The 2008 DCE Winter Teen Retreat was once again a great success. Held for the second year at Pocono Plateau Retreat Center, 24 teenagers from the Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania gathered for a weekend of fellowship and reflection. There were two teens who traveled from as far away as Ohio and Maryland for the Retreat!

Led by Father Timothy Hojnicki of Holy Apostles Mission in Mechanicsburg, PA,their weekend theme was “Exploring the Divine Liturgy.” Father Tim discussed each part of the Divine Liturgy with the teens, who left the retreat with a much better understanding of the service.

When the teens were not in workshop, they spent time playing board games and enjoying each other’s company. Many of them participated in a hike through the woods during a beautiful snowfall on Saturday morning. For breakfast, lunch, and dinner, they enjoyed buffet-style meals at Pocono Plateau’s dining hall.

On Saturday night, Great Vespers was served, and a number of teens chose to participate in the Sacrament of Confession in preparation for Divine Liturgy the next morning. Several of the teens’ families joined us for Liturgy that morning, despite the snowy weather.

In all, we had a lovely, educational, fun weekend together.

Retreat Coordinators Kimberly Metz, Tatiana Bohush, and Nicholas Macura ask our Diocese’s middle- and high-school students to keep the weekend of February 6 - 8, 2009,open for next year's retreat! If you would like to be put on the mailing list for future Winter Teen Retreats (and other Diocesan teenactivities), please e-mail us at: retreat@thetac.org.