Retreat Reflection

In the United States, young adults go through various transitions, such as changes in living arrangement, social groups, academics, and independence in their daily life. These transitions can trigger feelings of isolation, a sense of not belonging, or depression. It is my hope to see how college students on campus may be accompanied in faith through their life transitions. I consider how retreats serve to accompany these students in creating a community of peers who share their stories openly and listen attentively to one another. More specifically, I am interested in how narrative therapy assists in the formation of students who serve as leaders at these retreats. Student leaders practiced in accompanying others can enhance the efficacy of

When the retreat for which they have been planning for finally arrives, it then becomes the goal of the student leaders to welcome the retreat participants to enter into the spirit of the retreat –one in which the student leaders have been a seeking to shape for numerous weeks. In my personal reflection, I believe he shared this sentiment with us because we ourselves, as university students, also need accompaniment in our lives; this was in order to later be able to accompany our peers who were student participants. Brendan Lally’s words reminded me now that there was very little difference between the retreatant and myself; we are peers to each other. The starkest difference was that I was afforded an opportunity to learn how to accompany others. In choosing “yes” to a Kairos retreat and its leader preparation process, retreat leaders are availing themselves to be open to the formative experience for themselves, so that they might welcome others into that space. One may only reciprocally share in what one has first received. A small community of student leaders should be oriented towards a goal that is beyond themselves, and one that seeks to be of service to the greater university