Deanery Retreat Talks: 101

Retreats, like no other youth ministry activity, provide us with opportunities to directly engage with youth in our parishes. Retreats serve as an excellent vehicle to get teens away from the many distractions of their day and, instead, help them develop their relationship with Jesus Christ while coming to a deeper understanding of the teachings of the Catholic Church. For many, this retreat may be the first step in making a life-long decision to follow Jesus. For others, their relationship will be deepened and intensified during retreat. Regardless, retreats offer our teens a variety of profound spiritual encounters with Jesus Christ through receiving reconciliation, the Eucharist, participating in various forms of daily prayer, and being challenged and formed to deepen their relationship with Christ through inspiring retreat talks.

That’s where you come in! You have been invited to share your own Christian witness in the form of a retreat talk! Thank you for your consideration of this opportunity. You might be a bit overwhelmed at the thought, but we hope that the following information helps you prepare well to share Jesus with the young people in our community. So let’s begin at the beginning….

WHO IS ON A RETREAT TEAM?

The role of retreat talk presenter is one of several important roles on the retreat team. Teams are made up of professional ministers and volunteers from the deanery community. All retreat team members over the age of 18 are required to be Safe Parish trained if they serving youth under the age of 18 years old.

STEP BY STEP: HOW TO WRITE A RETREAT TALK

Step One:
Seek Divine Intervention
You may be eager or very overwhelmed at the thought of giving a retreat talk. But please know you have been chosen for this very moment by God. You have a story to share.

Before you even put pen to paper, call upon the Holy Spirit to fill you with Christ’s love and grace. Ask the Spirit to direct your thoughts and words. Ask the Spirit to open the hearts of those who will hear Christ speak through you.

Step Two:
Check the Outline for Content
Imagine a tower of blocks. Each block must be firmly placed to create a foundation for the blocks that come after it. Similarly, if a retreat talk does not include all of the points, it will not give the solid foundation needed for subsequent talks. For this reason, you are asked to review the required content of your talk and stick to it closely. The purpose of the required content is to pass on the Tradition of the Church to the young people we serve. While you are welcome to enhance your retreat talk with optional content and personal experiences (often called your witness), we want to make sure the main points do not get lost along the way. If you have questions or concerns (or just want to know how your talk relates to others on the retreat), please do not hesitate to reach out to Michelle or Kelli. Here are some of our most common deanery retreat outlines:

Step Three:
Add Your Personal Witness
Providing solid content alone is not enough to inspire young people to act upon their faith. We need to help young people take the step (or, sometimes, the giant leap) from thinking about faith in terms of head knowledge to being so moved into action by a faith that inflames their hearts.

Pope Paul VI had it right when he said, “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.”

Youth will be inspired by your life experience. When preparing your retreat talk, include concrete ways you have attempted to grow in your relationship with Christ, including your everyday, ordinary witness of being a Christian doing the best he/she can to live out the Catholic faith. Feel free to share those moments in time when you felt particularly close to Christ or, on the other hand, may have distanced yourself from Him. Share the grace you have received in the Sacraments or those “God winks” when He showed His face in a moment of trial. All of these little stories from your life will make the content more relatable for the youth on retreat.

PS: Don’t worry if you don’t have a dramatic story of conversion in your life. You still have a story to share!

Things to Consider When Preparing a Talk:

• Know your audience. Think about who they are. Do your research by asking questions during free time or consulting the youth ministers who care for these youth regularly. The more you know, the more able you will feel to speak to them in a meaningful way. Are they super excited about their faith and eager to jump in with both feet? Are they anxious seniors preparing for college? Are there Confirmation candidates present who are “required” to attend the retreat? Do they question the existence of God? Do they have a more active faith life than the adults in their lives?

• Be conscientious about the time you’ve been allotted. Keep an eye on the clock or have a friend in the audience alert you with a gesture when you hit the five or ten-minute mark.

• Do not reuse an old talk. Even if you have given this particular talk, or a similar one, before please do not reuse an old talk. In the time that has elapsed, you have grown in your relationship with Christ and your understanding of the faith. Review and refresh your talk with stories that are more current or relevant to the young people on this particular retreat. The outline may be exactly the same, but every retreat group is different and the Spirit may prompt you to adjust your talk to meet for this new purpose.

