Thursday, October 2, 2008

minister's retreat

I returned home yesterday afternoon from a three-day minister's retreat. We meet three times a year: fall, winter, and spring. The fall and winter retreats are always held at the same retreat center operated by the Daughters of Mary and Joseph in Palos Verdes just a little south of Los Angeles. The spring retreat is held in conjunction with the DIstrict Assembly which moves to a new location in the District every year.

The retreats combine a lot of different kind of activities. It's a chance to check in with colleagues and here news of churches around the district as well as personal events in the lives of our colleague ministers. There's usually a little program, although by convention we make the fall retreat less heavily program than the January retreat. This year's program including an update on the No on 8 campaign and what we all and our congregations can do to get involved. And we also had a program on creating a ministry of joy within our congregations led by Rev. Tom Owen-Towle. And we always take one morning for a business meeting as we are the PSWD Chapter of the UUMA.

i enjoy the retreats but I usually find myself getting a little overwhelmed by the continuous interaction with so many people so I usually find myself taking a few hours off every day for some alone time.

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