Over Presidents Day Weekend 2025, youth from West Tennessee gathered at St. Columba’s Schiebler Lodge for Happening #74, a biannual retreat for teenagers.
Happening has been a part of the Diocese of West Tennessee’s youth programming since the 1980s. It is a weekend of fun, fellowship, and games. The experience seeks to bring young people into a fuller level of apostleship and relationship with Jesus Christ.
I had the pleasure of serving as the lay “Rector” of Happening #74. At Happening, the staff is primarily youth, and we are advised by adult leadership. My role as Rector was to oversee all aspects of the weekend, working together with youth staff and adults.
I loved every second, because Happening is so much more than just a weekend to me. It is a cornerstone of my faith and my commitment to
The Episcopal Church.
Happening is designed as a “mountaintop experience.” Participants (we call them Happeners!) climb the mountain together, learning more about what faith, piety, and a life spent with Christ are like in a teenager’s life. Happeners engage in these ideas through talks by youth staff and in small group time, where we make new friends and see God in everyone.
For many teenagers, Happening is a chance to experience our faith in a new way. With a meticulously planned out schedule, talks that follows the same format year after year and the generational knowledge recorded in our staff binders, Happening would appear to hold the same appreciation of time-honored tradition that binds The Episcopal Church together.
Yet Happening brings something new to the table. Here, we sing camp songs in camaraderie, worshiping with loud and imperfect voices. The Saturday night Healing Service is deeply emotional, unlike the formality many of us are used to in church. And Happeners learn that God can be found not just on Sunday mornings, but through the open and loving community of teenagers around them. The blend of new and old at my first Happening (#71) was what inspired me to help other youth experience the same.
There is something so deeply moving about the weekend. Maybe it is that we put away our phones, forcing us to truly connect with those who we might not have met otherwise. Maybe it is the small group time, where you will become surprisingly vulnerable with a group you met about twenty-four hours ago. Or maybe it is the weekend’s surprises that remind us that God’s love will always be there.
As with every Happening, #74 came with an update: The Steering Committee made the decision to open sign-ups to 9th graders, where we saw many more Happeners. We are hopeful that the new policy will allow youth to get involved in Happening earlier, and that it will more closely align with the time that many teenagers are confirmed.
Overall, Happening #74 was an incredible success. Not even a tornado warning could stop the fun. I had such an amazing time working with the incredible youth we had on staff. I’ve served on staff for two Happenings before this, and I love seeing the energy, the excitement, and the new friendships formed every time. Though I will miss Happening as I graduate and move away, I am so blessed to have climbed the mountain and grown my faith and the faith of youth around me.
Happening #75 will take place in August/September 2025 at Calvary Episcopal Church. Please direct any questions to happeningwtn@gmail.com.
