Traces of love at retreat for disabled Catholics

At one table, participant Geoffrey Locken chatted with Mike McGlynn of Catholic Charities Disabilities Services about the Three Stooges, his favorite comedy team. Frank Harter, who traveled to the retreat all the way from his home in Chatham, greeted tablemates with a solemn handshake.

The retreat began with an explanation that the Church is in the season of Lent. "Each of us has a circle of friends. Jesus did things with His friends, too," said David Amico of the diocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis, which sponsors the retreats.

To show how Jesus surprised His friends, teen volunteers performed a skit on the Transfiguration. "God loves us very, very much," Mr. Amico concluded, leading several rounds of the song "Oh, How I Love Jesus."

Gifts from God

"I've got a lot of friends that I really love," said Sue Albright. "You know how I show my love? I give them a hug! I've got a lot of love -- and a nice smile."

Ms. Albright kept a photo of her boyfriend Steve close by but noted that another tablemate from home, Neil Beynart, "is like a brother to me. He's a special friend."

Mr. Beynart, for his part, demonstrated the gift of enthusiasm, jumping up to take a turn at waving a flag with a cross on it without being asked. A Jim Carrey fan, he told The Evangelist that he loves to watch videos. He also loved stickers, creating several bookmarks in addition to his paper hand.

Gift of friendship

"Friendship," he said. "Meeting the people here, I get with a bunch of people I never met before. You get to take part in religious music, and it's someplace other than your own home."

He boasted that of the many times he has participated in the retreats, "the Bishop has been on every one except one." (Bishop Howard J. Hubbard came early in the day to greet each participant personally.)

During the break, Mr. Locken and Mr. Harter found common ground in their love of bowling. Mr. Harter, who also showed off a trading card of basketball player Reggie Wilson, reminded fellow retreatants to focus on God by asking several to pray for him.

Gift of love

The cookie break was followed by thank-yous to the volunteers who put the retreat together and drawings for door prizes. To reinforce the theme that God loves everyone, Mary Ellen Colfer of the OEC then led retreatants in hand movements in time to religious music.

"God, nothing can take us from your love," people sang, crossing their arms over their hearts. For the song "Holy Hands," Ms. Colfer asked the group to look at their hands, saying, "God works through our hands, so our hands are holy."

Gift of prayer

Speaking on the Transfiguration, Father Forno told the group of a trip he took to Israel, where he actually went to Mount Tabor, the site of the miraculous event. When he met an American priest who lived on the holy mountain, Father Forno was surprised to hear him say, "Living here is sheer hell." The priest on the mountain was upset that no one he lived with spoke English.

"He chose not to reach out and make friends with those with whom he was living in community," Father Forno said, noting that retreatants were doing just the opposite: "You've come to meet Jesus, to make of this place a holy ground, like Tabor."

Gift of talent

"We learned one dance, the Horseshoe Shuffle, that you had to dance in pairs," he told The Evangelist. "I didn't even hesitate to ask anybody."

After Mass, the retreat ended as it had begun: with a babble of sound, as participants bade each other farewell until the next retreat in the fall. Mr. Amico noted that parishes in the Saratoga and Herkimer areas plan to replicate the event, so more retreats are in the works.

(For information on the diocesan Retreats for Persons with Developmental Disabilities, call the OEC at 453-6630.)

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