A Canadian Perspective
Our thanks to Levi Dohms for his part in writing this article. Levi is a member of the Ottawa Reformed Presbyterian Church in Ottawa, Canada. He traveled with his sister Natalie to Colorado for the retreat and to visit with some relatives who are members of the host church.
The first of the Midwest Covenanter Youth quarterly retreats in 2025 was held in Colorado Springs, CO at Springs Reformed Church: A large church with enough space to fit the 130 retreat attendees and the regular congregation. This retreat’s topic was Depression and Anxiety, taught by RPTS’s newest intern: David Mikucki.
Friday consisted of a delicious supper made by members of the Springs church, the foreword to Mr. Mikucki’s talks and an icebreaker with the discussion groups.
The first talk took place on Saturday after breakfast. The topic was defining depression and anxiety and what they look like in your spiritual and/or physical life. Depression is either ‘overmuch sorrow’, like mourning for months because your goldfish died, or ‘melancholy’, a lack of emotion in everything you do, Anxiety is worrying too much about things like physical pain, material needs, social anxiety, your spiritual condition and even nothing at all. Biblical examples of depression are: Jeremiah, when no one would hear his warnings; Job, as God removed his earthly possessions and Jesus, because he knew how he would suffer.
The second talk began shortly after the first, focusing on how we should go about treating anxiety and depression in ourselves. People tend to seek help in terms of physical, spiritual and mental health, but since much of modern mental health is based on non-biblical presuppositions, he advised caution. A biblical example of a person who received physical aid is Elijah, when he fled into the wilderness. Another example is King David seeking spiritual help when he writes Psalm 42 while fleeing from Absalom. He wasn’t worried about the danger, he was concerned about his relationship with God.
The youth broke off into discussion groups over lunch and then they were released for free time like playing basketball and volleyball in the church’s gym or hanging out.
The final talk started mid-afternoon, and it focused on more spiritual treatment and offered guidance for helping others who are struggling with depression and anxiety. We need to figure out what is wrong and why we are being anxious or depressed rather than ignoring our feelings. We need to pray, seek the truth, and receive correction. When helping others, it is important to listen to their problems to understand what they’re going through. You have to understand that they may not want you to be the one to help them. It is important to bring cases like these to your elders, where possible, it is their job and desire to help in a situation like this.
The upcoming Spring Midwest retreat is on the topic of Courage and the speaker is Pastor Kyle Borg. It will take place in Shawnee, Kansas. More information is available at midwestcy.org, and recordings of the talks can be found on the Midwest Covenanter Youth YouTube channel.
An American Perspective
Thanks to Kate Koller for her part in this article. Kate is a member of the Manhattan RPC in Manhattan Kansas.
David Mikucki, a seminary student under care, gave us three wonderful messages. The topic was on mental health – specifically, anxiety and depression. He gave us standard definitions of what anxiety and depression are and how they deeply impact and are impacted by both our spiritual as well as physical being. We cannot disregard either of those aspects when considering mental health, especially as Christians. He gave biblical examples of people who struggled with anxiety and depression and even described the mental struggles that Jesus had.
He made a point that feeling anxious and/or depressed isn’t a sin in and of itself because Jesus lived a sinless life and still struggled with these things. He also addressed how vital it is to find help or to reach out and be a help to those around you who may be struggling. These lectures were very thought provoking and made for great discussions.
One of the best parts of retreats is being able to be in unity with likeminded brothers and sisters in Christ. My love for these retreats and these people is so great. They’re such a big blessing in growing me spiritually. Seeing so many people whose heart for the Lord is so vast is such an encouraging thing to be around. All that to say, God is truly working in the youth of this generation and what a blessing it is to be able to be part of this. I hope you find encouragement that our presbytery is continuing to grow in size as well as in spiritual growth.
“Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love nad peace will be with you.” – 2 Corinthians 13:11
Thanks to Irene Huizing and Rachel Mann for the photos.
