{"id":141,"date":"2017-07-15T13:38:05","date_gmt":"2017-07-15T13:38:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pym.org\/spiritual-formation-program-collaborative\/?page_id=141"},"modified":"2023-05-31T13:28:49","modified_gmt":"2023-05-31T13:28:49","slug":"sample-closing-retreat-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/spiritual-formation-program-collaborative\/for-facilitators\/retreats\/sample-closing-retreat-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Sample Closing Retreat II"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><em><strong>Friday night<\/strong><\/em>: Reconnecting, building trust and exploring the role of our physical selves in spiritual nurture.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">4:00 Welcoming people as they arrive to check in (DK)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">5:30 Dinner together<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">7:00- 7:10 Gather together for worship (JB)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">7:10- 7:15 Introduction and plan for weekend (JB\/WW): Welcome participants and briefly describe the weekend.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Goals<br \/>\n\u2022 Re-gather community and become present to one another.<br \/>\n\u2022 Hear the stories of our spiritual journey this past nine months.<br \/>\n\u2022 Explore our Quaker take on spiritual gifts and ministry<br \/>\n\u2022 Discernment and naming of individual gifts and ministry<br \/>\n\u2022 Evaluate the nine month program<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">7:15-7:30 Knowing ourselves: gratitude. Read Psalm 139 (omit v. 19-22, or use a rewritten version) Each person has a copy and reads a sentence. Reflect upon the wonder of ourselves, the wonder of the cosmos (WW\/DK).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">7:30-8:30 The Cradling\u2014From Joanna Macy, Coming Back to Life (JP\/WW)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Introduction: Joseph Chilton Pearse in his book, The Magical Child, defined a matrix as a place of safety, energy and potential for growth. And that the mother\u2019s womb was the primary matrix. As we experience our earliest times, after our birth, we experience the safety, energy and potential for growth in being held, cradled, carried in the arms of our parents, grandparents and other folks who care for us. We experience it when we awaken to the loving gaze of these folks, in the eye contact and smiles that come from enjoying each others presence. This safety and nurture allows us to explore the world boldly, and to learn how to engage it and grow.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">In a very real sense, our Meetings and our spiritual formation groups provide this safety, energy and potential for growth as well. The experiences we are offering today are intended to help us reflect on how this all works, and perhaps open us to new dimensions of this nurture.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Purpose: A guided meditation on the body, the cradling exercise serves many purposes. It permits deep relaxation, all the more welcome after dealing straight on with fearsome issues. It builds trust among participants, and a kind of respectful cherishing. It widens our awareness of what is at stake in the global crisis, for the dangers we face\u2014pollution, ecological collapse, famine, warfare\u2014are dangers because of what they do to the body. The Cradling also taps deeper levels of knowing, stirring reverence for life and for its powers in us. Usually, in dealing with the deterioration of our world, we try to get our minds around it; we deal with it on the informational level, as if we were brains at the end of a stick. The Cradling stills for a while the chattering computing mind and opens it to the wordless wisdom of life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Description: People work in pairs, taking turns. First you model with a volunteer how Partners A lie down and Partners B, following your verbal suggestions, will \u201ccradle\u201d them, which means lifting arms, lower legs and head.<br \/>\nNow Partners A, removing glasses and shoes, loosening ties and belts, lie down on the floor, close their eyes and relax. Assist with a brief guided relaxation (stretching, feeling the breath, letting weight sink down, releasing tension from feet, legs, hands, etc.). Soft background music like flute is helpful, but not essential. Carpeting makes a large difference, but even on a hard floor this exercise has worked well.<br \/>\nCaution: proceed with care and respect. Touching another person\u2019s body is a sensitive and often problematic issue. In some cultures it is virtually taboo; don\u2019t offer this exercise in south Asia, for example. In the U.S., even California, people can interpret touch as an invasion of their personal integrity, especially if they have suffered physical and sexual abuse. So inform people that the exercise involves letting their arms, legs, and head be lifted and held; ask them to choose a partner with whom they will feel comfortable.<br \/>\nRespect the participants for their trust and stay matter-of-fact in your manner, avoiding a portentous or sugary tone. Interspersing your words with silence, remain casual and reflective, as if observing some constellation in the heavens or a conch shell on the beach.