Approximately 600 alumni and guests from around New York and the United States gathered for the 21st annual St. Christopher’s Inn Alumni Reunion at Graymoor. The day included time for prayer, sports, and fellowship.
Celebrating sobriety and friendship, the day started with a Memorial Brick-Walk ceremony, followed by Mass. Alumni choir members even had the opportunity to join in song! After Mass, the festivities moved outside with a BBQ lunch and plenty of time for people to reconnect and enjoy the summer weather.
Alumni and their guests engaged in softball, volleyball, and other games, but it also gave them the opportunity to return back to St. Christopher’s Inn – a place that for many of them signified hope and healing.
“Many of the men will tell me they come back to refresh and renew their spirit”, Fr. Bill Drobach, SA, the Spiritual Director of St. Christopher’s Inn, explains. “The Inn is on the Holy Mountain and they sense a great deal of peace when they come back to visit. It helps them remember the letting go of the old and taking on the new! We all celebrate the joy of our Brothers Christopher’s sobriety.”
St. Christopher’s Inn is a ministry of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement–a temporary homeless shelter dedicated to the rehabilitation of men in crisis whom they call “Brothers Christopher.” The Reunion was attended by so many Brothers Christopher who lived at the Inn at one point in their journey. For many, attending this Reunion is an annual event that helps them recall where they were in their struggles, where they are now, and where they are headed.