BYM Retreat

PURPOSE

Ministry and Pastoral Care Committee sponsors a retreat each year–Monday afternoon through Tuesday. Its purpose is to help Friends prepare for the business meetings of Annual Session. Jean-Marie Prestwidge Barch and Michael Cronin are facilitating the retreat, a time of worship, study, group activity, music, prayer, and discernment.

The retreat also supports the theme of Annual Session. In 2006 the theme of BYM’s Annual Session is “Living in Harmony: With One Another and With All Creation.”

STRUCTURE

The retreat begins Monday July 31 at 2:30 in the afternoon. The first session runs from 2:30 – 5 PM; the second session runs from 7 – 9 PM; the third session runs Tuesday August 1 from 8:30 – 11 AM; and the retreat ends with a period of worship closing at 11:30 AM.

DESCRIPTION

At the first session, Jean-Marie Prestwidge-Barch, Valley Monthly Meeting, will coordinate a discernment exercise, on Embracing Diversity. The exercise will make use of visual materials, prompting us to consider various aspects of stewardship of the earth. Materials will include very large panels with collages and photographs of people, animals, and plants, including trees. Friends will be encouraged to pick one image, spend time with it, then, in worship sharing, reflect on where it has taken them. The time for Embracing Diversity will end with silent worship.

The second session Monday evening will be a musical set performed without comment by Friendly jazz trio of musicians led by drummer Ron Free, of Maury River Monthly Meeting. Ron has been a jazz musician for 40 years. The session will demonstrate in an audible way how Friends may discern the Light. Jazz music is not only fun to listen to but presents us with audible harmonies of the common and the disparate, the complementary and contrasting. The musical set would be followed by a period of silent worship. Michael Cronin, Friends Meeting of Washington, will introduce the musicians and describe the evening’s format.

During the third session on Tuesday morning the experiences of the Embracing Diversity session and the jazz presentation will be brought together so Friends may ask how we can all live together in harmony. Jean-Marie Prestwidge-Barch will lead Friends in a “stewardship game” to focus this time of discernment. The third session will be followed by a period of closing worship.