Fall Retreat for Chi Alpha
The fall retreat is when Christian college students come together to worship and hang out with friends. On Oct. 20, for the fall retreat, the Chi Alpha community went to Gore, Virginia. When the Chi Alpha community reached Gore, we went to Walmart to buy costumes. We were also going to prank each other so we also brought other things to prank the girls’ core group. When the girls group reached the location where we were going to stay, the community went to their cabins. At the fall retreat, they played volleyball, waterslide, and other games.
That evening, University of Virginia and PVCC students worshiped God and sang multiple songs. The guest speaker Blane Young talked about his experiences and how God helped him. Young is a minister who served as a Chi Alpha staff member in Washington, D.C. for a decade. He is now an executive director of Chi Alpha in D.C. and provides leadership, teaching, and vision to the students at American University and Georgetown University.
After Young’s speech, the core groups separated to talk to the other students from the University of Virginia about how they were doing and about God. The students needed to answer three questions about God as a group.
On Saturday, the core groups went to the cafeteria to have lunch near the auditorium where Young spoke his lecture. Afterwards, students went to hear Young’s teaching for a couple of hours. At noon, the Chi Alpha community ate lunch and switched houses to prank each other. The staff held tournaments in the afternoon for the students. The boys’ groups wrapped everything like beds, couches, and more in foil at the girls’ house, and the girls drew lipstick on the windows, glass sliding doors, and bathroom mirrors.
In the evening, the boys and girls wore costumes. The boys wore Jesus T-shirts and glasses, and the girls wore Barbie costumes. President of Chi Alpha Camden McReynolds said, “The fall retreat is where the community from University of Virginia and PVCC comes together to celebrate and worship God.”
