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Planning a Retreat
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Retreat_Guideline

VICE MODERATOR FOR STUDIES & SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT
Christel Hilgarth, sabine44@earthlink.net,  740-354-4609

Planning a Retreat

Planning a retreat is not as complicated as one might think.

There are, first of all, wonderful resources that can help plan and help one carry out a fine retreat.  I will introduce you to two good resources and one additional book that can be a compliment to any retreat.  Your Presbytery Resource Center might have these books already or you might ask them to order the books for you.  They might have even more retreat resources to share with you. Or start your own PW library!

A retreat can be planned for one’s self as a private retreat.  Or, you can plan for a small group of 12 or less or a retreat for 30 and more.

Plan a retreat for one person

Here are some questions you might ask yourself:

·                What is the purpose of my retreat?

·                What is the theme?  Is it a retreat for renewal or for discernment?

·                How long is the retreat going to be?

·                At what location would I like to retreat?

You can spend a one-day retreat at home or go to a Church Retreat Center.  If you like to be in retreat over a weekend there is a little more planning involved.  Make reservation in advance at a retreat center or any other place of your choosing.  There is the additional cost for the stay that must be considered.  I do know a Spiritual Director who takes a monthly retreat at the Calvin Center in Atlanta.  She takes a prayer retreat and spends a full day in intercessory prayer.  Some women take a retreat with a spiritual friend where they share spiritual insights and concerns of their spiritual journey, read Scripture together, and in addition spend time together in silence hiking in a park.

Plan a retreat for a group

If you plan a retreat for a larger group of 12-30 or a PW Presbytery retreat, your team needs to take in consideration the needs of the women attending.  The planning team needs to be aware and in tune with those needs.  If it is your church PW group, you can easily find out what kind of a retreat every one would like to have and invite other women in the church to join you.  If you choose to offer a retreat as a PW as a service to young women, you surely need to ask what type of retreat they would enjoy and need, and tailor the retreat to them.  If you tailor a retreat to them, they most likely will look forward to the time spent together.  Remember, the retreat is not about we who plan the retreat; the retreat is a service to others and must be at all times a ministry to others.  Be open and listen carefully to what the needs of others are and what kind of a day away from home women are looking for and need.  If the women share your excitement and anticipation of the retreat, it will most likely have good attendance and be really good.  It would be foolish to plan a retreat centered on discernment or an activity-filled day when the women are in need of spiritual renewal and seek a more quiet time.  Communication, listening, giving ample time for advertisement, good communications, and good planning go hand in hand in planning for a retreat.  You might find that planning the retreat can be a lot of fun and creativity can flow when you and your team are open and receptive to the needs of others.  You actually can plan a fun day and leave enough time for those in retreat to spend in small groups and share and spend time walking, visiting, or have time for the spa.  You and your team can plan and lead the retreat using good thoughtful material, and do not forget music and thoughtful worship!

After you gather the planning team, it is wise to spend some time in discernment and prayer to discern what the purpose of the retreat is.  What is the theme for the retreat?  You hopefully know if it is a one-day retreat or an overnight retreat.  What is a good location to have the retreat?  The cost can be a big issue; you might want to stay in an affordable cost limit.  Lastly, you need to ask if the date you set for the retreat is a good time for most people.  Of course, it does not matter how carefully you plan, there might be women who have a cost issue or the day of the retreat does not meet their schedule.  I believe cost should never be an issue and no one should be left out because of cost.  PW is very good in offering scholarships to those who are truly in need.

Resources for planning

The two books I suggest are good resources for planning and leading a retreat, are very explicit, are an excellent guide for you and your team, and can easily be adapted to any situation.  The authors give good suggestions for time lines, advertisement, and how to plan an effective retreat for one or a large group and anything in-between.  Remember flexibility and being open to the needs of the women you are serving is a key component of a service leadership team.

·         Pathways in Spiritual Growth Book: “Spiritual Life in the Congregation-A Guide for Retreats,” by Rueben P. Job, Upper Room Books.  The Author guides you through different phases from planning a retreat for one person to a church–wide retreat, for planning a retreat for an older group to youth and to an action retreat.  The author does show the differences between preparing for a retreat and planning a retreat.  There are retreat outlines from one day to several days. Some of the retreat outlines are designed for spiritual growth.

Part 1-Foundation for congregational retreats (easily adoptability for PW groups of any size)

Part 2-Continuing the journey/nurture new life

Part 3-Retreat design - this chapter includes a variety of different retreat sizes.

·         “Practicing Your Path a book of Retreats for an intentional Life,” by Holly W. Whitcomb. This book has complete retreat outline that focuses on seven different spiritual practices.  Sabbath, hospitality, prayer in action, fasting, giving back to God, living into your call, accountability.  The book as a planned outlined morning session and an afternoon session and a timeline for each sessions.

[Why not use both books, the one from Job and from Whitcomb and plan a retreat that gives you more choices and might serve even more needs of your group?]

·         “50 Ways To Pray practices from Many Traditions and Times,” by Teresa A Blythe is a great addition when planning a retreat.  The book is designed for individual use or group use.  It has so many different activities and prayers listed that one can easily find a theme for retreat with some of the different topics on biblical reflections, basic contemplation practices, lectio divina, life reflections, discernment processes, body prayers, prayers of the imagination, reflections on media, and praying for others.  There is a leaders guide which is very extensive.

·         See a related article on how to get the most out of a retreat through the link on this page!

Other important steps

Let me share some steps that are important to me when planning a retreat.  The very first thing I do is seek out 2-3 women of prayer from the congregation and ask them to pray for the planning team and the retreat.  After the first Planning team meeting, I tell the intercessory women in prayer the purpose of the retreat and the theme and I ask them to pray for us until the retreat is finished.  Some retreat leaders give a list of every person attending the retreat to these women in prayer and they pray for each one until the retreat is over.  It is very comforting to know that there are women praying for you when planning a retreat or are on retreat.

When I go into the planning team meeting I know that the Spirit is going to be there present with us.  Prayer is also very important at every beginning and closing of the meeting.  I know that I am very exited when planning a retreat and hope that I exude a spirit of excitement that flows to all around me.  The retreat becomes my main focus until the retreat is over.  I also know my shortcomings and pray for the Holy Spirit to intercede for me during the planning and during the retreat the Spirit is going to fill in where I fall short.  I personally like to plan retreats that serve to renew the group so they are hopefully energized and spiritually renewed for the true task that PW does so well: unselfishly serving in the mission and peace and justice issues, and nominating committees and in the churches, and so many other positions that make PW the outstanding organization that is vital to the Body of Christ.

Let me hear from you!

What are your experiences in planning a retreat??? What kind of retreats have you experienced???  Do you have other resources to share?  I am very interested to hear from you and to learn from you.  I invite you to share your wisdom with us that you and your planning team have learned while planning a retreat or leading a retreat or deciding on a theme.  Please also share the material you used in your retreat.  If you have any questions you can contact me by email (please put PW in the subject line) at sabine44@earthlink.net or phone 740-354-4609.  You can send your article to Martha Pool, who is the Leadership Coordinator poolfam@verizon.net .  Martha will put it on the PW/S web.

Shalom,

Another idea:

Start a PW library!