RYC
Reborn Young Christ
Fr. Gus Baek
Renewal Retreat
AUGUST 11TH - AUGUST 13TH, 2023
St. Paul's abbey, Newton NJ
RYC
Reborn Young Christ
Fr. Gus Baek
Renewal retreat
Whether you missed it, or simply want to relive the experience, this page provides an immersive recap of our weekend at the retreat in words and photos.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
The old has passed away; behold the new has come."
-2 Corinthians 5-17
in loving memory of
Father Augustine Woon Taek Baek
September 19th, 1958 - December 30, 2022
the retreat
Recap of the Weekend
The Fr. Gus RYC Renewal Retreat was a huge success this past weekend, as we celebrated together with 55 participants from over 5 states and 10 parishes. We came together from across the country to share prayer, praise, and activities to explore and rediscover what faith means to us.
the retreat theme was:
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come." -2 Corinthians 5:17
Fr. Augustine Baek
Renewal Retreat
Different from other retreats, we offered a gentle welcome back into the faith - particularly for those who have slipped away from the church, and were interested in finding a comfortable way to return to it.
We aimed to create an experience for participants to become new again through a series of talks, activities, and discussions centered around rediscovery of our faith in a post-pandemic world.
Special Speaker: Dr. Hoon Choi
We were blessed to welcome Dr. Hoon Choi for this retreat! A theology professor at Bellarmine University, we invited Dr. Hoon to speak about:
01 Choosing God: Why Should We, in 2023?
Exploring the real world challenges with church, why choose God and the Eucharist in times of challenge and inexplicable hardship?
02 The "Modern" Korean Catholic
Generational differences can make our faith and culture difficult areas to navigate. How can we fit in, while also offering ourselves to the Eucharist and God's plan?
On Friday night, we began with praise and icebreakers to get to know one another. We then divided into 6 small groups, and discussed what the Eucharist meant to each of us and how it fits into our current lives.
Saturday was filled with more activities, and highlighted by Dr. Hoon Choi's talks on why we should choose God in 2023, as well as living a Catholic life as a modern day Korean American.
Retreatants were then asked to prepare questions for a panel led by Dr. Hoon, Simon Song, and Rina Im. Honest and open discussions about living out our faith, as well as the challenges of doing so in a secular world were held.
The night was completed with confessions, as well as opportunities for participants to meet one-on-one with a Sister to discuss their personal faith or questions about the church.
The retreat was closed out on Sunday with two more witness talks given by team members, a prayer circle amongst all participants, as well as a closing mass led by Fr. Minhyun Cho.
We then unfortunately shared our goodbyes to all the participants near and far, with the promise that there would be more to come with RYC in the near future!
THE TALE OF THE RETREAT
40 registrations
15 Service Team Members
11 Churches Represented,
from 6 different states
6 Religious Leaders Assisting for Weekend
Thank you
This retreat was such a blessing and an honor to serve for. The revival of RYC would not have been possible without all of the participants, as well as all those who supported and prayed for this retreat.
We will keep working to support our community and provide additional events in the near future. Please check out our social media channels where we will be sharing updates regarding future events.
We truly hope that after this past weekend, everyone feels renewed in their faith and had an opportunity to discover new fellowship throughout the community. Thank you again and God Bless!
-New RYC Team