Youth worship, learn and have fun in Muskoka

ReCharge, the annual diocesan youth retreat, was held on Sept. 27-29 at Muskoka Woods. Bishop Andrew and Mary Asbil, along with members of the Bishop’s Youth Ministry Committee (BYMC), were on site to greet the youth as two coach buses rolled in from Toronto around 9 p.m. on Friday night. In total,120 people from across the diocese gathered to worship, learn and have fun together.

After settling in, the Rev. Yohan Dumpala and team led a time of worship. Bishop Andrew and Mary shared about times in their lives when they felt close to God, and then they led the youth in night prayers before everyone headed to their cabins.

The sessions on Saturday focused on exploring the Season of Spiritual Renewal. This time provided an opportunity to help the youth begin to better understand what renewal is and what it can look like. The session opened by praying for renewal to begin in the hearts and lives of those present and then to spread to each of their families and home churches upon their return.

The Rev. Canon Dr. Judy Paulsen, coordinator of Season of Spiritual Renewal for the diocese, shared via video the four disciplines associated with renewal: widespread prayer; a deeper engagement with the bible; a commitment to worship; and more intentional discipleship. She also talked about her own personal spiritual journey, about how she identified with the biblical story of God calling Samuel, how Samuel’s life changed after his encounter with God, about times when she had experienced God’s presence, and how her life has been impacted through her relationship with God as a follower of Jesus.

Building on the video, Bishop Andrew and Mary spoke about what prayer is and what the Lord’s Prayer is. There were testimonies and stories of prayers being answered and some discussion on how we can respond when our prayers aren’t answered.

I led the evening session focused on the bible: what it is, what its purpose is, and what to do if you read it and don’t understand. The youth also played a very loud and enthusiastic game of Bible Jeopardy, followed by a “Bible Lab” that focused on practical tips for studying scripture more deeply, led by three of the diocesan youth coordinators, Sarah Mair, Ian Physick and Constance Kendall.

In addition to worshipping, praying and learning together, participants got to try out the Kraken, a six-lane water slide, and choose their own afternoon activities, which could include archery tag, crate stacking, the pump track (bikes and scooters), hiking, basketball, arts and crafts, tennis, pickleball, jam time with the band, or having time to catch up on homework and relax. Everyone’s favourite game, Flame Battlers, was played on Saturday night and involved a lot of strategy, team camp fires, and trying to protect your fire from having cups of water poured on it. There was a new activity offered this year, a prayer and reflection space where youth could have quiet time when needed and engage in guided prayer and journaling exercises. The space was a huge success and organized by Rose St. Thomas, co-coordinator of the Youth Ministry Apprenticeship Program.

On Sunday, the Rev. Jillian Ruch, chaplain at Havergal College, celebrated Holy Communion and preached. Youth were invited to bring an orange shirt to wear on Sunday as we marked the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. In her sermon, Jillian said, “reconciliation is something as Christians we are called into. It is about caring for our fellow humans – following the commandment given to us by Jesus. It is in this spiritual renewal time that we can also fully enter a process of reconciliation with our whole Christian hearts.”

After worship, youth were invited to take a bible home if they wanted one, and they could also pick out encouraging words and verses of scripture printed on stickers and small posters as a way of keeping them encouraged and engaged with their faith back home.

The members of the BYMC would like to thank the diocese for its continued support of the ReCharge retreat. We continue to pray for all youth and youth leaders in this diocese that the Holy Spirit would spark spiritual renewal in each of them, and through them that God will bless the Church and this diocese in new and fresh ways.