On Sunday 15th May, the Dunkeld Youth Service and NET Scotland hosted a retreat for high school youth at St Mary, Our Lady of Victories Church, Forebank Rd Dundee.
The day was packed with fun-filled games and activities, filling the hall with hilarity as the 33 young people broke the ice and got to know one another. When their energy was spent, the NET team gathered everyone together to introduce the day’s theme: “Fully Alive – What does it mean to be fully alive with God’s presence?” The teens explored this theme throughout the day, learning through a series of testimonies, skits, small group discussions and wider talks.
The day wrapped up with a time of prayer and reflection, with the teens moving into the beautiful main church at St Mary’s. Here, they were led through some reflection activities, including sung worship, a skit, and a small talk equipping them with 4 ‘tools’ to help bring God closer to their lives: Prayer – Sacraments – Fellowship – Service. They then went into a really beautiful time of prayer and contemplation, with many of the young people taking advantage of the opportunity for confession. The retreat was concluded with Mass, celebrated by Bishop Stephen Robson.
Canon Tom Shields, Dunkeld’s Youth Director, conveyed a sincere vote of thanks to the NET Scotland team for their incredible hard work and leadership of the day; to Canon Kevin Golden and the parishioners at St Mary’s for graciously hosting the day; to Charis Soares for working behind the scenes to co-ordinate the details for participants; to Bishop Robson for once again making the time in his busy schedule to spend time with and support the young people; to Kilgraston School and the individual participants for coming out to join in the day; and to all the wider Dunkeld Youth community, and the parents of the youth, for continuing to support the participation of young people in these faith formation events.
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