<br \/>\nThe following description of Joanna guiding the Cradling is offered for illustrative purposes only. You will not be repeating this word for word when you are the guide; you have your own style, your own experience to use. Now, however, read it reflectively to get a feel for the process, its pace and unfolding.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Lift gently your partner\u2019s arm and hand\u2026 Cradle it, feel the weight of it\u2026flex the elbow and the wrist, not e how the joints are hinged to permit a variety of movement\u2026 Behold this arm as if you had never seen it before, as if you were a visitor from another world\u2026 Observe the articulation of bone and muscle\u2026 Turning the palm and fingers, not the intricacy of structure\u2026 What you now hold is an object unique in our cosmos: a human hand of Planet Earth\u2026 In the primordial seas where once we swam, that hand was a fin\u2014as it was again in its mother\u2019s womb\u2026 Feel the energy and intelligence in that hand\u2014that fruit of a long evolutionary journey, of efforts to swim, to push, to climb, to grasp\u2026 Note the opposable thrum, how clever and adept it is\u2026 good for grasping a tool, a pen, a gun\u2026Open your awareness to the journey it has made in this lifetime\u2026how it opened like a flower when it emerged from the mother\u2019s womb\u2026how it reached to explore and to do\u2026 That hand leaned to hold a spoon\u2026to hold its parents hand while learning to walk\u2026to tie shoelaces\u2026to throw a ball\u2026to write its name\u2026to give pleasure\u2026to wipe tears\u2026 There is nothing like it in all the universe.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Gently lay down that hand, move now to your partner\u2019s leg and slowly lift it\u2026 Feel its weight, its sturdiness\u2026 This species stands upright\u2026 Bend the knee, the ankle, not the play of bone and muscle. It allows this being to walk, run, climb\u2026 Holding the foot, feel the sole, no hoof or heavy padding\u2026 It is this being\u2019s contact with the ground\u2026 Feel that heel; when it kicked in the womb: that was what the parents first felt through the wall of the belly\u2026 \u201cSee: there\u2019s its heel!\u201d\u2026 And such journeys that leg has been on since then\u2026learning to take a step and then another\u2026walking and falling and getting up again\u2026then running, climbing, kicking a ball, pedaling a bike\u2026a lot of adventures in that leg\u2026and a lot of places it has taken your partner\u2026into work places and sanctuaries, mountainsides and city streets\u2026gotten tired\u2026sore\u2026still kept going\u2026 Gently putting it down now, move around to the other leg and cradle that one, too.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Observe this companion leg and foot\u2026which shared these journeys\u2026and many yet to come\u2026 For all its weight and sturdiness, it can be broken, crushed\u2026no armor\u2026just skin that can tear, bones that can fracture\u2026 As you hold that leg, open your thought to all the places it will take your partner in the future\u2026into places of suffering perhaps\u2026of conflict and challenge\u2026on missions that your partner doesn\u2019t know about yet\u2026 As you lay it back down, extend your wishes for its strength and wholeness.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Lift your partner\u2019s other hand and arm\u2026 Observe the subtle difference form its twin\u2026 This hand is unique, different from all other hands\u2026 Turning it in yours, feel the life in it\u2026 And note also its vulnerability\u2026no shell encases it, for those fingertips, that palm, are instruments for sensing and knowing our world, as well as for doing\u2026 Flexible, fragile hand, so easy to break or burn\u2026 Be aware of how much you want to stay whole, intact, in the time that is coming\u2026 It has tasks to do, that your partner can\u2019t even guess at\u2026reaching out to people in confusion and distress, helping, comforting, showing the way\u2026 This hand may be the one that holds you in the moments of your own dying, giving you water or a last touch of reassurance\u2026 The world of sanity and decency that lies ahead will be built by hands like this one. With gratitude for its existence, put it gently down; move now around behind your partner\u2019s head\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Placing a hand under the neck and another beneath the skull, slowly, gently lift your partner\u2019s head\u2026 (Partner A keep your neck relaxed, your head heavy, loose). Lift that head carefully, cradle it with reverence, for what you now hold in your two hand is the most intricate, complex object in the known universe\u2026 a human head of Planet Earth\u2026a hundred million neurons firing in there\u2026vast potential for intelligence\u2026only a portion has been tapped of that capacity to see, to know, to envision\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Your hand holding your partner\u2019s head\u2014that is likely the first touch your partner knew in this life, coming out of the womb into hands, like yours, of a doctor or midwife\u2026 Now within that skull is a whole world of experience\u2014of memories of scenes and songs, beloved faces\u2026some are gone now, but they live still in the mansions of that mind\u2026 It is a world of experience that is totally unique and that can never be fully shared\u2026 In that head, too, are dreams of what could be, visions that could shape our world\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Closing your eyes for a moment, feel the weight of that head in your hands. It could be the head of a Chinese soldier