Salt & Light Youth Group Retreat
This past weekend, October 19th & 20th, the St. Sarkis Salt & Light Youth Group held our first Retreat, which took place at Camp DeWolfe in Wading River, NY. We could not have asked for a more serene and picturesque campsite to host our 26 youth and 11 facilitators who attended. The weather, the scenery, the companionship and the agenda all worked hand in hand to provide our attendees, adults and youth alike, with memories and friendships to last a lifetime.
The agenda for the weekend was a carefully planned balance of religious education (focused solely on understanding our Soorp Badarak), sports, nature and outdoor fun, campfire/song nite and of course kef-time with Armenian music and dancing.
The Soorp Badarak was presented and explained to the youth from a book called “In Remembrance of Him”, and each portion of the Badarak was presented by one of our facilitators. The symbolism of everything, from the structure of church architecture to the Vestments worn by The Celebrant, the meaning of The Eucharist, to the hymns and prayers of the Badarak, was broken down and explained by both our facilitators and Der Nareg. Additionally, the youth was taught how to follow proper “Church Etiquette” such as making the sign of the cross when you enter church, not crossing your legs, not putting your hands in your pockets, etc. The youth were engaged and asked a lot of interesting questions which facilitated discussions led by Der Nareg late into the evening on Saturday. The lessons were dispersed throughout the day on Saturday, interwoven with breaks for a hike along a beautiful nature trail that led down to a beach, as well as free-time for basketball, soccer and gaga-ball. After dinner, our group gathered around a campfire to enjoy smores and, led by our facilitator Michael Gostanian, learn the words and melody to the song “Giligia”. After the campfire, the youth all gathered in our main hall and had a fantastic time dancing to Armenian music, hanging out and playing various games in small groups throughout the room.
On Sunday, in order to capture and apply all the discussions from the day before, our youth group was blessed to attend a very special Badarak at the campsite. The same hall that they sat in most of the day Saturday was transformed into a church setting, with chairs set up in pews, and an altar set up with the Holy Gospel, the Chalice, Candles and even a picture of the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus. Our heartfelt thank you to Der Nareg, our Deacons (and facilitators) Raffi and Razmig Nenejian, Mrs. Zepiur Ardzivian, who came to the campsite especially to sing during the Badarak, and our Altar boys (and youth group members), Aram and Levon Nenejian, Hovsep Terterian and Vahan Gostanian, for putting together a most meaningful and beautiful service that morning. The children were provided with custom printed copies of the Divine Liturgy to follow along, and participated in the prayers, the hymns, the Kiss of Peace, Holy Communion and Kissing of the Bible after the service. Church Etiquette guidelines were revisited and encouraged throughout the Badarak. The service was followed by a “coffee hour” for the youth, where they enjoyed apple cider and donuts outdoors and then spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the campsite and all of the beauty that nature had to offer.
Throughout the weekend, we observed smiles, laughter, hugs, giggles, and small group discussions… all reassurances that our intentions of providing a meaningful and memorable time for our youth group were achieved. Our group leaders and facilitators all left with a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction knowing that not only did we provide a fun experience for our kids, but we also offered insights and knowledge of our Soorp Badarak, with the hopes of bringing them closer to their Church and closer to Christ.
The agenda for the weekend was a carefully planned balance of religious education (focused solely on understanding our Soorp Badarak), sports, nature and outdoor fun, campfire/song nite and of course kef-time with Armenian music and dancing.
The Soorp Badarak was presented and explained to the youth from a book called “In Remembrance of Him”, and each portion of the Badarak was presented by one of our facilitators. The symbolism of everything, from the structure of church architecture to the Vestments worn by The Celebrant, the meaning of The Eucharist, to the hymns and prayers of the Badarak, was broken down and explained by both our facilitators and Der Nareg. Additionally, the youth was taught how to follow proper “Church Etiquette” such as making the sign of the cross when you enter church, not crossing your legs, not putting your hands in your pockets, etc. The youth were engaged and asked a lot of interesting questions which facilitated discussions led by Der Nareg late into the evening on Saturday. The lessons were dispersed throughout the day on Saturday, interwoven with breaks for a hike along a beautiful nature trail that led down to a beach, as well as free-time for basketball, soccer and gaga-ball. After dinner, our group gathered around a campfire to enjoy smores and, led by our facilitator Michael Gostanian, learn the words and melody to the song “Giligia”. After the campfire, the youth all gathered in our main hall and had a fantastic time dancing to Armenian music, hanging out and playing various games in small groups throughout the room.
On Sunday, in order to capture and apply all the discussions from the day before, our youth group was blessed to attend a very special Badarak at the campsite. The same hall that they sat in most of the day Saturday was transformed into a church setting, with chairs set up in pews, and an altar set up with the Holy Gospel, the Chalice, Candles and even a picture of the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus. Our heartfelt thank you to Der Nareg, our Deacons (and facilitators) Raffi and Razmig Nenejian, Mrs. Zepiur Ardzivian, who came to the campsite especially to sing during the Badarak, and our Altar boys (and youth group members), Aram and Levon Nenejian, Hovsep Terterian and Vahan Gostanian, for putting together a most meaningful and beautiful service that morning. The children were provided with custom printed copies of the Divine Liturgy to follow along, and participated in the prayers, the hymns, the Kiss of Peace, Holy Communion and Kissing of the Bible after the service. Church Etiquette guidelines were revisited and encouraged throughout the Badarak. The service was followed by a “coffee hour” for the youth, where they enjoyed apple cider and donuts outdoors and then spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the campsite and all of the beauty that nature had to offer.
Throughout the weekend, we observed smiles, laughter, hugs, giggles, and small group discussions… all reassurances that our intentions of providing a meaningful and memorable time for our youth group were achieved. Our group leaders and facilitators all left with a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction knowing that not only did we provide a fun experience for our kids, but we also offered insights and knowledge of our Soorp Badarak, with the hopes of bringing them closer to their Church and closer to Christ.