Reflection from a Charis Retreat Team Member

Hi, my name is Devyn Scheuch and I am a second year at the University of Georgia in Athens, GA. As a Religion and German major my goal is to be a youth minister in the Catholic church and therefore find myself hanging out at the Catholic Center A LOT here at UGA. The fall semester of my freshman year I went on a Charis retreat and I absolutely loved it. I have been on three more Charis retreats and helped plan two of them, and every time my love for retreats and for God has deepened.

This past Saturday we ran the Transitions retreat and it was the best one yet. It worked out perfectly because we did it the day before Palm Sunday and talking about the Paschal Mystery was so relevant at this time in the liturgical year. Our speakers shared deeply about their transitions and it impacted every one of participants very personally. I remember one of the college students in my small group saying that she was going through the exact same type of transition as one of the speakers around the exact same time. She said she had only wished they knew what each other was going through so they could have been the support they needed. This brought on a wonderful discussion about how God is there for us always.

One of my favorite parts of the retreat is that a large portion of the RCIA group attended it. They will be transitioning into the Catholic faith in just a few days, andit was so nice having them all there with us! It was really cool thinking about the transition they will be making and how relevant it was to have this retreat topic. I know they all had a great time.

Everyone I talked to had such a great experience and it was wonderful seeing people working through their transitions. We had new college students, graduating students, newlyweds, two expecting mothers, and those preparing to become Catholic all in the same room discussing God’s role in their lives! It was so inspiring. I always have a wonderful experience planning retreats but this time was especially amazing. I know God was working through everyone this past Saturday and I love how Charis has showed me this.

I am so appreciative of all I have learned from the retreats I have been on and my new appreciation for Jesuit spirituality. I will continue to pray for Charis Ministries and everything that you guys do for the young Catholic population.

~Devyn Scheuch, University of Georgia, Athens, GA