I met some of the teens and the youth ministry leaders of this parish during at Notre Dame Vision this summer. I was flattered to get a call this fall inviting me to speak at their confirmation retreat.

There were 130 freshmen, sophomores, and juniors attending the retreat and 30 peer leaders. I always hold my breath when asked to do confirmation retreats because many teens dread being at a mandatory weekend retreat experience.

This weekend was really a refreshing experience for me. The teens were very open. You can tell that some really good work and relationship building has been done in the faith formation sessions. The peer leaders gave some very solid witnesses on how their faith impacts friendships, choices, family and more.

There were funny skits with talented teens.

(fuzzy picture but a great skit from the weekend!)

There was free time and I got into a great basketball game. The trust walk had a different twist and was a great experience for me.

The retreat even ended with a curtain call for me….well, actually it was for Yogi Bear.

Thanks to Susan Vanderwyden and all the adults and teens for a great experience of a confirmation retreat…oh, and Susan, the little old lady and her dog made it safely to the vet hospital(you HAD to be there).