Three-day men's retreat to focus on building faith

Friday, Jun. 10, 2016

DRAPER — Saint John the Baptist Parish will be celebrating the first ACTS Retreat from July 28-31.

An ACTS retreat is a three-day event put on by lay Catholic parishioners. 

Dominican Fr. Denis Reilly, Erin and Sam Akins, Tim Moore and Mike O’Connor are the organizers of the local ACTS Retreat Ministry. They started the planning phase many years ago.

While living in Massachusetts, the Akinses had participated in an ACTS retreat.

“It was an experience that I have never felt before. It had a profound impact in that parish in terms of how engaged the parishioners and the community became in the parish. It was really eye-opening for me,” Sam Akins said. “My commitment with the Church and the community got stronger.”

When he and his family arrived in Utah, he searched for an ACTS parish, but to his surprise the closest one was in New Mexico, so he started talking to Monsignor Terrence Moore, then pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish. Msgr. Moore, now retired, agreed that the ministry could be part of the parish, so the process was begun, Akins said.

A year ago, St. John the Baptist was named an ACTS mission parish, “which kind of put us on for the first retreat, and now it is finally happening. …We are really looking to spread the word about it,” said Akins.

The ACTS retreat provides an opportunity for Christians to enter into a deeper relationship with God through transformative experiences focused on Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, community, theology, and service – hence the acronym ACTS.

“The retreat does a bunch of different things. It’s kind of a spinoff of Cursillo, but  Cursillo focuses on kind of the Catholic philosophy, which is great,  and ACTS focuses more in its faith and how you increase your faith in God,” said Akins.

Typically, ACTS retreats are for women and for men, but Akins said this first event at St. John the Baptist Parish will be just for men because the facility is unable to host two retreats  around those dates.

“But next year will have retreats for both men and women,” said Akins.

The ACTS retreat will begin the evening of Thursday, July 28, and will end with Sunday Mass at Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church. 

“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,” reads in the ACTS home page.

“People in the Church get really connected with parishioners in different ways. You get to see how other people develop their own faith, grow in their faith, and we recognize what God has given you, the opportunity that He has given you to really make a difference,” said Akins.

The facilitators are parishioners of Saint John the Baptist and a retreat team of about 25 men who are coming from San Antonio, Texas – the place where the first ACTS retreat was celebrated in 1987. 

The cost for the three-day retreat is $200, which covers everything. The kickoff will be at Saint John the Baptist Parish and then the attendees will be transported to the Wasatch Retreat and Conference Center in Salt Lake City.

WHAT: Men’s retreat

WHEN: July 28-31

WHERE: St. John the Baptist Parish, Draper and the Wasatch Retreat and Conference Center in Salt Lake City

COST: $200

For information, email SJB.ACTS.Ministry@gmail.com, or call Sam Akins, 801-413-7744; or Erin Akins, 801-413-7745.