Jessie Bazan and her colleague in Saint John’s University Campus Ministry, Katharine Montemurri, developed a discernment retreat for college students called Trails. The retreat, which can be offered virtually or in-person, creates space for young adults to explore significant questions of identity and share stories with peers about their callings.
The Callings of Young Adults
Who am I now? How has this season of young adulthood shaped me? How might God be calling me to be in the world? In our work with young adults, particularly as we explore questions of calling and practices of discernment, three insights stand out:
- Young adults desire to breathe.
- Young adults desire to belong.
- Young adults desire to better themselves and the world.
Congregations can create space for young adults to reflect on these desires with their peers. Host your own Trails retreat or choose a different metaphor that connects with the young adults in your community.
- Download the Trails retreat overview.
- Download a Blessing for the Trail.
- Download Discernment Tips for the Trail.
- Download a prepositions insert and a storytelling insert to be pasted inside a journal or shared as a handout.
Check out the recording of Jessie and Katharine discussing the callings of young adults and introducing the retreat resource: