ETC stands for Encounter Towards Christ. It is a three day retreat at ILS for juniors and seniors. It is the last step for retreats at ILS if you went to cornerstone freshman year and ignite sophomore year. The theme this year was Love and it encouraged those who participated to love those around them and to acknowledge that they are loved. Both juniors and seniors can lead the retreats after participating in one. The senior leaders were Karolina Campos, Gigi Lujan, and Rae Gomez. The retreat was led by Campus Ministry which consists of Mrs.  Mily Beltran, Mr. Nick Shaheen, Mr. Julio, an ILS alum, and Sr. Katie Flanagan, FMA.

During the retreat they participated in Adoration where they had time to grow in their personal faith and reflect on the encounter. They also watched a skit which was performed by the seniors called “The Everything Skit,” which shows how much God loves you and how much he wants to protect us. There were also small groups where they got to do more friendship building and get to know one another.

They transitioned between prayer and small groups where they were asked deep questions about their lives. In one of the activities, they had a mask, a group on the outside would write how people perceive them, a group on the inside of the circle would write how they see themselves. This allowed them to be more comfortable with one another and get into each other’s minds.

Towards the end of the retreat there was a touching moment where they received letters from family members and friends writing messages of love and affirmation towards them. Not having a phone during this retreat seems like an end-of-the world scenario for most people so the fact they got to hear from their family towards the end was emotional.

Overall, ETC was a hit this year as many juniors got the chance to experience their first retreat at ILS.

If you have a chance, join the next ETC because it is worth it.