Redemptorist High School Retreat Ministry
The Redemptorist High School Retreat Ministry is in it’s fifth year. Between the months of February and April, this ministry will have lead eight full day retreats for three Catholic High Schools within the Greater Toronto Area. The theme this year is: “Christ Be Our Light: We are called to act with Justice!”
Our faith calls us to work for justice, to serve those in need, to pursue peace and defend the life, dignity and rights of all our sisters and brother. This is the call of Jesus, the challenge of the prophets and the living tradition of our Church. We are called to be a leaven, applying Christian values and virtues in every aspect of our lives. (NCCB)
Through this retreat we invite the young people to learn about the need for justice at the global level as well as at the local level. They will be introduced to how through their baptism, they are called to be a voice for justice for those in their life. It is our hope that they will come to understand the world in which whey live and what they can do to make it a better place for all.
The retreat involves the young people in interactive games regarding poverty and the need for justice, input sessions, small group discussion, prayer opportunities and a Prayer Walk that helps them to connect with the poverty within God’s creation. One of the highlight of the day is the Poverty Lunch. Through the distribution of information regarding the poverty of specific regions in our world and “play” money, the students are invited to consider the challenges of dealing with hunger and possible solutions to address some of the poverty issues, while making sure that everyone gets well fed!
Along with Fr. Santo Arrigo C.Ss.R., Sr. Eileen Power CND has joined the leadership team for the retreats and provides her leadership and experience of high school chaplaincy and retreat facilitation to bring our team of Young Adults, Redemptorists Seminarians and Novices to coordinate efforts to provide an awesome experience for our high school students.
On April 5th when we were attending the Retreat at St. Patrick’s Church, we came up with the following ideas for Action!
* Marguerite Mentors – Peer Tutoring
* Lending out the Kitchen on Campus – teaching people in need how to cook.
* Being Education Mentors for homeless men and women
* Habitat for Humanity – fundraising and doing volunteer work
* “Me to We” – taking time to make a difference for children living in poverty, raising awareness, and helping with different projects across world, school supply drives
by Notre Dame School Toronto about 323 days ago
On April 8, we attending the Retreat at St. Pat’s in Toronto and came up with the following ideas for Action that we might be able to do!
* Have Sympathy/Compassion awareness groups* Visit organizations that work with the poor to learn how we might address issues
* Create a Council like “Kids Help Phone” to help reach out to students in need, and make it a place for them to share opinions and issues in a safe place
* Tutoring students who need extra assistance (Peer Tutoring)
* Host Assemblies for the school to build awareness of justice issues.
by Notre Dame School Toronto about 320 days ago
We attended the Retreat at St. Patrick’s on April 7, and we have the following ideas for our Action Plan:
* Make presentations to school/community groups on various topics such as Homelessness, Drugs and Alcohol.
* Volunteer at Homeless Shelters
* Ask for financial donations – loose change/sponsor money, etc.
* Encourage and support other students through particular struggles/troubles – bullying, stress, suicide, peer pressure, etc – support groups and speakers at school and in community.
* Clothing and Food Drives
* Student Musical Events
* Civies days
* Setting up Student Councils, which can better advise staff of current issues and concerns of students.
* School Policy on Non-Discrimination in School.
* Lobby Local Authorities and Governments re: petitions, write letters, advocate free post-secondary education for those below ‘poverty line’ – end cycle of poverty!
* Lobby for more help for people trying to find employment
* Show love!
by Jean Vanier School Richmond Hill about 317 days ago
Here are our ideas from the Action Plan from the retreat on April 14, 2011
* Advocate for programs to help decrease crime rate in cities through addressing poverty, education and difficulties in social network
* Food drives
* Helping children who are on the streets and helping to address needs of child poverty
* Homework club
* Working with the homeless
* Working with seniors in nursing homes or shut-ins
* Assisting with students with special needs for education
by Jean Vanier School Richmond Hill about 314 days ago