The First Family Retreat - 2023 / Registration

Save the dates:
Friday April 28 – Sunday April 30, 2023
Pinerock Camp and Retreat Center
Prescott, Arizona

Everyone seems to agree that Western Civilization is in trouble. The problem is that no one agrees on what has gone wrong or what to do about it.

What if the problem goes to the very foundations of who we are as human beings in relationship with God?

In The First Society: The Sacrament of Matrimony and the Restoration of the Social Order, Scott Hahn makes the startling claim that our society's ills and its cures are rooted in whether we reject or accept the divine graces made available through the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony.

Man, he argues, is social in his very nature…created for community. As it was in the beginning, so it remains today. The family, formed through the Sacrament of Matrimony, is the most basic building block of every society. We've corrupted marriage, and so we have a corrupt society. If we get marriage right, our society, through God's grace, will flourish.

This is so because Matrimony, like all the sacraments, heals and elevates human nature. Without marriage, our ambitions toward a just social order will remain forever foolhardy. With it, the seemingly impossible, a truly peaceful and humane civilization, becomes possible.

On the foundation of these principles, our 2023 retreat content and activities will be built.

The Adult Couple portion of this retreat will be led by 
Fr. Joe Tuscan, OFM Cap, - Retreat Master, from
Province of St. Augustine, Pittsburgh, PA.

 Key benefits for families who attend this retreat weekend include:

• spending time together
• gaining relief from every day stress
• strengthening the family
• nourishing the sacramental bond of Marriage 
• renewing friendships and developing life-long friendships with the other families with whom you share the retreat experience.
• growing closer as a family in relationship to each other and God

This retreat will offer a safe space where family members will experience great joy together. 

Four tracks will be available:  Parents, High School, Middle School, Younger Children

Deluxe Cabin(s)*   (as of 3.17.23, one deluxe cabin remains available)
$310 per person (12+ years)
$270 per person (4 - 11 years)
FREE (0 – 3 years)

*Deluxe-style lodging is a cabin or hotel style accommodation with larger beds, linens and towels provided. There are kitchenettes, living areas and private bathrooms in each cabin.

Aspen, Big 60, Fiesta 2, Fiesta 3, Fiesta 5, Fiesta 6,  Ironwood, Juniper, Northside, Oak, Olivet, Sparrow, Spruce, Whitten

Basic Cabin(s)**   (as of 3.17.23, two basic cabins remain available.)
$280 per person (12+ years)
$255 person (4 – 11 years)
FREE (0 – 3 years)

**Basic cabins are free-standing buildings with bunks in several rooms throughout the cabin...similar to dorms. As a special consideration for  St . Thomas the Apostle,  linens and towels will be supplied for basic cabin accommodations.

Martin 1, Martin 2, Martin 3, Pinetop

Transportation, meals, activities and cabin are included in fee.   

High school teens will reside in separate dorm-style*** facilities at Basic Cabin rates;
teens are asked to bring their own sleeping bags and towels.

***Lions 3, Lions 4, Lions 5, Lions 6, Lions 7, Lions 8, Lions Lower Den

Register and payment online. St. Thomas the Apostle will make the actual Pinerock retreat accommodation reservations based on your registration form info.

Limited space (first-come; first-served).
Registration deadline is April 1, 2023.

Surrounded by a cloud of witnesses
Hebrews 12:1a

2023 First Family Registration Form

2023 First Family Online Payment Form

Excitement is building for our second Parish Family Retreat offering. 

Please pray, discern, and consider if you are called to help in this special weekend for families. If you are interested or have questions, call Deacon Ed at 520-577-8780, extension 111 or eMail him at [email protected].