First Annual Youth and Young Adult Retreat Kicks Off

On Friday, August 26, 47 youth and young adults from across the Diocese of New Westminster met at Horseshoe Bay for a weekend away at Camp Artaban. Camp Artaban is a Christian camp rooted in Anglicanism located on Gambier Island, which is about a 40 minute water taxi ride from Horseshoe Bay. The camp is celebrating its 99th year! This retreat was created in partnership with St. Clement's, Lynn Valley, who have a thriving young adult ministry. Through several meetings, the Diocesan Youth Movement (DYM), Camp Artaban and St. Clement's parish planned a retreat that would be open for youth to enjoy time at Camp Artaban, but also offer an experience for young adults, ages 19+. Finally, after lots of planning, we were able to make this idea come to life, making space for all ages to gather in community over a weekend. The plan was to provide separate time with specific activities for each group, as well as joining together for meals, worship and campfire time and of course including the various outdoor activities provided by Camp Artaban.

The retreat kicked off with a blustery boat ride over to Gambier Island, the waves were a little rough and folks near the back of the boat got wet, but it meant for an exhilarating ride before heading straight into the dining hall for dinner. The theme for the weekend varied for the ages. For the youth the theme was "Creation Connection" where we used the four elements to explore ways that we connect to ourselves, each other and God by looking to the world around us. The young adults were focused on rest and renewal and ensuring that the participants had time for intentional self care.

After dinner, the youth got settled in their cabins, which of course to their horror and leaders delight, didn't have electricity, which meant a little bit of a forced technology fast. We gathered by the ocean at the campfire pit for worship. Led by myself,  Lauren Odile Pinkney (Children, Youth and Family Minister at Christ Church Cathedral and Chair of the Diocesan Youth Movement), and Jason Wood (Youth & Families Ministry Coordinator at St. Laurence, Coquitlam), with liturgy from the Northumbria Community - it took a whole new meaning with its beautiful imagery as we were literally besides the ocean, mountains and forests. The sun set as we sang "How Great Thou Art" together, and it became a bit of a theme for the weekend's music. One verse in particular that rang true for us:

When through the woods and forest glades I wander,
and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
when I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
and hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze; 

Then sings my soul, my Savior-God, to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!

The topic for the first session was 'AIR'. The youth took part in a guided meditation with myself and Sarah Autio (Youth and Family Ministries Coordinator at St. Marks, Ocean Park). First we asked the youth lie down on the ground, then with a rock that they had chosen from the beach earlier they placed the rock on their stomach and used it to assist in deep breathing through the session. The passage we used was also drawn from our theme for the weekend  Isaiah 43:2:

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

This was followed by an opportunity to debrief and discuss ways in which meditative prayer practices such as this can help ground one when feeling anxious or stressed. Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that to love God and to love each other we must strive to love ourselves as well.

After the session, we had some delicious fresh from the oven oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies and of course some hot chocolate before the youth headed off to cabins to finally get some rest.

On Saturday morning we noticed a shift in the weather, from grey and cloudy to glorious sunshine, just in time for a day outside. Following breakfast we headed down to the campfire for Morning Prayer, we said our prayers together while watching herons as they fished.

The next session on 'EARTH' was led by the Reverend Cameron Gutjahr, Rector of St. John the Divine, Squamish and long term DYM Member. Cameron studied biology at university and has a passion for all things that grow, so it was fitting that he would lead this session. Together we learned about rocks and about how rocks change and how God changes us. Using the story of Jacob's Ladder, Cameron with some help from the youth retold the story, with an actual ladder, because, why not? Through this story we learned about God changing hearts of stone to hearts of flesh. 

Following the session we gathered to take part in archery and rock climbing, there were a few games of volleyball, and, what retreat would be complete without crafts? Cross stitch became a big hit with some youth, and we were able to sit on the grass and cheer on the rock climbers as we stitched away.After breakfast a group of young adults went on a hike over to Brigade Bay, with opportunities for swimming and time to connect with each other. 

After lunch we met down by the campfire for our next session, this time, the theme was 'WATER".  Kerry Baisley, ODNW, Missioner for Indigenous Justice on diocesan staff shared some wisdom in our last two sessions. For the session on water, Kerry began with an exercise on blindspots. There was a printed handout with a dot on the left-hand side and on the right, a cross. When you closed one eye and focused on the cross, the dot faded away and became invisible.  Kerry used this as an example of how we have lost sight of water protection, and have somehow allowed people to own water and companies have gone unnoticed, charging millions for water that is essentially free. We also had a wake-up call as to how much water in the world is actually drinking water (only 1.2%). Kerry closed off the session by encouraging the youth to question why no one is dealing with this, and empowering the youth to use their voices to advocate for climate justice and issues based around drinking water.

This was the perfect segue into our waterfront time, with bathing suits at the ready we headed down to the dock for swimming and kayaking. Those of us who were kayaking received a visit from a grey seal who followed us for a little while. The sun and the water were warm and welcoming as we had some well-needed fun in the sun with a side helping of vitamin sea.

Meanwhile the young adult cohort enjoyed some mandala painting on rocks. This consists of using dropping tools, coloured acrylics and rocks, and using small dots to make patterns, waves or various mandalas. Christie Smith, one of the young adult facilitator who creates incredible rock mandala art, led the activity and the results were exquisite!

