We started the retreat with a snack and “ice-breaker” competitions led by Cormac Culkeen of St. John, West Toronto, who was also our emcee for the weekend. In the evening was worship, and Andrew Coleman of Christ Church, Deer Park talked about the different ways that people pray and what prayer meant to him.

The next day we awoke to drier weather, which we were grateful for as there was a large game of Capture the Flag to start the morning. We then gathered for worship. A huge thank-you goes out to the St. Paul, Bloor Street youth band, produced by Ian Koiter, who led the worship music for the weekend. The juniors and seniors then split, with the juniors going to “The Underground” to dig deeper into prayer while the seniors stayed in “The Hanger” to explore how personalities can be brought into prayer. The day continued with afternoon activities, including high ropes, wall climbing, skateboarding and playing in the gym. The evening featured an epic game of “Head, Shoulders, Knee and Cups!” We then participated in our last session. The juniors walked the labyrinth (graciously provided by St. Thomas, Brooklin) and prayed together through words, movement and silence, while the seniors discussed how their personalities influenced how they prayed and how to make prayer a meaningful activity in their lives. We rounded off a very busy day with a game of “Flame Battlers” – always a crowd favourite!

On our final day, we worshipped and celebrated the Eucharist together. We were very happy to have Bishop Jenny Andison, our link bishop from the College of Bishops, come to the retreat and celebrate with us. In her homily, she reinforced that “God wants to hear from you” and that we need to be bold and that God loves us. We ended our event with a group photo and an amazing lunch. We look forward to another retreat next September.

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Applications for the next round of bursaries are due May 30. Application forms have been sent to all incumbents and priests-in-charge in the area, so please contact them if you or someone you know is interested in applying.

Some of the 12 recipients from 2018 shared their stories with me. Grace Rockett of St. Aidan, Toronto is studying musical theatre at Sheridan College. She said the bursary helped her pay for the academic books required in her first year. “I am so thankful for this help, as it made first year a lot easier and way less stressful,” she said.

DeAndrea Yeates of St. Paul, Bloor Street, said that without the bursary she would have struggled to the buy textbooks required for the humanities program she is enrolled in at the University of Toronto. Charlotte Day of St. Saviour, Toronto, enrolled in the educational support program at Sheridan College. “Without the grant, I don’t think I would have been able to go to college this year,” she says. “It has been an incredible experience, and I am so thankful for the church I go to.”

To be eligible for the bursary, applicants must demonstrate an ongoing and active involvement in their home parish. They must be entering their first year of study at a recognized post-secondary institution. Lastly, they must be recommended by their incumbent or priest-in-charge, need financial assistance and satisfactorily complete the application.

Thank you to York-Scarborough’s area council for this opportunity to support our youth in the area.

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Afterwards, we moved to our cabins with help from our trusty flashlights, which only added to the excitement of our youth finding their cabins and beds for the night. We awoke to a beautiful morning, very thankful that breakfast was still able to be made and enjoyed by all, even with no power.

The power outage only rejigged our plans slightly and the sessions carried on as if nothing stood in our way. The ages were split into 11-13 year-olds and 14-18 year-olds, all talking about the same topic: “What it means to feel at home.” We all learned about how God wants us to be home in Him, home in our communities, home in our churches, home in our families and home in ourselves.

Our afternoon was filled with excitement on the low ropes and during gym time, mountain biking, team games, skateboarding and chill-out time. With the power restored, our evening sessions had us split into our groups once again with scripture being acted out, stories being told and ending in our small groups to delve deeper into the conversations of “Home.”

The evening ended with an epic game of Flame Battlers – again, ask your youth! The retreat ended with a rousing service of celebration and a sermon telling our youth that fear can drive us away from our home in God. They were tasked with asking themselves what scares them the most and then to “Go and do it!”

We so look forward to our retreat next year and ask that you consider sending your youth to join in all the learning, fun and fellowship!

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