• Opening Sequence with Rules Talk
• Expectations Talk
• Intro Talk with theme song and chain project
• 1st Talk: Free Will:
• 2nd Talk: God’s Way or My way?
• 3rd Talk: My way or my neighbor’s way?
• 4th Talk: Doing the Best I Can
• 5th Talk: I Blew It
• 6th Talk: Scripture Affirmations

• To get teens discussing the issues and leave them with a sense of having grappled with ideas.
• To build fellowship and an awareness of the youth community in the Church.
• To learn basic ideas of Orthodox Christian spirituality and apply them.

Objectives: By the end of this retreat, participants should be able to

• Identify some of the major choices they have made and will have to make.
• Recognize how the choices we make affect our lives and the lives of those around us.
• Define synergy and apply it to Christian life.
• Apply biblical ideas of love and service to their relationships with others.
• Work cooperatively in a small group environment.
• Discuss openly the difficult choices we have to make in life.
• Identify resources for support and guidance in times of struggle and bad choices.
• Experience peer youth ministry and fellowship.

Participant Requirements: Participants can be age 11-17 and up. Even among a group of 11-13 year old youth it is important to have a few more mature teens to help lead and serve as role models. The activities in this retreat are geared for a range of ages and can be adapted to provide different experiences for groupings of different maturity levels.

Materials: Enough for each participant

• Bibles, some with concordances such as The Orthodox Study Bible
• Journals, ranging from small notebooks to blank journal books
• Construction Paper or Wide Ribbon that can be written upon
• Scissors and Scotch Tape
• Icons
• Icon Cards with blank backs
• Writing Utensils
• Candles
• Stereo Equipment
• Appropriate Music Selection with Lyric sheets

Note on Peer Youth Ministry: Most of the interaction in the Choices retreat is between the youth themselves in small group discussions. At the start of the retreat, before if possible, select a number of the more mature youths to serve as group leaders. Their responsibilities are more fully described in the session and talk descriptions. Throughout the course of the retreat you will want to meet with them and debrief with them, going over the progress of the groups and the retreat as a whole.

Choices Retreat is also intended to be led primarily by the youth. Most of the main talks are designed to be led by peer youth ministers, that is, youth leaders selected from the youth themselves. To make this effective, you will need to identify and solicit youth leaders ahead of time and make them familiar with the materials. They should have at least two weeks to a month of preparation time to look over the talks. Peer youth ministers are also valuable in helping to select music appropriate to the issues discussed. These youth leaders are also then ideal to be the small group leaders/ facilitators.

Both youth talk leaders and group leaders should be made aware that their contribution to Choices Retreat should and can be considered as a valuable volunteer experience that can be listed in work resumes and school or scholarship applications.

Scheduling: The typical "Choices" retreat takes place over the course of one abbreviated weekend, beginning on Friday night and ending Sunday afternoon. If you are able to stretch the retreat out longer this allows for a deeper exploration of the issues brought up. On the 1st night expect to get through the 1st talk: “Free Will.” Make sure to establish basic times for meals and some free time. A weekend retreat can be hectic. Do not allow the program framework to run your retreat, rather, use it only as it is useful and fruitful for you. Choices Retreat sessions may also be stretched over a period of days of weeks during a camp or Church school program. The following packed and tight schedule is a realistic example of how a weekend retreat might be run:

Friday Schedule:

• Registration: 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM
• Dinner: 7:00 PM
• I. Opening Sequence (see below): 8:00 PM
• II. Expectations Talk: 9:00 PM
• III. Introductory Talk: 9:30 PM
• Fellowship: 10:30 PM to 12:00 Midnight

Saturday Schedule:

• Breakfast: 8:00 AM
• Morning session: 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM
• Lunch 12:00 Noon to 1:00 PM, followed by recreational time
• Afternoon session: 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM
• Dinner: 5:00 PM
• Vespers: 6:00 PM
• Evening Session: 8:00 to 10:00 PM

Sunday Schedule:

• Morning Cleanup and Packing (Before Liturgy)
• Divine Liturgy: As scheduled
• Closing Session with Prayer Partners revealed: immediately after Liturgy.

Music Selection: This retreat frames a series of group discussions with guidance from the retreat master coupled with selections from contemporary music that deal with the issues as hand. You will need to have your music selected ahead of time and cued before each session. You will also need to have the lyrics printed and copied for distribution to every participant at the time of play.

Each talk session should draw upon one or two different songs, usually one at the beginning and one at the end. Songs may be of three different basic types relating to the theme of the talk.

• The "Anti-Talk" song embodies an opposite or negative view of the talk theme. These songs may be cynical, humorous, despondent, or bewildered.
• The "Looking-for-the-Talk" song represents a longing or searching for the solutions that the talk is trying to discover. These songs raise the issues without offering an answer.
• The "Talk" song contains a clear expression of the main theme of the talk in a positive manner. These songs attempt to offer a relatively positive solution to the problem.

In addition to a song for each talk you should seek a song that embodies the main theme of Choices Retreat as a whole. Selections can be taken from any number of contemporary artists. A discography of possible tracks is provided below. Highly recommended "Talk" songs are highlighted by ***. Realize that modern musical artists are rarely saintly models and to use the music must be done in a way that seeks the Christian seeds of Truth in the lyrics without endorsing the artists' lifestyle. Concerning the use of Music in Youth Ministry, see the article in the Resource Handbook¼

Remember when using music that you should integrate it into the talk and the discussions and make it relevant. If a song you have prepared does not fit with the tenor or flow of the discussion, feel free to skip it.

Selections will of course be made with the tastes of the coordinator and the participant population in mind. Feel free to seek advice from the youth themselves! Lyrics for most of these songs are available in the appendix.

Choices Retreat Suggested Play List:

• Choices Retreat Theme Song:
  • "You Gotta Be" by Des'ree
  • "Butterfly" by Mariah Carey ***

• 1st Talk: Free Will
  • "Ask" by the Smiths
  • "Free Will" by Rush ***
  • "Every Day is a Winding Road" by Sheryl Crow

• 2nd Talk: God's Way/ Synergy
  • "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel ***
  • "Freedom" by George Michael
  • "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears
  • "Butterfly" by Mariah Carey ***

• 3rd Talk: Loving Your Neighbor
  • "On the Turning Away" by Pink Floyd
  • "What You Give" by Tesla ***
  • "Bad" by U2 ***
  • "The Rose" by Bette Midler
  • "True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper
  • "Stand by Me" by ??

• 4th Talk: Doing the Best We Can
  • "What a Good Boy" by Bare Naked Ladies
  • "The Cross" by Prince
  • "Trust" by The Cure
  • "Return to Innocence" by Enigma ***
  • "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" by U2 ***

• 5th Talk: I Blew It
  • "Losing My Religion" by REM
  • "Brick" by Ben Fold's Five
  • "Just the Two of Us" by Will Smith
  • "Adia" by Sarah McLachlan

   

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