A F AM I L Y F E A S T By DoRena Stuckwisch
C
ompletely exhausted. Zonked. Wiped out. We all know the feeling—the inevitable result of several days of staying up late, snarfing Pixie Sticks, chugging Mountain Dew, and generally having a good time with friends.The exhaustion isn’t fun, but it fades quickly, while the wonderfully embarrassing memories remain.
In June 2004, a group of my friends and their families from all over the country gathered in my hometown, South Bend, Indiana, for several days of fun.This group was mostly teens who know each other from the Higher Things e-mail list,“Mouth House,” and the HT “Making Waves” and “In His Face” conferences. In fact, our gathering was, in some ways, modeled after these conferences. The fun started on a Friday evening, with supper together followed by the Order of Vespers, catechesis, and several hours of caffeine and sugar-induced hyper-activity. The next day began with Morning Prayer, followed by lunch, then several hours at a local park, and supper together once again.The day concluded with the Word of God and prayer in the Order of Vespers. On Sunday we attended the Divine Service at Emmaus (our church in South Bend), had lunch together, and then said our tough good-byes. There were approximately 70 people in all gathered for the weekend. It was a joy to see my own family getting along so well with my friends and their families. By Sunday afternoon, all 70 of us were like one “big happy family.”Through worship, catechesis, playing games, lots of talking and sharing meals together, new friendships were formed and old ones strengthened.
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