or an Iraqi mother, of an American General or an African doctor\u2026 Same size, same weight just about, same vulnerability, same capacity for dreams that could guide you through this time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Looking down at it now, think of what this head may have to behold in the times that come\u2026the choices it will make\u2026the courage and endurance it will need\u2026 Let your hands, of their own intelligence, express their desire that all be will with that head\u2026 Perhaps there is something that you want your partner to keep in mind\u2014something you want them not to forget in times of stress or anguish\u2026 If there is, you can quietly tell them now, as you lay their head back down\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Allow for the recumbent partner to stretch, look around, and slowly sit up. Then A and B reverse roles, and the verbal cues are offered again, with some variations.<br \/>\nIf the number of workshop participants is uneven, the guide pairs up with the extra person, then leads the whole exercise while acting as Partner B, but not reversing roles. The extra person can then join another pair as a second cradling partner, if desired.<br \/>\nWhen participants lie down, remember to have them place themselves so that there is adequate room for their partners to move around them to cradle arms, legs and head.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">8:30-9:00 Process the experience Share in groups of 4 (20 min) (JP\/WW)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">At the conclusion of the whole process, time to reorient is important. Let the partners talk quietly or remain in silence for a while; then let them gather in foursomes to speak of their experience.<br \/>\n.<br \/>\nWhatever words or images are used, it is good to touch on certain themes. Interweaving through the spoken words, these motifs renew and sharpen awareness of what it means to be a living person. They include:<br \/>\nThe uniqueness of the human species in the cosmos,<br \/>\nIts long evolutionary journey,<br \/>\nThe uniqueness of each individual, and of each personal history,<br \/>\nThe intricacy and beauty of the human organism,<br \/>\nIts universality, linking us to other humans around the globe,<br \/>\nAnd its vulnerability:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">In large group (10 min) (JP\/WW)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Then participants are invited for share in the large group about their own experience. Not all are required to share<br \/>\nWhat was this experience like for you?<br \/>\nDid any themes emerge for you?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">9:00-9:10 Reflections on evening (JB)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">9:10-9:20 Closing Circle (WW)<br \/>\nFraming tomorrow, offer spiritual disciplines for the morning and retire for the evening<br \/>\n(Each person leading a spiritual will relate to the theme of discernment of gifts and ministry) Birding-, Outdoor worship Celtic prayers, Anyone wish to do journaling? Even if participants choose not to attend one of the disciplines this time can be used to prepare for the themes of the Day<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><em><strong><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Saturday<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">7:15-8:00 Spiritual Discipline (each person leading a spiritual will relate to the theme of discernment of gifts and ministry) Birding-John, Outdoor worship , Dreams- Celtic prayers- Diane, Wade? Anyone wish to do journaling. Even if participants choose not to attend one of the disciplines this time can be used to prepare for the themes of the<br \/>\nDay<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">8:00- 8:45 Breakfast <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">9:00-9:45 Worship (JP)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">9:45- 10:15 (30 mins.) Reconnecting and plan for the retreat (JB\/JP) <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">1. In pairs of folks who are not in the same reading group\/don\u2019t know each other well\u2026Facilitator reads the questions one at a time to the pairs. Let\u2019s them know when to switch (7 minutes for each question)<br \/>\n\u2022 What do you need to acknowledge and let go of in order to be fully present?<br \/>\n\u2022 What is your intention in being here?<br \/>\n\u2022 What are you most grateful for?<br \/>\n\u2022 What do you want to ask for from the other person for the rest of the weekend?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">10:15-10:35 Break 20 mins<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">10:35-12:35 (2 hours) Sharing Spiritual Journeys (WW\/DK)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Journaling re the questions below:<br \/>\n\u2022 What do you want to tell about your spiritual journey this year?<br \/>\n\u2022 What are the blessings, discoveries, resistances, joys doubts, questions that have affected you?<br \/>\n\u2022 How have you let Spirit into your life?<br \/>\n\u2022 How have you kept it away?