ACTS spreads the Gospel of Jesus Christ among Catholic communities
by promoting, consulting in, facilitating & sponsoring Retreats.
What is a Retreat?
It is a 3-day & 3-night Catholic Lay retreat presented by fellow parishioners.  It begins on a Thursday evening & ends Sunday morning at a Mass celebrated with the parish community.  The focus is on Adoration, Community, Theology & Service, from which the ACTS acronym is derived.  The retreat facilitates the attainment of a new or deeper relationship with the Lord through:
Adoration - The call by, acceptance of & response to God
Community - The love and caring of each other
Theology - The study of God thru scripture and the Catholic Faith
Service -  To God and his people.
Purpose: It is designed to help the retreatants enter into a new or deeper relationship with our Lord and fellow parishioners.  This is done through Adoration and daily prayer, the call to Community in one's parish as a member of the Body of Christ and Theology in encouraging the study of scripture and our Catholic Faith; all of which emphasize and encourage the virtue of Service to our Lord, our parish and one another.
Goal:  A parish retreat strives to achieve the directives of Vatican II and goals of the Revised Code of Canon Law of 1983 which emphasize "community and pastoral care" within a parish. It allows the retreatants to experience God's love and joy.  They return to their parish with a deeper love for each other and a desire to become more involved in their parish faith community.
Why conduct a retreat?  It is a powerful and enduring personal conversion experience. Talks, which draw from the personal experiences of team members, focus on:
Adoration - the need for prayer and meditation on the word of God;
Community - the importance of community built on faith and love;
Theology - the need to read and understand scripture and our Catholic Faith; and
Service - the need to answer Christ's call to servanthood.
Activities give retreatants a better understanding of the significance and importance of prayer, liturgy, sacraments, scripture, community & service.  Retreatants are also given guidance to help them in their faith journey. It is a powerful community building experience.  It also brings the retreatants to a better understanding of God's love for them, and also develops their need to share that love with others through their involvement in a faith-centered parish community.  It emphasizes our call to service - to the parish community and to our world community.
There results a new or renewed dedication to the life of the parish community and a new recognition of the needs of those around us and of our obligation, as followers of Christ, to help meet those needs.