What would camp be without a game of capture the flag? And that is exactly what we did to dry off, a site-wide game which included the entire group, red team vs blue team, vying to capture each other's flags before dinner. 

Following the meal of pizza and cake, we headed up to the chapel in the woods for our last session of the day and of the weekend with Kerry. The theme was 'FIRE'. Next year the DYM plans to attend the Canadian Lutheran Anglican Youth (CLAY) Conference in Waterloo. The theme will be Ashes and Embers, so to introduce the youth to some concepts around fire we had asked Kerry to lead us in sharing some knowledge and wisdom. Kerry began the session in small groups, with all of us discussing words that we would associate with fire at different stages in our life; when we were very small; when were growing up in middle or high school;  and how our perceptions of fire have shifted since 2016 and the wildfires in our province. Kerry offered some instruction using Indigenous concepts of how to control forest fires and compared them  to national initiatives.  Kerry taught us about sacred medicine, sage, sweetgrass, cedar, and tobacco. The youth interacted with these elements, experiencing the scents of sage and sweetgrass as well as some frankincense and myrrh from Jordan. To close the session Kerry led the youth in a teaching session around smudging and gave the youth the opportunity to be smudged if they so desired. We then proceeded to the campfire for worship,  gathered around the fire and sang songs. It was a beautiful few hours and there was a sense of community and stillness amongst the youth as we sat in the dark and looked up at the stars.

Meanwhile the young adults, led by the Reverend Helen Dunn, Rector of St. Clement's, Lynn Valley, led a session on radical self-care. This work is important, especially amongst young adults and particularly millennials, who have high rates of burnout. Learning coping skills, setting boundaries and advocating for these needs have become not just important but vital to young adults trying to establish themselves in careers, life or generally adulthood! All these things are sacred acts and ways God calls us to care for others AND ourselves. 

The youth, after perhaps too many s'mores, shifted gear a little to have a night game. A bit if a tradition at Camp Artaban is to play Lantern, so with lots of help from James and Kia, Camp Artaban summer staff, we were able to get the youth competing in stealth mode to reach the lantern (without getting caught) and turn it off. The game took place up a hill through the forest amongst the ferns, making treading quietly very difficult. Leaders were spread through the forest with flashlights and would illuminate places where they heard a noise. If they caught a youth in their light, the youth was sent down the hill to try again. After the game it was time for quiet hours and lights out. 

Following breakfast on the last morning, worship took place in the field before heading off for another round of archery, climbing and crafts. Christie Smith offered to instruct the youth in the mandala rock painting. After our various activities, we gathered at the chapel for the last guided activity. The Closing Eucharist included everyone on site filling roles in worship similar to those groups who contribute to Sunday morning worship in parishes, such as altar guild, readers, and intercessors. The goal was to use that same model but ensure the youth and young adults had full creative reign in making the Eucharist their own. Each DYM leader with help from the Reverend Peggy Trendell-Jensen, (Deacon at St. Clement's,  Lynn Valley), and Helen placed the youth based on their interest. The groups were music (led by Jason), the sermon (led by Helen), the readings (led by Peggy), and decorating and space set up (led by Melissa Van Uum, DYM member). We had no idea how this would go, but were excited to see what the youth and young adults would bring. After we had finished our prep time, taken a group photo, and eaten out lunch, we gathered back in the chapel for our closing Eucharist. The chapel decorating group went above and beyond. Around the fence posts in the chapel were candles and hand picked shells that the youth had beachcombed during  prep time. The altar was covered in moss, flowers, branches and sea weed to represent creation, things made by God. Also present on the altar were things humans had made found in the forest, a KitKat candy bar, and flashlight representing our lack of care for creation and the affect human-made things have on the planet. With the Reverend Helen Dunn presiding, we sang with the music group who intigtrated dance moves, hand actions, accented by multiple drummers. We heard from the readers who not only read the readings but enacted them, including walking with rivers using actual water being splashed over the group and walking through fire, represented by a fluorescent orange vest and fleece which were waved around the group. To top it all off we watched an amazing skit facilitated by Helen, dramatically telling the story from the gospel Luke 14, where the host is encouraged to invite the poor to their banquet. The skit included New Testament News interviews with the rich guests, Jesus and the host. It was both hilarious and meaningful. The prayers, led by Sarah consisted of prayers the youth had written as well as the response:

God of the Forest
Hear our prayer.

We shared Eucharist together beneath the trees under the huge cross, before we said our goodbyes to camp, and the staff, and headed back to mainland.

The weekend was incredible and a huge thank-you to Nancy and Jonathan Ferris at Camp Artaban, and all of the summer staff, especially Kia and James! A big thank-you to everyone at St. Clement's for helping dream the weekend up and make it a reality, Peggy, Helen and Mark. Thank you to Kerry Baisley for his wisdom, humor and passion. Thank you to the Rev. Jessica Schaap for her help behind the scenes in the lead up to the weekend. Thank you to all the DYM leaders, Cameron,  Jason, Sarah, Melissa and Rev. Jonathan Pinkney. And thank you to the Anglican Foundation and the Diocese of New Westminster for contributions that made this an affordable weekend for the young people and young adults of the diocese to attend and enjoy. These happy memories will be hard to forget. 

Photo credits: Lauren Odile Pinkney, Jonathan Pinkney, Helen Dunn