A fantastic weekend had by all on the national Gold Retreat over the weekend! Caravels from all over the country gathered in Mt Evelyn for a weekend of personal reflection, faith exploration and fun!

Previously known as Gold Leadership Camp, in 2010, the program was updated and made into a retreat format and focused on ‘how God continues to call each of us post school’.  Sessions looked at the contrast between how society ‘calls’ us to be in contrast to our God who calls us to be people of love, justice and faith.

We bid a fond farewell to our Gold Caravels across the country, and thank them for their witness to God’s love.

The Gold Remar experience was indescribable. The sessions run by the ministry team enables us to open our eyes to God’s mission for us. It is now our chance to make our dreams come true and continue on our journey with God.

Sarah, Gold Rower, St Francis Xavier

Gold Retreat has been an amazing and inspirational time of reflection for me. It enabled me to explore my options after finishing Year 12 but most importantly it has reminded me of the importance that my faith in God has on my life. Remar is a life changing program and I will never forget the memories and lessons I have learnt from this Retreat.

Rohan, Gold Rower, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart

Gold Retreat for me was one of the many great experiences I’ve had on my Remar journey. I enjoyed having time away from study, and being able to reflect on how far I’ve come, and how much I’ve grown since joining Remar. Strengthening relationships and making new ones is something I enjoyed most about the weekend, along with the sessions, which enabled me to get in touch with my faith and clear my mind of the challenges this year has thrown at me. The camp also looked at the future and we discussed the pathways and options that we will be faced with at the end of the year, which I found very beneficial. Thankyou to everyone who made the camp possible.

Hayden, Gold Rower, Marist-Sion College

The vision: To capture young leaders who are firm in their Christian beliefs, are motivated to use their talents and skills to serve others, and have confidence in their ability to encourage young people to do the same.

The role:

Ministry team members will receive training to be able to:

• take a leading role on all Remar camps
• plan and prepare for camp presentations
• confidently lead discussion groups
• take an active part in service activities
• participate in, and lead where required, on school based retreats and/or reflection days

Team members will be expected to:

• maintain a commitment to daily prayer life and personal faith development
• meet regularly with a spiritual director for personal and team support
• be a positive role model for all who may come into contact with them throughout the year.

Essential qualities:

• Willingness to support others in their journey towards being a faith filled person
• Ability to remain self motivated and committed to the team mission
• Willingness to live within a community of young adults (sharing everyday tasks, living and working together)
• Successful applicants will be required to have their drivers licence from the commencement of the appointment in January 2011.  For those turning 18 in 2011, they must have the ability to obtain it upon turning 18.

Who can apply: Any young person who has completed the Remar program.

How long is the position for:

January 2011 until December 2011.

Interested? Please contact the Remar office on 9387 3100 or via email remar@maristmelb.org.au for more information and an application pack.

Check out this video to see what we’re on about…

I find it hard to explain the experience of Caravel Day. The way I see it is that all of the members involved in Caravel Day (EVERYONE!!), made me feel like Jesus was present along with his values of love, compassion, equality. A humble sense and a feeling of warmth was spread across everyone as they acted with these values. Caravel Day has not only made me grow as a person and build my knowledge and outlook on life, it has also allowed for a close Caravel. Caravel Day was an experience I will never forget.

Josh, Red Rower, St Patrick’s College

Attending Red Caravel Day as a Blue Leader has developed my leadership skills. It was a challenge and a privilege to have the Red’s look up to us as role models. It was a good experience to attend this camp again, as a year has gone by and we have grown a lot since last year.

Gab, Blue Rower, St Patrick’s College

I have enjoyed Caravel Day immensely, the things I have learnt has changed my view on the way I see the world. I also have seen my group become closer, and I can only see us becoming better together. I really enjoyed the leaders they are a good role model; and a very good bunch of people to go by.

Tristan, Red Rower, St Patrick’s College

I thought that Caravel Day was an awesome experience. The Red Caravel are a really kind and accepting bunch of people so I found it easy just having a good time. Thanks for the experience.

Aaron, Blue Rower & participant, St Patrick’s College

Victoria, Red Rower, Newman College.

My Remar Red Caravel Day was so much better than I expected, I honestly thought that this would be focused on the values of Remar but it turned out to be about how we felt about issues in the world. The Caravel were able to say what was on their mind and how we could become a closer Caravel. We went over issues that were important all over the world like poverty and we learnt how a group of people can change the world. All of this was done with lots of fun, lots of excitement and joy.

Red Rower, Newman College.

We talked about love and relationships. This made me think of all those chick flicks and I thought that was love. I soon came to realise there is more to it than that. Love thy neighbour, one of God’s commandments, seems easy to do, but before we can love our neighbour, we must learn to love ourselves. But what is love?  I learnt that love is God and this confused me, but soon I realised that loving ourselves means loving God as we are made in the image on likeness of God. I have begun to realise that the love and relationships I have with myself, others and God are the reason behind why I enjoy every day.

