Under the guidance of Fr. Nabil, the Youth of St. George Cathedral, Redfern, hosted a day retreat at the Antiochian Village for the students of the parish Sunday School.
The main theme for the day was, “Planting the seed & living the Creed” where a talk was given by Fr. Nabil on this topic. Workshops were held to discuss and enable spiritual growth for the children. The importance of nurturing the spiritual life at an early age, in order to reap the benefits was the all-encompassing message. The message of focus was how the planted seed should become the mustard seed of faith.
The youth were split into groups and encouraged to discuss topics with their group leaders. Relatable topics were brought up in these group discussions and later relayed to the wider group.
By keeping the questions relevant to everyday life it enabled the children to see how their Christian Orthodox morals and values when planted into their life early would help them in modern day society and the issues they may face.
It was very encouraging to see so many children involved in these discussions, and asking questions to their leaders around the topics presented. They were all very eager to learn how to better the way they apply their faith in everyday life.
In a Q&A session lead by Fr. Nabil, the children were also given the opportunity to ask questions about a topics of their choice. This was a very engaging, open discussion that gave everyone the courage to participate.
A lunch was organized by the youth including a sausage sizzle was enjoyed by all, together with some free time for games and activities which gave the youth a chance to interact with each other as well as their leaders.
It was a very successful day, where positive feedback was given by all the participants. Importantly, the comments of the parents were very positive expressed with gratitude and appreciation.
We look forward to future Sunday School retreats.
