Encounter with Christ Retreat participants recount their experience

For students like Cassidy Nipp, the Encounter with Christ Retreat offers a chance to form new friendships and see the world in a new light. 

“‘Encounter’ was easily one of my favorite and most impactful experiences at Creighton so far. It was a beautiful reminder of how much richer life is in community with others and it gave me a chance to slow down to reground myself,” Nipp, a sophomore in the College of Nursing, said.  

Students, faculty and staff just completed the spring Encounter with Christ Retreat last weekend, but preparation started months earlier by Campus Ministry staff and students to get ready for the weekend long retreat for about 60 Creighton students. 

The Rev. Jeff Sullivan, S.J., the retreats coordinator for Campus Ministry, said the student coordinators and student leaders of the retreat were selected in April and May of last year. 

Sullivan said in total there are two student coordinators, 13 student leaders and nine faculty/staff leaders. 

“Student leaders will give talks where they share about their faith journey,” Sullivan said. 

He said the retreat involves small group conversations facilitated by student and faculty/staff leaders. 

Jon Herrington, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, is a coordinator for the retreat, held at the Creighton University Retreat Center in Griswold, Iowa. 

Sullivan said this retreat is different from the Freshman Retreat because the Freshman Retreat is more about the transition from high school to freshman year. 

“This is more of a retreat about deepening my experiences, reflecting on where God has been most present,” Sullivan said. 

Herrington said the Encounter Retreat is unique among other retreats or programs offered by Campus Ministry. 

“It engages a rather large number of students of various backgrounds and identities, areas of study and interests, in discussing matters of faith and life as Christians,” Herrington said. 

His role as a coordinator involves logistical planning, like arranging small groups for example. “I am most excited to finally put faces to names and see how God is at work in the lives of these retreatants I’ve been praying for these last months,” Herrington said. 

Sullivan said he is excited to see the student leaders show their leadership while on the retreat after many months of planning, and “to watch people grow spiritually to honor the gift they are and what God has given.”