Source And Summit Summer Sizzler Is Different

Youth and adult volunteers from around the diocese spent the afternoon of July 13 at Sarto Retreat House at the Source and Summit Summer Sizzler, the fifth annual Source and Summit summer follow-up. This featured Father Chris Forler and Father Joseph Mary, Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, as its main speakers.

The main emphasis of any Source and Summit event is the Eucharist, which is the Source and the Summit of our faith, as quoted directly from the Catechism. Throughout the event, the Host is exposed for adoration. All the events flow from, and lead back to, Christ present in the Eucharist. It is through the Eucharist that we can be most united with God.

“The kids that attend the summer follow-up are the ones who are searching for more,” said Gail Shetler, coordinator. Shetler explained that this summer’s theme was “Feeding the Fire.” The retreat focused on leading the youth to a greater understanding of God’s presence in their lives, and to call them to a deeper relationship with Him through the Holy Spirit. “We invite them to look into their own lives and ask, where am I with my faith life?” Shetler said.

Father Forler began his talk by addressing the question: what does falling away from God look like? He used the story of King David to relate to some common challenges that youth face today. Following his talk, Father Joseph Mary talked about feeding the fire of faith. He explained that God is constantly calling us to a deeper relationship with him, and that we must respond to that call by seeking Him out.

After his talk, Father Joseph Mary draped a stole around the base of the monstrance, and invited the youth to come forward to Christ and reach out to Him in a very tangible way, by taking hold of the stole and resting in His presence.

Holly Thieman, one of the participants, reflected on how this encounter with Christ in the Eucharist was different from previous Source and Summit events. “You would go up there and kneel directly before Him, and hold on to the cloth,” Thieman explained. Not only is Jesus always seeking us out, it is a good reminder that we must also reach out to Him. “We can go to Jesus.”

Throughout both talks, and during the afternoon, Father Forler, Father Joseph Mary and Father Jim Endress were available to offer the sacrament of reconciliation, and many youth and adults took advantage of the opportunity.

After lunch and a game of kickball, the youth listened to another talk about the “Our Father;” they were reminded of how Christ teaches us how to pray. The youth also divided into small groups; each created a skit that showed how youth could fall away from the faith, and how they could always come back. Following the skits, the youth attended Mass and supper together. In the evening after recreation, Father Christopher Droste offered a witness talk about his own life and his own path back to God.

“My favorite part was the last thing we did,” Thieman explained. Father Forler, Father Joseph Mary and Father Droste were in the front of the chapel, and “we were able to go up to them and share a prayer intention, and they would pray for us and with us.” The youth could ask for a specific or a general prayer intention, and the priests would lay hands on them and pray for the Holy Spirit to come down on them and become a presence in their lives. “I’d never been to a prayer service like that.” Thieman said.

The Summer Sizzler is a great retreat for the youth because it allows them to have “a greater awareness of who God is, and a better understanding of their relationship with God,” Shetler reflected, “and the adults who help get just as much out of it.”

Not only is the Summer Sizzler great for spiritual formation, but it is a formative experience for the body, mind and soul. “We have reconciliation, prayer, adoration and reflection, but we also have time for fun, activities and friendship,” Shetler explained. “The whole person benefits.”

“This was my second time to attend the summer Source and Summit,” Thieman said. “Some people think that if you’ve gone once, you’ve seen it all and it will be the same the next year.” However, that was not the case. “Some things were similar, and some things were definitely different.”

The next Source and Summit retreat will be March 14-16, 2014. The theme is “Behold, I Make All Things New,” and Ralph Martin will be the main speaker with a focus on the New Evangelization. The emphasis is to “invite youth to step up to the plate, and to help adults understand their role in the Church,” says Shetler. They will offer the retreat for youth, with a separate session for adults. Both the Summer Sizzler and the larger Source and Summit retreats are great times to re-center oneself and remember what’s really important: “Go back to a deserted place. Get out of your daily distractions and go back to God.”