Dear Friend,

So you’re interested in going to Youth Encounter, but you’re not Catholic... what does this mean for you?

Let me begin by saying I am just one of the many people who are happy that you are interested in answering the invitation to participate in Youth Encounter. Youth Encounter is a weekend retreat designed to give young people, ages 16 through 20, an intense experience of the Christian Faith. The weekend itself is a series of presentations and Christian witness talks that are most powerful because they are given by young people like yourself.

Youth Encounter Retreats are held at Marygrove Retreat Center and are sponsored by the Catholic Diocese of Marquette, but Youth Encounter is open to youths of all faiths. Young people of many different faith traditions have made Youth Encounter a rich and thriving force for ecumenism in the Upper Peninsula. I want to assure you that when you come to Marygrove your religious tradition will be respected. At Marygrove, we reverence people and respect the differences that exist between churches, all the while praying for and working toward Christian unity. Everybody on the Youth Encounter will be instructed to be respectful of our different traditions and expectations of each denomination.

As you might expect, during the retreat there are some components that are part of the Catholic Faith Tradition, most notably, Confession on Saturday and the celebration of the Catholic Mass on Sunday. These two moments in the retreat are important and cannot be excluded or replaced. As in your faith tradition, the Catholic Church has many rules and guides. I hope these few words may answer any questions you may have.

Part of the Youth Encounter weekend is a reconciliation service where the Catholic participants celebrate the Sacrament of Penance by going to confession. At that time, you will have the opportunity to speak confidentially with a priest or other adult spiritual director, but only if you feel you have spiritual concerns requiring reconciliation for peace in your life. If you wish to celebrate reconciliation or to receive absolution, you are encouraged to meet with your own church minister upon returning home after Youth Encounter.

For Catholics, the celebration of Mass is the most important thing we do together in faith. Members of other denominations are welcome and encouraged to attend Mass. Part of that Mass is the distribution of Holy Communion. Because Catholics believe that receiving Holy Communion is a sign of the reality of the oneness of faith, life, and worship, members of those churches with whom we are not yet fully united do not ordinarily receive Communion at Catholic Mass. During the distribution of Communion at Youth Encounter and other retreats at Marygrove, members of other Christian denominations either remain at their seats in prayer or they may approach the altar with the others to request a blessing. All on the retreat will be encouraged to express in their hearts a prayerful desire for unity with the Lord Jesus and with one another.

Our churches have made great strides toward unity in recent decades, and yet we are bound to respect the differences that remain. I hope you can appreciate our intention – to provide a significant retreat opportunity where young people of many Christian traditions can deepen their faith and grow together in their love of Christ and each other… while at the same time respecting the expectations of our Churches.

Again, I’m so glad that you are considering coming to Marygrove for the Youth Encounter. I look forward to welcoming you here soon. May Christ continue the good work He has begun and bring it to fulfillment.

May God bless you,

Fr. James Ziminski
Director of Marygrove Retreat Center