Men's and women's ACTS retreats scheduled for summer
DRAPER — Two ACTS retreats, one for women and the other for men, will be offered this year in the Diocese of Salt Lake City. Both will begin and end at St. John the Baptist Parish, but the retreats themselves will be at the Wasatch Retreat and Conference Center in Salt Lake City.
The first ACTS men’s retreat in the diocese was offered in 2016. Last year, both men’s and women’s retreats were offered, and this year again both are scheduled.
“The ACTS retreat begins Thursday evening and ends with Sunday Mass in the parish. While utilizing prayer, service, and teaching, the ACTS Retreat meets people where they are in their spiritual journey and invites them to experience God in a manner that is both personal and communal,” according to actsmission.org, the organization’s webpage.
Eight women participated in last year’s retreat, said Erin Akins, St. John the Baptist ACTS leader, and “those women are back this year, helping us get the retreat ready for this year. … They have come back kind of on fire, so that is a sign that this retreat is working.”
Those who attend the ACTS retreat will find some spiritual activities and “an invitation for them to encounter Jesus. They are going to share faith among the women. … We don’t want to lose the impact that you have when you attend the retreat by explaining all the activities, but I can say without doubt that it impacts lives,” said Akins, who attended several ACTS retreats when she lived in Massachusetts.
Akins said that she had a “before” and “after” ACTS retreat experience.
“Before, I was trying to be a good practicing Catholic, but I wasn’t as strong spiritually as I am now,” she said. “I feel that the ACTS retreat really helped me to make a great foundation in my faith and a really strong connection with God as someone to really lean on and trust.”
The retreat had a big impact on her parish, she said.
“It made it to be a really strong community,” she said adding that after the ACTS retreat at St. John the Baptist Parish people who didn’t know each other before made a strong connection.
For this year’s retreat, a team of about 18 leaders is coming from Saint Elizabeth Ann Seaton Parish in San Antonio, Texas to join the eight from St. John the Baptist Parish, Akins said.
All Catholic women over 18 years old are invited to participate in the retreat.
“I like to tell all the women that God is calling them to enter into a deeper relationship with him, and to enter into a greater community with the other women in the diocese,” Akins said.
The retreat is capped at 20 participants; 12 women already have signed up.
The ACTS men’s retreat is scheduled for July 19-22.
“The Retreat’s goals create an opportunity for men to focus on their faith, to increase the presence of Jesus Christ in their daily lives, and to cultivate friendships among members of the church community,” states the invitation for the retreat.
The continuation of the ACTS retreats in Utah is a joyful time for the participants, said Joe Bowden, director of the St. John the Baptist Parish team retreat leaders.
The first ACTS men’s retreats in Utah were led by teams from San Antonio, Texas, but this year the men from St. John the Baptist Parish will lead it.
“They [ACTS Missions] taught us how to conduct the retreat, so through the past two ... we learned how to conduct the retreat and, going forward, we were able to build a small team from people that were involved in the ACTS retreats,” Bowden said.
The first year of the ACTS retreat three local men assisted the 20-person team from San Antonio. The next year there was a combined team, Bowden said, and “now we have enough people that we can put on the retreat on our own. The retreat team had lots of preparation and training.”
Bowden hopes that the men who attend the ACTS retreat will “come away with a better understanding of our Catholic faith and a deeper understanding of themselves and a stronger relationship with Jesus Christ,” he said.
All Catholic men older than 18 years are invited to attend, but it is limited to 20 participants because of space constraints.
“I encourage them to take advantage of this unique opportunity and a chance to sort of get away from normal life for a little bit and experience a closeness with other men in the diocese and have some time with God,” Bowden said.
The retreat cost is $200 but “financial difficulties should not prevent anyone from attending the retreat. We have scholarships available,” Bowden said.
WHAT: ACTS Women’s Retreat
WHEN: June 21-June 24; beginning with check-in Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and ending Sunday with Mass at 11 a.m.
COST: $200; financial aid available
Registration deadline is May 31. For information or to register, contact Erin Akins, 801-413-7745 or akinsee@gmail.com. Online registration at SJB-ACTS.org
WHAT: ACTS Men’s Retreat
WHEN: July 19-July 22, beginning with check-in Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and ending Sunday with Mass at 11 a.m.
COST: $200; financial aid available
Registration deadline is June 30. For information or to register, contact Joe Bowden, 801-201-6677 or jcbowden@gmail.com; Quinn Roosendaal, 435-994-1451 or quinn.roosendaal@gmail.com; or John Valdez, 801-726-8657 or oldshaman@yahoo.com. Online registration at SJB-ACTS.org.
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