Wardens' Retreat

30 The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught.
31 He said to them, "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.
32 And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. (Matthew 6:30-32)

Yesterday I took the COTM Wardens for an all-day retreat at SSJD. As it happened, it was also the Feast of the Visitation of Elizabeth to the BVM, so I was pleased to get my Marion fix while I was there. We arrived in time for Morning Prayer. Had two sessions after that, and then broke for Eucharist and Dinner (Lunch), and then had another session together after that.

Here's a learning: it's easy to over prepare for this kind of thing. That is, I went in a bit anxious about how it would go, so I planned out some stuff ahead of time. Most of that went out the window as soon as we started talking--and the results were better than my plans. So beware of over planning something like this.

As it was, it was plenty to do to spend the first session talking about own spiritual well-being, the second on the church's, and the third on plans and priorities for the next year. I think we came away with a better sense of each other and some ideas about next steps for the church.

SSJD, btw, was an excellent host as always. They told us the rules, put out the coffee and cookies, and left us alone--precisely what we needed!

-t