By Reagan Scott
for the Register
Those who join the program will be integral in welcoming retreatants, helping them feel comfortable and giving them a sense of home.
With a mission to “provide a sanctuary and experience which leads people to encounter Jesus Christ,” Our Lady of Good Counsel Retreat House in Waverly seeks to “transform and renew” the spiritual lives of those who visit through inspiring retreats and warm hospitality.
To help achieve this goal, the retreat house is seeking individuals to join its new volunteer ambassador program.
Created in answer to the question, “How can we improve people’s overall experience at the retreat house?” the program will offer volunteers the opportunity to serve as ambassadors for Our Lady of Good Counsel, and assist with retreats and other hosted events.
Sarina Stokes, the outreach and ministry coordinator for Our Lady of Good Counsel, said that, in keeping with the retreat house’s goal of providing warm hospitality to all who visit, those who join the program will be integral in welcoming retreatants, helping them feel comfortable and invited and giving them a sense of home.
Throughout the year, the volunteer ambassadors will have the opportunity to sign up to help on Friday evenings during retreat weekends – greeting visitors as they arrive, helping with check-in, showing them to their rooms and assisting with luggage, answering any questions they may have about the facilities, and encouraging them to sign up for volunteer opportunities throughout the weekend.
In addition to this on-site assistance, Stokes said that one thing that was on the hearts of the staff as they worked to develop the program was the importance of prayer, and having more people interceding for the retreat house and those coming on retreat. Prior to the retreat beginning, part of the ambassadors’ duties will be to offer prayers for the retreat master and retreatants, as they prepare for the weekend, and that nothing would prevent them from being able to attend.
Volunteer ambassadors will also be required to attend one retreat each year. Stokes said this component is particularly important, because they want volunteers to get the entire retreat experience, and personally encounter the mission of the retreat house for themselves. This way, they can serve visitors out of their own personal experience.
Finally, in their own parishes, the volunteers will be asked to share information about Our Lady of Good Counsel and upcoming retreats, encouraging others to attend.
“When not at the retreat house,” Stokes said, “our volunteers will serve as ambassadors and the face of the retreat house within their own sphere of influence.”
Stokes said the volunteers can serve as a link between Our Lady of Good Counsel and their parish priests, inviting them into the mission of the retreat house and encouraging them to invite their parishioners to take part in retreat house programs.
For those interested in the program, training will be provided during the summer. During that time, volunteers will learn more about assisting with the Friday night check-in process. Because the volunteer ambassadors will be the first people visitors will encounter upon arrival, emphasis will be placed on fostering the feeling of hospitality that Our Lady of Good Counsel works to provide for all retreatants.
Volunteers will also have the opportunity to learn how to assist with the technology needed for the virtual retreat options that Our Lady of Good Counsel provides.
Stokes said that with volunteers serving in this new capacity, the program will give Father Gary Coulter, the director of the retreat house, and other full-time staff, the freedom to expand more of their ministry and programming efforts, giving even more people the chance to encounter Jesus on retreat.
“Father can’t be everywhere at once, and there are a lot of people who have the desire, and the gift, to serve in this capacity,” Stokes said.
Already, Our Lady of Good Counsel has regular volunteers who give their time to the retreat house, and Stokes said this program will offer a more structured and organized way for them to assist.
It is hoped that the volunteers for the program will represent as many places as the retreatants who visit Our Lady of Good Counsel.
“The retreat house is here to serve the entire diocese. Participants come from all over, and we want to have that invitation be spread far and wide,” Stokes said. “We just want people to come alongside our mission, to provide a greater space of comfort and warmth at the retreat house.”
SNR photos | Natalie Bender
