By Erika Anderson, Staff Writer

CONYERS—Angela Lenahan sang along with other retreat participants to the words of Stevie Wonder’s “Sir Duke,” the theme song for the first SEARCH retreat held in 1976.

Now, 25 years later, her son, Luke, a senior in high school, was among several teens who served on SEARCH 100, held the weekend of March 30-April 1.

The SEARCH for Christian Maturity weekends are retreats put on by teens for teens. Sponsored by the archdiocese, the SEARCH program is based on the “philosophy that a retreat experience run by teens for teens will provide each of the searchers with the opportunity of developing the awareness of self-worth, to grow with, in and towards Christ and building a Catholic Christian community,” the SEARCH information packet reads.

“The SEARCH retreat program does not intend to correct one’s character, morals, emotions or unstable school or family life. The vision of the SEARCH program is to provide a method of giving those who have potential of influencing others a personal encounter with Christ.”

SEARCH brings Christ into the teens’ own environment.

Held at least three times throughout the year at various locations, the SEARCH program gives high school teens an opportunity to meet youth from other parishes in the archdiocese. At least two high-school-aged youth directors are chosen by adult coordinators to lead a SEARCH retreat. The youth directors then put together a team of teens to act as table guides and leaders. The retreat closes with Mass on Sunday.

A reunion was held after the closing of SEARCH 100, during which many who had been on past retreats came together to reflect on the program that had changed their lives.

Emily Adams was one of those who came to Camp Westminster in Conyers for the reunion. Adams made SEARCH 55, served as youth director on SEARCH 72 and was the adult coordinator for SEARCH 79-84. She said that SEARCH had been a catapult in her faith journey.

“You’re really forced to look at your relationship with Jesus Christ,” she said. “For me SEARCH was the turning point in building that relationship.”

Adams, a parishioner of St. Mary’s Church in Rome, said that she was one of only a handful of Catholics in her high school.

“To be among other Catholic youth (at SEARCH) was such a refreshing opportunity for spiritual growth,” she said. “I think because of that I pursued those relationships more so than my relationships in high school.”

And Adams is still pursuing those relationships, she said.

“I still have very close friends from SEARCH,” she said. “I know that a lot of us have prayer lists on our fridge with SEARCH friends from around the state. We support each other in good times and in bad and we’re always praying for each other. There’s still a tie there.”

For many in the archdiocese like the Lenahans, that tie has extended within their own families.

Mrs. Lenahan was excited to see her son take the same path that she did by getting involved in SEARCH.

“It was so funny to see him kind of follow in my footsteps,” she said.

Already blessed with what she calls a “strong faith” before her SEARCH retreat, Mrs. Lenahan said that she was glad for the opportunity to serve her peers.

“I think it helped me to expand my friendships and to meet other people like me,” she said. “It gave me the opportunity to reach out to other people in that capacity with the gifts I had.”

The Lenahan family, belonging to Prince of Peace Church in Buford, has endured much. Their youngest daughter, Erin, was born severely disabled and died in 1998 at the age of 8. Mrs. Lenahan said that her son embraced his faith.

“He could have gone either way. He could have rebelled or he could have done what he did,” she said. “I think he found his grounding at church. He found a place of comfort and a place of friendship.”

She said that when Luke shares his story with new searchers, they are reminded of their own blessings.

“He has been through a lot,” she said. “I think the fact that he was able to give of himself (through SEARCH) was very healing for him.”

Luke, who made SEARCH 92, gave a talk for 93, served as a table guide for 96 and as youth director for 98, said that after making a SEARCH retreat, “you want to go back and help the next set of teens get the exact same experience you had.”

“I believe that you can’t really get anything out of something unless you put something into it,” he said. “When you’re a team member you are in charge of getting 48 teens to try to see the way of Christ.”

SEARCH has been a big part of his high school career, Luke said.

“It’s meant friendships that you’ll never lose; it’s meant Saturday evenings being able to watch your closest friends with tears streaming down their faces and giving them a hug that you never let go of,” he said. “Everyone who goes on a SEARCH takes a piece of it with them. They might not see it during the weekend, but somehow something touches them.”

Luke said he is looking forward to continuing his SEARCH ministry in the future.

“It was always a dream of mine that one day I’d see my sister go through a SEARCH, but maybe I’ll be one of the adult leaders,” he said. “And maybe in a few years I’ll get to watch my own kid go through it.”

Luke’s grandfather, Ben Mannen, serves as one of the adult retreat leaders and finds the teens an “inspiration,” said Mrs. Lenahan.

“The kids love having that grandfather figure there and he loves the kids so much,” she said. “Being able to share this with his grandson has just been fantastic.”

The Martins are another family who were brought together through the SEARCH program.

Angela Martin met her husband, Mike, on SEARCH 23 when he served as her table guide. She said she was scheduled to go on the previous retreat, but had become “violently ill” at the last minute. She was told by a Religious sister that “God has a reason that he wanted me to be on this SEARCH. She was right,” Mrs. Martin said.

SEARCH for Mrs. Martin meant “a lot of new feelings for me and good friends. I loved it.”

“I was on such a natural high when I came home that I was depressed that no one could understand what I was feeling and I couldn’t put it into words,” she said. “I remember growing so much.”

Her husband said that being involved in SEARCH meant a lot to him as a young person.

“It really opens your eyes to see what your community is all about,” he said.

The graduate of Marist School said that SEARCH gave him the opportunity to reach out to other Catholics in the archdiocese and to make a new commitment to his faith.

“It never really clicked until I saw how the community of SEARCH respected each other and really took the time to understand the roles of young adults in the church,” he said.

Serving as a team member with SEARCH helped him to realize his role, he said.

“You realize the magic of what SEARCH is and you want to bring that to someone else. There is so much that blossoms (on the retreat) that your garden continues to grow and you want to keep cultivating that garden and bring it to someone else,” he said. “Something wonderful happens to you on SEARCH and you want the same thing to happen for your friends.”

Martin continues to serve, teaching confirmation classes at Our Lady of LaSalette Church in Canton. He believes that his experience with SEARCH still connects him with teens.

“I would like to think that I still have that spirit of SEARCH in me,” he said. “I remember what it was like.”

Because SEARCH meant so much to Martin and his wife, they encouraged their eldest daughter, Adrianna, to attend a retreat. A senior in high school, Adrianna made SEARCH 100. She said that her first impression was one of awe.

“I was amazed. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly,” she said. “It was almost overwhelming, but in a good way.”

She said that the retreat has strengthened her faith.

“It made me appreciate my family life and how lucky I’ve been with them,” she said. ‘I kind of found God in my heart.”

Adrianna’s father said parents should encourage their children to make a SEARCH retreat.

“Sometimes parents are in the mode of being parents,” he said. “But you have to let your child go. You have to realize that you’re not the only teacher and that something else has to happen for them to take hold of their faith and to make it their own.”

For information about SEARCH, call Matthew Robaszkiewicz, archdiocesan director of youth ministry, at (404) 885-7491 or Martha Robert, SEARCH program coordinator, at (770) 396-0521.