it means to be joyful in moments of suffering, and the many ways Christ and the Church invite us to experience deep, lasting joy. This retreat encourages teens to set aside the short-lived pleasures they are bombarded with each day and instead seek out what good things God has in store for us when we learn to joyfully trust in Him.

STAINED GLASS

We can think of our life like a window, and our family as a window frame. The frame supports the window and defines its borders. The window is separate, but inherently connected to the frame. The windows of our lives are like stained glass, made of multicolored experiences that tell a story. Every colorful piece is needed to make the overall window a complete picture — even those that are cracked or cloudy. Middle school youth are encouraged through this retreat content to consider how their “stained glass life” casts dynamic hues and contrasts into the world.

Finally, youth are encouraged to zoom out further to consider their window as one pane within a cathedral of many more windows telling the epic stories of God’s family. In our best moments, the light of God shines through us to cast brilliant colored light into the world. We each have a unique way to shine, and youth are invited through powerful prayer and exciting activities to experience God’s love — embracing their role within their family and the larger family of God along the way.