• Root yourself in Scripture and the Catechism. Referencing the Sacred Scriptures and Catechism throughout the writing process will remind you what the core teachings of the Church are, and how the faithful are called to live that out. Often, a single scripture verse can guide the whole direction of a talk; and that verse will remind the retreatant of their experience here for years to come. Even if you do not directly quote these resources, use them to form your own mind and heart throughout the talk-writing process.

• Consult your favorite podcasts and videos. Think about it, the faith-based podcasts and videos you watch are likely similar to a retreat talk. They have a goal. They stick to content that supports the goal. And, the really good ones, help you feel like you know the speaker personally because they share stories (witnesses) about their lives. If you don’t frequently listen to a podcast, may we suggest googling Sister Miriam James, Matt Fradd, Sarah Swafford, Fr. Mike Schmitz, Bishop Robert Barron, Jason and Crystalina Evert, etc.

• Write out your retreat talk as an outline, not a narrative. This will help you speak more casually and less like you are reading a scripted speech. It also will allow you to move more swiftly if your time is starting to run out.

• Research and ask questions regarding content. Retreat talk presenters are tasked with handing on the Catholic faith, not their opinion. If you need assistance with conveying the Tradition of the faith, reach out to your pastor, a parish staff member, or a Catalyst Catholic team member.

• Avoid “Church lingo” and acronyms. While we as adult volunteers and parish employees might understand the vernacular, youth might lose the point of certain phrases or concepts due to the wording. When in doubt, take the time to explain all church-y words or concepts. For example, rather than saying, “I participated in RCIA,” say “I became a Catholic as a teenager. I participated in a process called the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, which provided me with instruction about what it means to be Catholic and helped me prepare to receive the Sacraments.” It can be helpful to use resources meant for younger audiences (such as the YouCat) to see the language and style used for those who are first learning about a topic.

• Share details and be descriptive:
  Bad detail and description: My friend Sam knew I had been drinking a lot. He encouraged me to go to Confession. I had a life-changing experience in Confession.
  Good detail and description: My friend Sam encouraged me to go to Confession on my senior retreat. He knew me well. He knew I was struggling with alcohol and using it to hid the hurt in my life. Of course, I resisted the idea. Who wants to confess thw things we do in secret to another person? I made up excuses for why I wouldn’t go. In reality, I hadn’t been to Confession in years, maybe even since my First Reconciliation. I was so nervous as I entered the chapel. What if I forgot what to do or say? What if the priest reacted with anger? As I entered, I heard the words to “Lay It Down” being sung. The lighting was soft and warm. It was like God himself was inviting me to put my anxiety aside and pour my heart out to Him. Suddenly, all of my fear melted away and I received the most overwhelming experience of God’s love for me through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. By admitting my sins and actually hearing the words of forgiveness from God, I came to realize that I had been living in shame for far too long. And with the help of the priest, who truly was Christ in person, I realized that I needed to make changes in my life.

• Less is more when sharing the lows of your witness. While detail is good, err on the side of caution when talking about topics that might be sensitive. Do not get into the scandalous or gritty details of the low points of your life (i.e. abuse, alcohol and drug use, sexual activity, mental health or suicide, etc.)

• Draw the attention of your audience. If you are a small group leader or working in the kitchen during retreat, the moment of your retreat talk should have a different look and feel. Bring a fresh, professional outfit and change just before speaking. (Don’t worry, you can go back to sweatpants or a hairnet when it is complete.) Stand at the front of the audience. (In small group ministry we suggest leaders sit among the group and the same level to show oneness and receptivity. As a speaker, you stand above the group to command attention.) Use a microphone, if appropriate, and be prepared with any technology you plan to use during the talk.

• Anchor your retreat talk with visuals, music, a video clip, a demonstration, etc. Make sure you let your retreat director know, in advance, what technology or materials you might need to help get your point across. However, there is nothing wrong with going low-tech on a retreat. In a world that is constantly noisy, both audibly and visually, one bonus gift that you can give the youth is a break from tech. Consider bringing photos of family or friends who will be featured in your talk. Create handouts of your favorite song lyrics or important Scripture that coincide with your talk. (The youth will have a folder to collect handouts in during retreat.)

• Realize that retreat is for them not you. The saying, “little shoulders are not meant for adult problems” applies in retreat ministry. During a retreat talk is not the time to work through your struggles with Jesus, the Church, or other people. Nor is this your opportunity to relive the best retreat you ever attended. As a team member and retreat talk presenter, our goal is to create an environment where young people can encounter Christ. This is the work of ministry, and a retreat is hard work!