Basic Christian Community of Hawaii Spiritual Retreat, Feb 28 - Mar 2, 2025

In this Jubilee Year of Hope, you are invited to simply experience a sense of peace and renewal that only a weekend retreat can provide. This dedicated time will allow you to explore and deepen your spiritual practices.

Taking place in the cool hills of Kalihi Valley where the beauty of nature abounds, you will be offered a space for prayer, reflection, and connection with the teachings of the Catholic faith in a loving Christian community. The theme of this retreat is “I am yours.”

Located deep in the valley of the Koolau mountain range, Basic Christian Community of Hawaii (BCCH) offers a two-night retreat for adult men and women led by spiritual directors, the Very Reverend Msgr. Gary Secor of the Diocese of Honolulu, and Sr. Meristella Umdor, a Missionary Sister of Mary Help of Christians. Retreatants come to enjoy the natural beauty of the peaceful location, and the freedom from modern distractions. Since 1985, BCCH has welcomed guests to experience true Christian community, found in song, prayer, witness talks, educational and reflective experiences, and small faith-sharing groups. The theme of BCCH Adult Retreat #128 is "I am yours." This retreat is ideal for anyone seeking to find peace at the start of this year in expectant faith for a true relationship with our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ.

Basic Christian Community of Hawaii, Adult Retreat #128

Information, Instructions, and Procedures

The BCCH Retreat will be held on February 28, March 1 and 2, 2025 at St. Anthony Retreat Center located at 3351 Kalihi Street, Honolulu.

First Day of Retreat:

Friday, February 28, 2025

4 p.m. Reception, registration and room assignments

5 p.m. Dinner soup, sandwiches, drinks and snacks

6 p.m. Retreat formally begins in the Immaculate Heart Hall.

Given confirmation of your registration, please arrive between 4 - 5:45 p.m. to check in. At the entrance, parking attendants will greet you and will park your car for you if you so choose. A team leader will escort you to the check-in station where you will receive your room assignment. Additional information and instructions will be provided by letter or phone call from one of the retreat directors once your application has been confirmed.

You are strongly encouraged to submit your application with payment early. Please be advised that retreatant openings will most likely be filled quickly and space for last minute registrations or walk-ins may not be readily accepted or available.

If within 48 hours of the event, you are experiencing sickness (fever, chills, shortness of breath, coughing, fatigue, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, or congestion), or have come into physical contact with a person with COVID, for the health and safety of yourselves and others, please do not come to the event. Mask wearing is optional during the retreat.

The registration fee of $150 covers the cost of 2 nights of accommodations in the historic Sacred Heart Hall, six full meals, snacks, retreat materials and experience.

The retreat will end on Sunday, March 2, 2025 at 3 p.m.

For questions and other information, you may contact the retreat directors at [email protected].

Basic Christian Community of Hawaii is a lay movement of the Roman Catholic Church, operating with full Diocesan approval. Our spiritual guides and advisors are the Very Reverend Msgr. Gary Secor and Sr. Meristella Umdor, Missionary Sister of Mary Help of Christians. It is designed to bring together small groups of people to support one another (community), to study and know Jesus’ Word (the message), and to live more fully the life of a believer (the mission).

When you stop and think about it, community has always been an essential part of the Christian life, right from those wondrous days recounted in the New Testament. Just as fish swim together in schools for protection against their predators, we too need the strength of one another to shield us from worldly temptation and to help us continue on our own spiritual journeys.

The Basic Christian Community of Hawaii (BCCH) was organized in 1985 and it has been growing ever since. It is modeled after a success-proven format that is some 2000 years old. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, the disciples were the original basic Christian community. After they were banned from using the temples for their meeting place, they met in homes to continue the spreading of His Word. This format must have worked, because those original twelve disciples have now grown to some two billion Christians in the world. Now, that’s a success story!

BCCH is nothing more than an attempt to recreate the closeness of such small communities, to recapture some of the fire of the apostles, and to spread the Good News, both through personal witnessing and lifestyle changes. Community is very important to our relationships, too. We cannot separate how we relate to God from how we relate to one another, because the very things that keep us from forming closer relationships with our neighbors also separate us from God. The goal of Basic Christian Community of Hawaii is for us all to develop deeper ties with both the Living God and His people.

BCCH holds six retreats each year and we welcome anyone who wants to experience God’s love in a more powerful way. The presence of His Spirit is truly felt, and you can honestly see Him in the face of others, so we encourage new members to use these weekends as both an introduction and a jump-start to their own BCCH experience. Although most new BCCH members attend one of our retreats first, our weekly small groups are open to all who wish to experience their faith more fully. Our weekly meetings then provide a continuation of the brotherhood experienced at the weekend as we give praise and thanks to God, share what He has done in our lives, and study His Word.

Host or Publisher Basic Christian Community of Hawaii