Bringing schoolchildren on ‘A Pilgrim Path’

Dispelling myths and prejudices, Chai Brady hears about young people and their relationship with God

Schoolchildren have a “great hunger” to discuss and engage in discussions about God and they must be given this opportunity, according to a retreat facilitator that has worked with multiple schools.

Anita Phelan, who has a degree in applied psychology, a diploma in guidance and counselling, a postgraduate diploma in Education and a diploma in youth retreat facilitation, told The Irish Catholic that although young people she has worked with were nervous about discussing God, “they actually really desired and were hungry for that information”.

It just made me realise we can’t feed into that perception that young people don’t want to come into a relationship with God because it’s a false perception”

Ms Phelan put together a programme called ‘A Pilgrim Path’ after a Dublin school contacted her expressing interest in a walking tour. Going a step further, A Pilgrim Path is both a walking tour of Dublin city’s churches and an insight into their history, while also being an invitation for students to engage in stillness, inward reflection and prayer as they journey from church to church.

“I certainly would have been of that opinion initially that young people had disengaged completely from a desire for a relationship with God and the need for Mass and so on,” she explains.

“When I first started delivering retreats, I have to say that when I went into schools initially I felt I had to be very measured, I didn’t want to overwhelm them with talking too much about God and their faith but it very quickly became obvious to me that they actually really desired and were hungry for that information.”

Desire

“Oftentimes it wasn’t obvious, like they’re slow to talk about it, they’re nervous talking about it. But if you give them a chance to talk in pairs or write it down; it was just powerful that desire to know God and how to go about to know God.

“It just made me realise we can’t feed into that perception that young people don’t want to come into a relationship with God because it’s a false perception. I’m not there to bring the faith to them, to bring God to them, he’s already with them. I think we have a responsibility to support them on that journey and not shut the door,” she adds.

You’re welcome here any time, God dwells here and he would love to see you coming and it doesn’t matter what you’ve done”

Ms Phelan is no stranger to working with young people, having served as a guidance counsellor in both boys’ and girls’ schools while also experiencing the role of a classroom teacher in the subjects of Careers, English and SPHE.  Anita has been an active member of her church and young adult faith groups throughout the years and felt the growing need to equip herself with the skills to assist young people in their relationship with God.

She says: “What I love about A Pilgrim Path is that even though it’s a brilliant forum to have those conversations – I don’t have to shy away from what it is we’re doing, I can very much engage with it – it’s done in a way that can also be described as gentle because you have that lovely experience of being out, people experiencing these beautiful buildings, familiarising themselves with their churches, with their locality, with their history which is also interesting for them but also then having that medium as well, that forum to say: ‘You’re welcome here any time, God dwells here and he would love to see you coming and it doesn’t matter what you’ve done’.”

There were many “beautiful” churches “tucked away” in Dublin that were even new to her which she discovered during her research. Although the churches were enthusiastic about the idea of schoolchildren being brought on pilgrimage to visit, Covid-19 restrictions got in the way and it had to be put on hold.

When the lockdown meant churches were closed for public Mass and some closed completely to the public even for private prayer, Ms Phelan said she was “absolutely heartbroken”.

“In the first few weeks of lockdown when we weren’t able to do anything, and I’m sure a lot of people would feel the same, the importance of churches, of Mass, was highlighted to me more than ever. I never before felt such a hunger to be in Mass, to have the Eucharist, and as soon as the churches were opened, I was back as often as I could,” she says.

Sacred space

Explaining what A Pilgrim Path entails, she says: “We’d visit our first church and the students get an opportunity to hear a little bit about the hopes for the day and the introduction and then they’re also given a booklet which gives them a chance to journal their thoughts throughout the day and reflect on the experience within each church.

“So as we go from church to church they hear a little bit about the history and about how essentially the churches are intertwined with the social and political fabric of Dublin, and then ultimately I suppose the main message would be to have an appreciation for the church, the history and the architecture, but ultimately really emphasising that this is a place where God dwells, if they would like to find that element of peace within a sacred space, a place where they can be still and engage with the stillness and the peace that churches offer: that this is a place that they can do that.”

With the groups that she has already taken, Ms Phelan says initially she felt there was some resistance but that throughout the day there were clues they were enjoying the experience.

Meditation

“For instance, the meditation seemed to be something they absolutely loved, you could hardly hear a pin drop when we were in the church,” she says.

“They were so engaged with it and these are students who would say they didn’t have much experience of something like that, of that five minutes of silence, so throughout the day they were compliant, they were happy, they seemed engaged but again I was really just handing it over and saying God help me here, I hope they’re getting from it what I would love for them to get from it.”

Ms Phelan also expressed an interest in creating similar programmes outside of Dublin, whether that would be her going to facilitate or help schools do it themselves, possibly even helping students to spearhead and facilitate the programme themselves. She has some school bookings for A Pilgrim Path in the New Year and is hopeful more schools will engage in the coming months.

For those interested in A Pilgrim Path they can find out more at https://www.iam-retreats.com/ Anita Phelan can be contacted by email at iamretreatsinfo@gmail.com