Opening Retreat 2010-2011

The year has finally begun! All three new FVM communities have arrived safely at the Loyola on the Potomac retreat house. Katie and I were here to greet the new communities as they arrived. Philadelphia shocked the world by arriving first, followed by Camden and Wilmington. For those of you who remember Fr. Chris, there was the annual honking of the horn arrival at the pseudo-silent retreat house.




After everybody got settled in to their rooms, we gathered for evening prayer led by out Program Director Katie. We talked about what we are trying to free ourselves from in this upcoming year, and a little about ourselves as an icebreaker. During the prayer, we tossed around a yellow ball of yarn after we shared our little bits to a random person. This eventually created a web of our community, showing that no matter where we are from, who we are, or where we are going, we are together as one community, and that we are only strong if all of us are strong.





Being the first day, we then broke into some free time and let the FVMs hang. They were playing games, listening to music, but most importantly, being with each other. The energy they bring is contagious, and everybody had a great time.



Stay tuned for more updates throughout retreat!