MERRILLVILLE – TAPT is back after a two-year COVID-19 hiatus, but what the Diocese of Gary weekend retreat for teenagers needs now is at least three dozen high school students to sign up to “Encounter Christ as Never Before” from April 1 to 3.
“The spirit of TAPT (Teens are Praying Together) is alive!” said Vicky Hathaway, diocesan ministry consultant for Youth and Young Adult Ministry. “We are gathering teens in prayer and helping them take time out from their busy, hectic and loud lives to connect with Christ in a new and exciting way, surrounded by their peers.”
The most recent TAPT retreat was held in 2019 at the U.S. Steelyard ballpark in Gary after the usual site, Camp Lawrence, was closed by a gas leak and other infrastructure issues that led to a year of major repairs and renovations.
“We are really excited to be back at Camp Lawrence, which is a beautiful setting and provides a retreat atmosphere,” said Hathaway. This will be the first TAPT weekend hosted at the Valparaiso site since 2018.
“We are asking participants to arrive at 7 p.m. Friday, April 1, and we’ll dismiss after a 2 p.m. closing Mass on Sunday, April 3,” explained Hathaway. The teens will stay in the remodeled cabins and should pack their own bedding, toiletries, casual clothes and good walking shoes for hiking.
Open to all high school students, including non-Catholics, teens can attend TAPT only once, but are invited to return as peer ministers and OATies, which stands for Our Auxiliary TAPT staff. “They help set up activities and serve food,” noted Hathaway, while peer ministers lead small group discussions.
“Being an OATie really impacted me as a teenager,” recalled Hathaway. “TAPT marked the first time I went to a faith-related activity alone – my sister had gone before me and I wanted to do everything she did, but it was a time of courage for me.
“After taking time to explore my faith at TAPT and set the tone for my high school faith journey, I was asked to come back as an OATie and that really developed my faith,” she added. “That’s been almost 20 years ago, and that experience still has an impact on me.”
TAPT includes a lot of small group discussions and reflections on specific topics with the same group of 5-7 teens, led by a peer minister assigned to the group for the weekend. “That allows you to be vulnerable and open in a safe space with people who care about you and will listen to you,” Hathaway said. “There are also large group gatherings to listen to teen and adult presenters, as well as group prayer, which can be very powerful.”
Hathaway promised “plenty of fun, too,” including live music and dancing, food, outdoor games and hiking. Minus phones, video games, televisions and radios, participants enjoy “quiet time to help people quiet their minds,” said Hathaway. “Young people feel bombarded by sound, social media, and say they need time to relax and pray. TAPT gives them that time. You are on retreat, so you are retreating from everyday life.”
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament will be available all weekend, and there will be opportunities for reconciliation leading up to the Sunday afternoon Mass.
High school students can register individually online at garyoyya.org/TAPT through March 18, but Hathaway said early registration is the key to making sure sufficient staff members are trained.
“This is kind of a rebuilding year, since we haven’t held TAPT for two years and the number of past attendees to serve as potential peer ministers and OATies is limited,” explained Hathaway.
Jamie Sandona, the director of religious education at St. John the Baptist in Whiting who chairs the diocesan TAPT Retreat Board, said current college students who attended TAPT may be tapped to fill out the youth staff. “We need at least 10 adult leaders and 10 peer ministers, as well as seven OATies, but first of all we need at least 35 teenagers to register for the weekend,” Sandona noted.
The cost to register is $90, which includes all lodging, food and materials as well as a T-shirt, but Hathaway said the fee should not deter interested teens. “There are several scholarships available, or teens can talk to their parish pastor or youth leader about possible help,” she suggested. Holy Spirit parish in Winfield, for instance, is offering to pick up half the fee for its parishioners.
“We’ve been working behind the scenes, but truthfully, I don’t know if we will be successful. If we don’t attract enough staffers and students, we’ll try to host some parish level retreats. It’s about the experience, and we want to provide that,” she said of herself and fellow board members Chad Frank of Nativity of Our Savior of Portage, Donna Frazier of Our Lady of Grace in Highland and Mark Medina of St. John the Baptist.
If TAPT is able to return this year, “That would be fantastic,” Sandona said. “I would be thrilled. We want it to return, and with the opportunity comes hope.”