Western Deanery Retreat days

On April 2-3, the CSYMA team travelled out to the western deanery to run two retreats.

The retreats were ran for the year 8 and year 9 year groups from McAuley Catholic Central School, Tumut, St Anne’s Central School, Temora, and Sacred Heart Central School, Cootamundra.

On April 2, the year 8’s from each school travelled into Cootamundra for their retreat “I AM” – self image. Throughout the day there were three sessions

The first session looked at how everyone has talents, gifts and personalities that lead to our identity and contributing factors to our identity are called labels.

In the second session looked at the way we live, and act including how we treat ourselves is reflected in the way we respect and value others, and how our actions have an impact on self image.

The third and final session of the day looked at how Jesus desires that we get to know him intimately. He gave his life for us because he saw our worth and through knowing this we are able to understand that we really matter.

On the April 3, year 9 from each school also made the trip into Cootamundra for their retreat, “Catch the Wave”.

Throughout the day there were three sessions; exploring How God is Love and how humanity is created out of his love and his thirst for relationships with this God of love, the brokenness of humanity, caused by sin, is evident everywhere we look.

The salvation message was explored including how God created humanity out of love from which sin entered the world through a choice away from his love, and how Jesus giving his life shows that he sees worth in us and how we realise that we matter.

Throughout the sessions over the two days we explored the session themes through dramas, personal sharings, activities and breaking off into small groups to discuss further.

Overall the days were a huge success and the kids seemed to really enjoy themselves and were able to interact with the youth ministers through games of touch football and handball.