Witnessing faith is not a common teenage activity. But a handful of youth ministers from Los Angeles and Orange counties are working to change that situation for area teens this summer as they prepare to lead an innovative retreat: "Signed and Anointed to Witness" or S.A.W.

According to Steve Tetreault, youth minister at St. John the Baptist Church in Costa Mesa, S.A.W. is a post-confirmation retreat where students learn how to witness and take "ownership" of their Catholic faith. It will be held for the first time in the Los Angeles area on July 26-30 at the De Paul Evangelization Center in Montebello.

For the past 15 years, S.A.W. has been offered in the Santa Barbara Region where it was conceived by youth minister Dennis Santos as a weeklong retreat to help teens learn how to build their confidence level and be a more active member of their Catholic parish. S.A.W. youth are encouraged to serve in some aspect of ministry at their respective parishes for one year after the retreat.

"S.A.W. is a place for Catholic teenagers to fully understand their faith and to realize that church is the place where they belong," said Tetreault. During the retreat activities, which include daily Mass, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, small group sharing and team building exercises, the participants connect with their spirituality in a deep way. "It initiates an 'I get it' response," said Tetreault.

Heather Hardy, a USC sophomore and St. Mary Magdalen (Camarillo) parishioner who attended a S.A.W. retreat during the summer between her sophomore and junior year at La Reina High School in Thousand Oaks, said the retreat was life-changing.

"The Holy Spirit really moved me during the last couple of days on S.A.W.," said Hardy. "I was challenged to look at my faith as a personal relationship with God. I learned how to 'walk' my faith, and I started caring more about everything going on around me."

Incarnation Church youth minister Michelle Maye, whose daughter attended S.A.W. during high school, said that the effects of the retreat were dramatic for her family, leading to her daughter's active participation as a para-minister in the confirmation program at St. Peter Claver Church in Simi Valley.

"The first thing she did when she came home was hug me," said Maye. "She couldn't stop talking about her faith. S.A.W. made her more aware of her spirituality…her aura was completely contagious." Impressed by her daughter's experience, Maye decided to become a youth minister herself and is part of the core team bringing S.A.W. to the Los Angeles area.

According to Maye, teens who have gone on S.A.W. say they're not afraid to express their faith at school, especially if they see fellow retreatants on campus. The retreat fosters a sense that "It's cool to be Catholic," said Maye.

Candidates for the S.A.W. retreat, open to approximately 78 youth who have received the sacrament of confirmation, are recommended by their parish youth ministers. Registration materials for the S.A.W. retreat will be sent shortly to area youth leaders. Father Norman Supancheck, chaplain at Bishop Alemany High School, will serve as retreat chaplain. For further information, call Maye, (818) 242-2579 ext. 133.