Virginia Episcopalian Magazine Winter 2012 Issue | Page 12

RETREAT AND FELLOWSHIP
THE REV. JUSTIN MCINTOSH
In the fall of 2009, several clergy and I formed a young adults
group in northern Virginia. Since then, we have met twice
a month at the Four Provinces Irish Pub for fellowship and
conversation, usually focused on a particular book we are
reading together. Recently, our group did something new: a
weekend retreat. The second weekend of December, 14 of us
gathered in the Shenandoah River State Park to spend a few
days away from the stresses and anxieties of life in northern
Virginia. For all the participants, the weekend was one of
relaxation and renewal.

Our time together was primarily focused on worship,
discussion and fellowship. We began the formal part of the
retreat with morning prayer and ended it on Sunday with an
intimate Eucharist, led by the Rev. Ben Shelton, one of the
retreat organizers. As a starting point for our discussions,
we used God Is in the Manger, a compilation of reflections
from the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The
particular meditations we discussed primarily dealt with
the Advent themes of expectation, waiting and judgment.
Because we had time to delve deeply in these topics, our
conversations were rich and enlightening.

Over the last few months, we have had a number
of new people join our group. Consequently, in order to
strengthen the bonds among members, we made fellowship
the principal focus of the retreat. We ate all our meals
together, we played games and we shared our talents with
one another. One highlight for everybody was the stunningly
beautiful guitar playing of Gray Snead, who is a classically
trained guitarist and an active member of the group.

Our weekend would not have been possible without the
financial support of Region V and an anonymous benefactor.
Because of their generous donations, the retreat was free
for all participants. What a great gift for the Church to
give to young adults, since they usually do not have much
money. The retreat was a great success, and our hope is to
go on another one sometime next year—perhaps during
Lent. If you would like to learn more about our young adults
group, visit us on Facebook. We are called the “Young Adults
Fellowship—Northern Virginia.” t

Young adults from Region
V enjoyed a weekend of
retreat at the Shenandoah
River State Park in December,
complete with rest, worship
and fellowship (plus musical
entertainment from Gray
Snead, pictured above).

Young Adult Ministry – Resources
Episcopal Young Adult Voices is a YouTube channel for young adults
in the Episcopal Church “to make themselves heard and to hear
from other folks about faith, God, their lives and their church.