That night a lot of things changed for me. I started thinking about my past and how I felt so apart from God, when I heard that we were having reflection and a chance to go to Reconciliation I realised it is now I should ask about why I haven’t felt a presence with me. After talking to the priest, I realised that I had become unwilling to connect with God and this stirred something within me. I truly prayed for the first time in a long time and I felt at peace. I may not have found God yet, but I am at peace with myself.

Blue Retreat has changed me and my faith for the better. I feel closer to something I haven’t felt there before.           Zac, Blue Rower, Newman College.

‘Before going on this Remar Blue Retreat, I had some pretty high expectations for how much I was going to enjoy it and what experiences I would have, and I am really glad to say that this camp surpassed all my hopes and expectations by a long shot. I enjoyed our small discussion groups, and how I got to know my fellow Rowers much more through the deep discussion we shared. Learning about the different t-shirts we humans wear when placed in different situations really opened my eyes to how I am as a person, as well as people very close to me. Most of all, I enjoyed the prayer and reflection session on the last night as I was given a chance to re-affirm my faith in God and just reflect and feel His presence. It was really great fun meeting and interacting with the new Gaps and I’m happy to say I’ll be leaving this camp with a smile on my fact and a lot of incredible memories.’   Grace, Blue Rower, Newman College.

‘Initially my idea for Remar Blue Retreat was that we were going to relax, chill out and get to know our fellow Caravel members better, like on other camps and retreats. But this camp was different.  It was something that I have never experienced before. It was focused on faith and relationships with ourselves and God. One experience that I will never forget would be our Reconciliation and reflection night. It was so peaceful and I really felt that I learnt more about myself than I have ever known. The Gaps were awesome and my small group opened my eyes to some of my fellow Caravel members’ opinions and feelings on faith and things in their life.

Overall, Blue Retreat was amazing and something that I will never forget for a long time. I’m wondering where it will go from here.’  Maddy, Blue Rower, Newman College.

“Throughout this camp I have had the amazing opportunity to get to know all the gap year people and my Caravel more. I found this camp to be fun, inspiring, eye opening, motivating, challenging and hands on…The games I found to be not only fun, but educational in the way it showed our trust, willingness to participate and how we stepped out of our comfort zones…The most eye-opening time for me was listening and becoming aware of all the injustice in our world.

I have faith that everyone can save the world one small step at a time.”

Tegan, Red Rower

“This camp for me, has been awesome. I have learnt about leadership and how there are different ways to be a leader. I have also become closer to my Caravel and we are coming together as one.

I have learnt a lot about some social justice issues around the world and in our community, which I would like to stand up for and help.”

Nathan, Red Rower

“I think that Caravel Day will play an important role for our Caravel in the future. It’s hard to open up and trust everyone else to step up and share your opinion, but this camp provided an opportunity for acceptance.

Social justice was put strongly on all of our hearts. There is so much globally and locally, that we can do. We’ve all been challenged and motivated to do something.

Sometimes it’s important to be ambitious, and as a Caravel we’ve made lots of goals to help the community and our town.

Overall the Caravel Day brought us together and strengthened us and I believe we’ll continue to grow and learn in the future.”

Annelies, Red Rower

“…This camp truly gave us the knowledge and awareness that the world we live in is not content. We have the ability and opportunity to help those less fortunate everyday.

It is also great to become closer to individuals and feel more like a ‘true’ Caravel. The atmosphere of the whole camp was open and positive, and I feel more relaxed and comfortable with these open and sharing people.”

Sam, Red Rower

Penola Catholic College, Notre Dame College & Catholic College Wodonga came together in Shepparton for the second of our Victorian Red Caravel Days.

Red Caravel Day for 2010 was a really goool (good and cool) and eye opening experience. I met a lot of new people and it was amazing how quickly we got to know each other and become friends…This camp also inspired me to get really proactive about ministry that I am passionate in…The social justice session was powerful and confronting but also inspiring, it made me want to actually get up and go do something about it

Kathryn, Red Rower

Camp has taught me many things about the world, things that I previously chose to ignore. It showed me how lucky I am, but more so how little is required to brighten someone’s day and how easy it can be to make a change. I also had lots of fun and met many new people. Thank you guys.

Danny, Red Rower

Red Caravel Day has been a real character makeover for me because I have seen myself in a new light. This camp has been so good even during the confronting sections. It has really driven me to start doing more for social justice. Thank you for the camp and it has been amazing meeting everyone, you are all amazing.

Cieran, Red Rower

“These past two days have been a very enjoyable experience and I feel my trust in others has risen substantially. It is great to meet fellow Rowers that want to make the difference that I do. I feel closer to my friends, and am more open to new friends. This was so much fun. I hope many people will continue Remar for days like these.”

James, Red Rower

“These past two days have been amazing! Caravel Day has been an incredible experience. All the people involved are beautiful people. The pictures, videos and statistics were so eye opening and it really inspired me to do more ministry work…I’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone involved because it’s been absolutely fantastic!”

Bec, Red Rower

“The time I spent on this camp was lots of fun. It was a real eye-opener to some of the things going on in our world. It made me realise a lot of the social injustices occurring and, as a Remar Caravel, we need to try harder and can put so much more effort in than we already do.”

