Queen of Apostles - Pewaukee, retreat!
I do not often get the opportunity to be on a two night confirmation retreat. I have this job of Program Administrator that keeps me from working the weekends also. But once in a great while, I get the opportunity to do a 2 night Confirmation retreat, and that “great while” occurred January 22-24, when Queen of Apostles parish from Pewaukee brought their Confirmation candidates to TYME OUT.
The first good thing that happened was that I got to work with Becca, our new retreat director. It usually takes a couple of months for a new retreat director to learn all the ins and outs of TYME OUT’s retreats. Becca was no exception. Since she started in October, she has watched and learned the processes of a TYME OUT retreat. Starting in January, I made her the A on retreats, which means she is the person who makes contact with the parish and finds out any significant information which could impact the retreat. Queen of Apostles retreat would be Becca’s first time as an A on a Confirmation retreat. It was great working with Becca. She brings enthusiasm, energy, and a love of God which is so evident to everyone on retreat.
The second good thing that happened was that I got to work with one of our 1st year interns. Andrew Schueller is a senior at Marquette University and is a wonderful faith-filled young man. He brings many of the experiences from the retreats he has been on at Marquette and his own parish. He too has many great ideas that reach the young people and makes them listen to his God-filled experiences. Andrew will graduate in May and wherever he ministers after that, will be very fortunate to have him.
The third good thing that happened on this retreat was I was able to spend the weekend with an old friend of TYME OUT’s, Bill Eder. Bill may have been the most senior member of the group here that weekend, but you would never have known that by watching him. He truly loves what he does and he shares his love of God with the youth. Bill has been the youth minister at Queen of Apostles for a long time, and I hope he will remain there for a long time to come.
The final good thing that happened and the most important good thing was the youth who came to discern their decision about Confirmation. They were a very open group, willing to share, willing to listen. They were very accepting. There were 2 youth from St. Mary’s Waukesha, who joined them on this retreat and they warmly welcomed them into the group. In fact, one of the Individual Retreatants commented at the end of the retreat that he thought he couldn’t have had a better time on his own parishes retreat. A true testament to all the participants.
God was truly present on this retreat. Actually, I know God is present on every retreat. I was just fortunate enough to be a part of this experience. Thank you Becca and Andrew. Thank you Queen of Apostles Confirmation candidates, adults and Bill. (Not to say that Bill isn’t an adult!) I feel truly blessed to have been a part of your weekend.
God’s Peace,
Margie Lang