Why Retreat? Taking Time Away to Grow in Grace

BY ELLIOT VANHOY, DIRECTOR OF YOUTH MINISTRY

“Why do we take retreats? Over the course of this year, our goal at St. David’s Youth Ministry has been to create a place that students feel safe, know that they are loved, create deep friendships, and experience the transforming power of God in Jesus Christ. We have been doing this through common meals, common prayer, service, and fun. However, sometimes the best way to build deep relationships and experience God in an all-new way is to get out of our comfort zone and go on a joy-filled adventure!

Taking a retreat opens a space for us to remember that Jesus proclaimed, “I have come that you might have abundant life” (John 10:10)! We were not made for fast paced, busy, cluttered lives; we were made for abundant lives! So much of our students’ time is spent running from school, to sports, to choir, to theater, to jobs, and more. Retreats give us a chance to slow down in a way that allows us to disconnect from the pressures of school, jobs, college applications, and social media. If you pay attention in the Gospels one thing you will frequently notice is that Jesus is often taking his disciples and going away to a quiet place for rest and prayer. Taking a retreat together is a way to imitate the practices of Jesus and to live into the life transforming invitation to come to Jesus for rest and take on his light yoke (Matt. 11:28-30)!”

BY MICHAEL BRENT, MEN’S FELLOWSHIP

On October 15th and 16th, 2004, thirty men gathered for the first St. David’s Men’s Retreat at the Donaldson Brown Conference Center in Port Deposit, Maryland. It was a twenty-two-hour event. This became the model for the next 14 annual retreats (2004 – 2019) and was only stopped by COVID-19 restrictions.

It was a comfortable and relaxed environment where we explored what it means to “Be Christian Men” and how it can help our everyday lives. Our program included spiritual education, worship, creative challenges, and time for fellowship. It was a great balance of teaching and group participation.

Intense exercises and tasks for small groups included conveying our thoughts on being a Christian man in our jobs, homes, neighborhoods, and church through poetry, song, performing a play, and a montage. These highly focused onehalf hour tasks brought out a level of creativity from the small groups that many of us had never experienced.

We were fortunate to have the guidance of our speaker, Dr. Lee K. Iseley, Executive Director of American Missionary Fellowship. He told us later that this was the first event he had lead where everyone was welcomed and there no subagendas or cliques.

The benefit we experienced as a result of this event included: strengthened friendships, spiritual growth, increased bible study attendance, starting new spiritual programs like Alpha, and a strengthened Men’s Fellowship.