Michael, Red Rower

“We learnt a lot about the reality of our world, and it really made us think about how privileged we are. We were challenged to consider ways in which we could make a difference in our local communities to help those in need. Our Caravel certainly grew over those two days. We now know what we are here for and what the future goals are for our Remar journey. We have learnt a lot about social justice issues in our world and about each other. We also made new friends from other schools who are sharing the same journey with us.”

Jasmina, Red Rower

My initial thoughts on Red Caravel Day were ‘Is this going to be good?, As good as Embark?’ It turns out, it was as good as embark, if not better. It was great to meet the GAP team and I bonded with my other Rowers, and there’s no better way to do it than on this camp. I learnt about social injustices in the world , and my Caravel had some time to look at our faults and how we can rectify those problems as a Caravel. I learnt more about myself and my fellow Rowers, I became more confident to speak my opinions out and best of all….. I had fun!!

-Aaron, Red Rower

I have enjoyed this camp because of the people and the opportunities it will give me. I have learnt what it means to be a leader and in a community. I was surprised to hear some of the facts given to us but inspired to help change our world.

I have felt all sorts of feelings over the last two days and it has really opened my eyes. I hope this will help me for the future and I learn many more things in Remar.

-Jess, Red Rower

What I’ve learned on Red Caravel Day I will always remember. I’ve talked to some awesome people, got to know more about some people and I’ve generally come out of my shell. I also think that over the two days the Caravel has become closer and we trust each other more. My favourite part of the camp was the quiz; like most people I dressed up and it was great fun because we got to meet other members of the Caravel and just have fun.

-Daniel, Red Rower

]]> http://remar.org.au/?feed=rss2&p=265 0 http://remar.org.au/?p=257 http://remar.org.au/?p=257#comments Thu, 13 May 2010 02:23:35 +0000 sboyd http://remar.org.au/?p=257 This article was written by Michael Calmer (Blue Helm) for the Marcellin College newsletter during the Saturday evening reconciliation experience on the 2010 Blue Retreat,

“The annual Blue Retreat for Remar Blue Rowers is always going to be a crowd pleaser, not just for the students but for the teachers as well.  To offer you some insight into our week end and instead of explaining the entire week end by going through some of the features of the camp like the games we played or describing the functions of the small group discussions, I thought I might describe what I witnessed on our Saturday night. I wrote this as I sat and watched all of these teenagers making strong connections with themselves. I hope you enjoy.

Saturday night of the Blue Retreat for 2010 and it is approximately 8.50pm. I am at Catholic College Wodonga and I am surrounded by teenagers, boys and girls about 150 of them. And for a Saturday night, they are far from running around and screaming. In fact, I am privileged to be here. Let me describe what I see.

To my right are two girls, maybe 18 years old and one is consoling the other and I have no doubt that it’s because of the strong spiritual presence which is in this hall that she is moved to tears. Everyone that I see here tonight is here by their own choice, choosing to take part in this incredible experience. There are groups scattered around the hall sitting on the floor, some in groups of threes some in twos and some on their own, they are reflecting, praying or just sitting there with each other.

It is quiet and dark with some scattered dim lighting, and here and there I can see OUR boys (whom I will not name). Let me tell you what they are doing. Not far from the two girls to my right, one of OUR boys is in a designated prayer circle with Sister Sally and a teacher from one of the other schools. The three of them are leaning in, over a candle on the ground and holding hands, their eyes shut. In front of me is a large group of Rowers standing around a rectangular garden pot filled with sand and in it are candles which have been lit by the students. The idea is to say a prayer for someone they know and place the candle in the sand. The colour of all these candles in the dim light is quite beautiful. There are about 25 students standing around the candles in a reflective manner and no one speaks. One of OUR students has lit a candle and takes a step back. He has stood at the candle filled pot staring at the yellow and orange flames for about thirty minutes. His eyes are open and from where I am sitting I can see the flames in his eyes. I wish his parents could see him right now.

Another of OUR students’ lay’s still on the ground, his arms resting on his stomach. Another sits at the far end of the hall, writing and another sits and simply reflects. Another is reading a book of inspiration. Still, no one speaks. A few other students are waiting in a long line for a moment in reconciliation with Fr Dennis or Fr Jake. Another student is sitting next to a crucifix with his hands in front of him while a student from another Marist school puts their arm around him for comfort and support.

The thing is, I can’t take a photo of all this and what I am experiencing can’t be captured, it can only be lived and remembered. It’s funny, as we watched a very moving re-enactment of the our Saviours’ last moments, Mary said good bye to her son in a very emotional scene, it occurred to me the parents of these boys here also gave up their son and although it was only for the week end and you all get your son back, you sacrificed your family time on a week end for your son to experience a camp which keeps Jesus alive. Without that sacrifice we not have been able to share this incredible week end together. To those parents,

Thank you,

Thankyou,

Thank you.

Jesus is alive and well here at Marcellin and he was with us this week end. I wish every boy could experience what I am experiencing right now.”