Retreat

[Paidiske]

I'm going on retreat for three days tomorrow, so today am organising everything for that. It struck me that my preferred retreat - going away entirely by myself rather than being around others also on retreat - is a little unusual, at least in my circle.

What do other ministers here do for their retreats? Do you take one each year? Do you prefer a directed retreat or seek input from others? What do you find most helpful?

 

[Paidiske]

Nobody? Do other folks here not go on retreat at all?

(It was really wonderful, by the way. Exactly what I needed just now!)

 

[mama2one]

not in ministry but have gone on several Christian retreats

since I'm an introvert, prefer when there's speaker & less interaction

last couple retreats didn't have speakers & they used booklets for small table discussions/answer questions

twice my answers to questions triggered someone at the table to cry which makes me uncomfortable
one person thanked me because she said she'd never talked about what happened to her & it was freeing

I only talked about adoption & somehow that brought up thoughts of her miscarriage
another time talked about my volunteer work @ domestic violence shelter & someone's daughter was in jeopardy

decided after that, not to go for a while

 

[Paidiske]

Ah, that's hard.

I've had very bad retreats where hard stuff has been brought up and there hasn't been adequate support to deal with it properly. Really that's something the leaders should have put in place (in your case and mine)!

Honestly, that's part of why I prefer going off on my own now!

 

[mama2one]

in a way though, maybe it's good for woman to talk about hard stuff

it does seem when ONLY woman are together, there is more sharing & openness

for a while I was part of a small church writing group that a woman held at her home
a lot of personal stuff was brought up by attendees

then someone else took over & it was held at the church & men joined the group

I only lasted one meeting with men in group, lol

 

[Paidiske]

I've never been on a women-only retreat or in a women-only group, so I can't say much about that.

I will say that when I've been dealing with difficult stuff, it's actually been men who've responded best.