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Chaplaincy – Retreats
The grade 9 retreat program is an introduction to the community of Bishop Allen Academy.
Early in their first few weeks at the school grade nine students participate in a three-day orientation away from the school.
Students are led through a variety of workshops led by senior students and they participate in liturgical celebrations.
For many grade nine students the three day program is the highlight of their first year of high school. Grade Nine students are also taken on a day retreat on March 29th to view an inspirational movie and to celebrate Mass at St. Michael's Cathedral.
The grade 10 program is held at Holy Angels Parish and we begin with a focus on one’s “self”, who we are and who we are becoming. We talk about the masks we wear and the pressures of society & media on being a real man or a lady. In the second session, we have a speaker from the deVeber Institute on Bioethics who leads an interactive session on life in the womb and the importance of having good information before making big life-changing decisions, always with respect for those who may make choices we disagree with. The afternoon session is focussed on Scripture passages as applied to modern day situations and we end the day with some quiet time and prayer in the Church itself. We always hear positive and affirming comments afterwards from students who have enjoyed the day.
The grade 11 program is designed to supplement their course on World Religions.
It is an opportunity to enter some of the spiritual centres that they have only heard about and to see the human face of spiritual leaders, who teach the students about their faith and their liturgical practices.
This is a profound experience for students.
The grade 12 program is designed to invite students, who are preparing to leave Bishop Allen, to think about their time here and to plan for the future by living totally in the present. We remind them about various aspects of wholeness – wellness and holiness. We invite speakers who challenge them to follow their dreams and not give up on whatever they are called to do; others speak to them about their personal struggles with mental illness and they try to remove the misconceptions and the stigma attached so that we can talk openly and realize that there is help. Finally they hear from a wonderful retired couple, who were both teachers & chaplains in our Board, who have done a lot of volunteering with L’Arche (Jean Vanier) and they do a session on spiritual wellness and wholesomeness. This is all brought together at a Eucharist that is animated by the graduating students themselves.
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