Teens Uncover Buried Treasure, Hidden Gems, and Heavenly Secrets at the 2024 Fall Retreat

By Kurt Fekete

The annual Swedenborgian Church Youth League (SCYL) Fall Retreat took place in October 2024 at the beautiful Cedar Hill Retreat Center in Duxbury, Massachusetts. This year’s theme, “Buried Treasure, Hidden Gems, and Heavenly Secrets,” set the stage for a weekend of spiritual exploration and personal growth.

Twelve ecstatic, borderline hysterical, teens burst into Cedar Hill Retreat Center at sunset on a Friday evening to kick off the retreat. They immediately raced down to the beach to watch the sun sink into Kingston Bay. For our evening icebreaker, we discussed where we would bury a treasure chest so that it wouldn’t be disturbed for a hundred years. Answers varied from the bottom of the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean to Almont New Church Assembly, and even in a cemetery. This fun activity got us thinking about literal buried treasure, setting the stage for later explorations for more figurative hidden treasures.

After breakfast, I opened the Saturday morning session with a brief introduction to how Divine Providence operates in our lives. Emanuel Swedenborg describes Providence as a continuous, all-encompassing flow of God’s love and wisdom guiding creation toward good ends. It considers humanity’s eternal spiritual welfare rather than just temporary earthly happiness. Although usually invisible and behind the scenes, I believe that sometimes we can detect providential omens if we look very carefully for them or if they are critically important for us to observe. I have witnessed Providence directly and I told the teens a story involving a situation where I got a peek behind the curtain to reveal a hidden gem which gave me vital direction on a critical decision in my life. (It involved spearmint leaves jelly candy—ask me about it if you get a chance!)

Rev. Kevin Baxter led the remainder of the morning session, focusing on the life of Emanuel Swedenborg. He began by asking, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Kevin explained how Swedenborg initially preferred poetry and science over following his father’s religious path. The unifying gem of Swedenborg’s life was not the what, but the why—the question that drove him to excel in his research and ultimately discover the spiritual world.

In the afternoon, Kevin divided the teens into pairs and sent them outside to collect three items from nature. They returned with branches, berries, feathers, shells, stones, leaves, and even a large stray spider that caused quite a commotion. They talked about the correspondence of the items that they found.  All of nature is linked and has a meaning. Cedar trees are spiritual understanding. Birds are spiritual thoughts. Birds nesting in cedar trees are affections for thoughts that are grounded in spiritual understanding. If an item helps people get closer to God or closer to the neighbor, it is a good correspondence. If it is contrary to this, it is evil. Next, the objects were placed in a bowl of water to see if they would float or sink. They talked about whether they feel like they are floating upon a sea of truth or sinking in an ocean of falsity. What’s the baggage that you are bringing into your life? How are you living? Why are you living?

How wonderful to have Rev. Sage Cole join us for dinner Saturday evening and lead us in three interrelated sessions, Communion: Be Love, Baptism: Be Honest, and Anointing: Be Useful. But first, the group rushed down to the bay to catch the sunset. We saw that Sunday was going to be a cloudy day, and we wanted to get a picture of the entire group at golden hour on the beach. In Sage’s evening session, Communion: Be Love, she asked the teens when and where they felt loved. Sage explained that our very substance is love. Love is a uniting force. Then, we shared communion together. Sage said, “As we share Holy Supper together and are nurtured in community we are fed by love and truth.”

Sunday morning after breakfast, Sage led Baptism: Be Honest. She described how vital these religious sacraments are. Sage went on to say, “Water moves and changes. There are flow states where you are fluid and productive. Flow states exist when you are creatively inspired to create. E(motions) are what move us through life.” She asked, “What emotions move us?” Happiness, fear, anger, even confusion and anxiety can be useful experiences that contribute to our movement. A teen asked about depression. Sage commented that depression is a very real thing. We must seek help when we are truly depressed. However, she added that depression often comes when we are ready to change. “We are at a threshold to become something adventurous and new. We are called to grow. The world is painful, but it is also a ripe opportunity.” Her session ended with an activity of pouring of water onto the hands of the teens. As water streamed over their hands, Sage pronounced, “Remember your baptism: Your perfect child within.”

Sage’s last session on Sunday afternoon was titled, Anointing: Be Useful. Sage explained, “Being useful isn’t always about doing. You can be busy, but not useful. It’s understanding that there are cycles, and we continually move through them. We need to be attentive to our needs. We should move and act when we are ready and able.” Sage then asked the teens how they are helpful? The teens responded with answers that included, being emotionally supportive, teaching dance, making other people happy, physically assisting others, and gifting others with art. Sage inquired, “Are there places where it is easier to be useful?” In closing, she pointed out that when love and truth are happening at the same time, it births usefulness. Sage then anointed the foreheads of each of us with oil. She exclaimed, “Oil is the essence of a thing. It is distilled. When we are anointed, we are distilling the essence of our core. All the potential for greatness and joy is already inside you!”

 I led the last session of the retreat Sunday evening. My inspiration for my session was Matthew 5:14–16, “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. People do not light a lamp and put it under the basket; rather, they put it on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works.” I lit a candle to demonstrate how dimly the light shines when it is placed under a basket. We do not want our talents and passions to be concealed from the world. During my session the teens filled out a hidden gem worksheet that asked questions like, “What talent or interest do you have that you might sometimes hide? What is something that you love that others might not know? And What do you treasure in your life right now?” After these worksheets were collected, they were folded up and a crystal was hidden inside each one. When they selected a worksheet to read, they received a special hidden gem, such as, amethyst, moonstone, citrine, tiger eye, or obsidian. It was amazing to see how well each crystal seemed to match the individual even though they had no idea what was hidden within the folded paper. We closed with a special meditation that included a reading from The Alchemist about living your personal legend and discovering omens. 

While not in session, the SCYL teens had a great time bumping the volleyball around in a circle (thank you, Jill, for buying them a nice volleyball), throwing the frisbee, and beach combing for treasures. Our rock n’ bowl outing to Alley Kat Lane was fun for everyone (will I ever get another candlepin strike again?) and we returned to Cedar Hill for homemade apple crisp that was still warm from the oven and served with French vanilla ice cream—yum! Our last night brownie sundae party was delicious, and we stayed up extra late playing Catchphrase and a circle game called Psychiatrist. Everyone left on Monday morning feeling exhausted but fulfilled as we take our hidden treasures home to share with our families, friends, and neighbors. 

Read the full issue of the Winter 2025 Messenger