2025 Summer Retreat Service Day (Thursday)

For this year’s service project, we will be honing in on perhaps a less commonly considered form of service. We as a young adult group always try to base our service projects on the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, this year being “bury the dead” and “pray for the dead.” Fortunately, we don’t have anyone that needs burying, but we will still do our part to honor those that have passed on before us. Additionally, we will be aiding St. Mary’s Parish in some of the regular maintenance of their property.

We will head down the street to the church’s cemetery to honor those buried there in various ways. Physically, we will clear out the lot of any debris or garbage that is in the area. We will then take some time to pray with the deceased, leaving behind a flower for those we have visited. The project will be closed with a Panachida prayed for all the deceased of the parish of Saint Mary’s and any special intentions of the retreatants which will be submitted beforehand. 

We believe this kind of service is essential to our Christian lives as the deceased, whether we realize it or not, have played a massive role in our lives today and continue to do so as members of the Body of Christ. They loud the foundation of our Church, our country, our parishes; and have allowed for us to have this retreat by their dedication to living the Christian life. We believe that these people are still joined to us in the mystical union of the Body of Christ, and some day we will join them in hope of the resurrection. It is essential to remember where you came from, and to remember those that have gone before us and devoted their lives to Christ and His Church. Our prayers do not cease when we pass on from this life, and so we should not cease to pray for our brothers and sisters once they are no longer with us here physically. 

The project will begin at 3pm and wrap up around 6pm, after which we will begin to prepare for dinner and settle in for the weekend.