GRACE-FILLED LEADERSHIP RETREAT FOR RECORD NUMBER OF SCHOOL LEADERS

by Amy Marinaro

            The annual March Salesian Leadership Retreat took place from March 2 to March 8 at the Don Bosco Retreat Center in Haverstraw-Stony Point, N.Y. This SLR was the first program coordinated by Jessica Giglio, the program coordinator for the Province Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry.

The young team leaders met from Friday, March 2, until Monday, March 4, when they were joined by the participants and adult chaperones from the Salesian schools of the SDB and FMA Eastern Provinces, who participated in the retreat activities until Thursday, March 8.

This leadership retreat was a very special one. Due to Hurricane Irma, St. John Neumann High School in Naples, Fla., and Immaculata-LaSalle High School in Miami had not been able to participate in the SLR in October 2017. Therefore the March SLR contained a larger young team (18 young team compared to the usual 16) and a larger group of participants and chaperones. In total there were 136 retreatants (including young team, core team, participants, and adult chaperones). It was a blessing to be able to share this SLR experience with so many young people who would otherwise have missed the opportunity to participate in this retreat. Due to the hard work and flexibility of everyone involved, the SLR was a beautiful experience of God’s grace.