<br \/>\nThen in triads (also of strangers) share journaling regarding the same questions. Questions on newsprint for triad to consider. Facilitator will let them know when time to switch speakers<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Lunch 12:35-1:15 (work group arrange chairs into reading groups; 2 groups (NJ and PA)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">1:15-3:15 pm (2 hours) 4. \u201cWorship seeing\u201d re spiritual gifts (JP\/JB)<br \/>\nDiscernment of Gifts<br \/>\nIntroduction: some part of spiritual growth can only happen in community. Part of the purpose of spiritual formation is to become spiritual nurturers to one another, to see and name gifts for the community in one another. The two articles and survey we send as a prelude to the final retreat was a way to begin to getting you thinking about spiritual gifts. Now we want to give you an opportunity to begin to name some of the gifts you see in others in you friendship\/accountability groups.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a7<span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\"> Gather into 3 reading groups. Each reading group will have a facilitator and an elder. Facilitators will be \u2014-. Each facilitator will pick an elder for their reading group<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a7<span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\"> Everyone will have a chance to perform one of the following roles. The roles rotate around the circle:<br \/>\n\u2022 Guide\/nurturer: Will open with spoken prayer as led, thanking God for the focus person, expressing gratitude for their presence and their gifts, and asking that the group be given insight as to what gifts are being called forth, and be given the courage to risk speaking\u2026 This person will end the session with a prayer or handshake, and will facilitate a few minutes of response by the focus person: \u201cHow did you find this process? Any insights or comments?\u201d<br \/>\n\u2022 Focus Person: will be in center, and in worship, the rest of the group will name gifts to which this person seems called to stewardship. This is a prayerful process, and images and metaphors that arise should be shared.<br \/>\n\u2022 Recorder: will keep written record of what is said, to be given to the focus person at the end of the session.<br \/>\n\u2022 Time keeper<br \/>\n\u2022<br \/>\n3:15 pm 3:35 pm -Break (20 mins.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">3:35- 3:45 pm (10 mins.) Discernment of ministries (JB\/WW)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">A. Frame the Quaker understanding of ministry. Some topics to cover:<br \/>\n\u2022 Name the particular settings in which your ministry(ies) are manifest:<br \/>\n1. Household, close friends, family\u2014near and far.<br \/>\n2. The community: neighborhood, school, city or village, country, nation, world<br \/>\n3. The Monthly Mtg, Quarterly Mtg Yearly Mtg, or wider Quaker fellowship<br \/>\n4. The workplace, paid or volunteer.<br \/>\n<\/span>\u00a7<span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\"> Where in this arena do you find your greatest joy? Where do you find Life? Name the ministry to which you are called\u2026(or the participants in the group, in worship sharing, might speak to this: what is the ministry we see this Friend living? Or being called to?)<br \/>\n<\/span>\u00a7<span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\"> Another approach: do a timeline of one\u2019s spiritual journey, teasing out the seeds of ministry that were planted far in the past, noting the sometimes long germination time. This process can be an ongoing one that becomes more clear after ministry has been named and claimed\u2026.<br \/>\n<\/span>\u00a7<span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\"> What are the blocks and fears to claiming one\u2019s ministry?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">B. 3:45 to 5:15 pm (90 min) Reading from I Corinthians (I Corinthians 12:4-14:5, 12, 26b, 32-33, 40 int.) (JB\/WW)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Introduction: We will all sit in a circle and each person will be given a few verses to read in turn. Each section will be read prayerfully. Then we will pause and have a time of silent worship where anyone can share how they reacted to the previous reading. After the silence and sharing, the next person will read the next passage and so on until we are done.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Queries to Consider:<br \/>\nI want to lift up the following queries and ask you to hold them as we read from I Corinthians.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">\u201cIs there a way or do I feel called to use my experiences and learning from the spiritual formation program to enrich or promote the spiritual growth of my meeting?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">How is my Meeting being called to serve God and how do I fit into that call? <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Group Reading of Portions of I Corinthians <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Paraphrase the thoughts in the first full paragraph on page 121 of Loring, Vol. 2.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">The well-known passage on love in the quotation that we have just read is often read out of context as exalting personal love. In fact, it\u2019s embedded at the heart of a passage on relationships in spiritual community. It is the ultimate expression of Paul\u2019s vision of the loving, forgiving, forbearing, \u201cun-self-centered behavior appropriate in spiritual community. Here love is plainly stated to be a gift of the Spirit, as it is called one of the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians. In Galatians, love is the first fruit listed. Here love is called the greatest of the gifts \u2013 and the best way of all. All three descriptive phrases express that real love is beyond simple human capacity. They hint at the mysteriousness with which it arises in us. