FAYA Fall Retreat Weekend

Some of the wonderful humans who were on the retreat.

This weekend, I had the pleasure of going on retreat with FAYA (Fifth Avenue Young Adults). We headed up north and into the stunning New Jersey autumnal countryside. The autumn colour were breathtaking and reminded me of home. It was wonderful to get a break from the busy NYC life to head out into the middle of nowhere to the retreat centre.

A bit of background as to how I ended up in retreat for my 4th weekend in the city!! FAYA is a group for people in their 20s and 30s and is associated with Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church. I was invited to join their group in my first week in NYC. I was immediately welcomed to the group and everyone was incredibly friendly. I was then made aware of the retreat which was happening this weekend, initially I was unsure wether I would attend as at that time I had only been in the country for a whopping 5 days!!! The enthusiasm and kindness of the members of FAYA persuaded me to join them on the retreat, and so I willingly accepted their offer and off I went.

There were around 40 people who came on the retreat. Some of themI had become aquatinted with, and others not. it was a little daunting arriving at the bus as almost everyone in the group knew each other and were established friends. However, I was very quickly welcomed as part of the group!!! We had an ice breaker activity of a game of "people bingo" where we had to find people who fitted into the bingo boxes. Example of these were "find someone who can do a cartwheel" and "find someone who went to the Eras Tour".

The theme of the retreat was Community. There were 3 seminars which discussed community in different ways; what is community, how can we be a thriving community and, what can community achieve. We read passages from Acts and Exodus and had some time to reflect and ponder in small groups. Having learned the importance of strong community and how to thrive as a community, it is safe to say that I have found a wonderful community through FAYA. Each and every person I spoke to was so kind and caring and welcomed me to be part of FAYA.

In addition to the seminars, we also enjoyed lots of free time, individually and together. We were given an hour to be silent which is something I rarely do. This was an opportunity to spend time to reflect separate from the wider world, which I do not often do. In this time I had a very powerful holy spirit encounter. It was so refreshing to recentre myself with God and be in His presence. Additionally, I spent a lot of time with people laughing and getting to know one another. We enjoyed many walks in the beautiful woods, chilling inside, eating and drinking and stargazing. On Saturday night, we lit a bonfire under the stars and sang some worship songs before partaking in the classic American campfire tradition: Smores!! Seen as we were on camp, we all felt it very apt to learn the handshake from "The Parent Trap". We had a lot of giggles in the process, and each partnered up to learn the dance. I can't wait to do it with Sophie, my sister, as she also knows the handshake, when i see her again in December!!

On Sunday, we woke early to have a communion service by the lake. It was so perfect and picturesque. We all served each other communion, which is something I hadn't done before.it felt very special to partake in this together, and even more special to serve it to one another. Shortly after this, it was time to get back on the bus back to the city. It was sad saying goodbye to everyone as we had all thoroughly enjoyed our weekend together. I am so grateful to have made some wonderful friends on this trip, in fact we have already made plans for next weekend!!

When we got back to the apartment, Paige and I decided to watch "The Parent Trap" as she had never seen it (which I was stunned to hear as it is one of my favourite films!!!). This felt like the perfect way to end a perfect weekend. Every time I watch that film from now on, I will remember the fun we had on the FAYA Fall Retreat!!