ADVENTure Retreat: Keeping focused

In 2015, St. Joseph the Worker parish in Ozark, MO hosted its first ADVENTure Retreat, an event similar to a summertime ‘vacation Bible school’ but held in December. Advent-themed events like this for children and teens have been becoming more popular around the country in recent years, both in Catholic parishes and in various Christian communities (see here and here ). After a successful initial run, the ADVENTure Retreat in Ozark returned this year for another offering of activities, catechesis, and guided prayerful preparation for the Nativity of the Lord.

“If we do not intentionally take the time to focus our lives, we will miss what is most important,” commented Jamie Burton, director of the three-night retreat and member of the St. Anne’s Guild, which coordinates activities for children of the parish. “(The retreat) provides the time we all need for ‘focus, faith, and fellowship’ to prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ at Christmas.”

Each night of the retreat, the participants and staff enjoy a dinner together, followed by Advent-themed games, crafts, Bible stories, and music. The culmination of the retreat is a liturgy on the Sunday before Christmas at which the young retreat participants serve as readers, choir members, and in other special roles.

"We took into account hectic lives, work schedules, family dinner needs, and of course faith-building and fun" in developing the event, Burton said.

This year's retreat at St. Joseph the Worker drew more than 50 children and had a staff of fifteen - including several high school-age parishioners assisting - and featured the 'Jesse Tree' tradition as a primary element of the event's catechesis. Children decorated their own ornaments for three separate 'Jesse Trees' that were then displayed in the vestibule of the parish through the end of Advent and remained as pieces of the Christmas decor.

Burton said that it is a "labor of love" for her and the other staff to coordinate and host this retreat and other events, and that this "love" reflects the "very spirit that will keep our church family thriving."

St. Joseph the Worker is a Roman Catholic parish in Ozark, MO - located between Branson and Springfield on Highway 65 - and has 550+ registered families.