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">C. Life in Community (JB\/WW)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Introduction Most of us are called to life in community. This can be one our greatest blessings as well as one of our greatest challenges. It is challenging to submit to God\u2019s will as an individual, but it can be even more challenging to determine God\u2019s will for an entire community such as a Friends Meeting. I have found that after my intense experiences with spiritual formation, my meeting seemed pretty tame and shallow for a while. I was often judgmental of others who did not seem as \u201cspiritual\u201d as me. This is a great trap where this false spirituality becomes a source of arrogance and separation. It is our challenge to look past this perceived barrier and see that God is in everyone and that everyone can be our teacher if we open ourselves to their Light. We also need to be patient. We have been given this great gift of nine months of forming close spiritual relationships and spending a great deal of time exploring the world of Quaker spirituality. Rather than thinking we may be better or more spiritually advanced than others in our meeting, we need to share this great gift in ways that will open to us if we stay connected to the source. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">My recent experience of doing SF at my home Meeting.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Closing thought: Spiritual life is a life in community. We did not get to this moment alone. (Pause and let echo and then go into the Closing Worship)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">5:15-5:25 (10 mins.) Reflections of the day (WW)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">5:25 \u2013 5:45 Closing worship (DK)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">6:00-7:00 dinner<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">7:30- 8:30 Time of sharing: (WW) Each person is asked to share something that is meaningful to them. It can be a song, poem, story, musical instrument. It can be done individually or in a group.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><em><strong><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Sunday <\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">7:15 \u2013 8:00 Spiritual Disciplines continued<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">8:00- 8:45 Breakfast <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">9:00-9:30 9 (30 mins) Gathering together in Worship (JB)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">9:30-10:30 ( 1 hour) Written evaluation of the program (WW\/DK)<br \/>\nWritten evaluation<br \/>\n1. Tell a little about your experience with a spiritual practice\/discipline in the nine months of the Spiritual Formation Program\u2026 How helpful was this experience to your spiritual life?<br \/>\n2. Tell about the usefulness of your friendship\/accountability group in deepening your spiritual life\u2026<br \/>\n3. Tell about your experience with the readings\u2026.<br \/>\n4. Tell about your experience of the monthly reading discussion\u2026.<br \/>\n5. Are you more able to nurture others spiritually as a result of this program? If yes, in what way(s)\u2026?<br \/>\n6. Name the most important learning\/benefit that you have gained from participation in this program\u2026<br \/>\n7. Has your Meeting benefited as a result of your participation in this program? If yes, in what way(s)?<br \/>\n8. What do you think about the importance of the discernment of spiritual gifts to a Meeting community?<br \/>\n9. How clear are you with regards to your \u201cministry\u201d as a member or attender of the Religious Society of Friends? Would you name it, briefly?<br \/>\n10. Do you have any advice for the Spiritual Formation Working Group as to how to improve this program?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">10:30-11:30 Praying out\/ sending forth. We will do prayer circles about what we need to move forward. (JB\/JP)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Holding One Another in the Light<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">In small groups we will take time to hold each person in the Light, to pray for them and bless them silently and aloud. This is the same exercise that we did at the opening retreat and we will now use it to support each other as we go forward in our ministries. This can be a very wonderful experience and I encourage everyone to push beyond inhibitions and to pray for or bless one another generously and with a whole heart.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Doing this within an hour requires a disciplined procedure, as follows: Form a small circle, with chairs close together and one in the center of the circle. A member of the group sits in the center chair.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">The clerk asks if there is a special request especially concerning their ministries. The person in the center may speak briefly. The clerk asks if the person welcomes being touched. For six or seven minutes, the group holds the individual in the Light. Group members are encouraged to pray aloud or bless the individual.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Some suggested ways to do this\u2014as moved by the Spirit:<br \/>\nThank God for the gifts of this person, for the beauty of their soul, for what they have contributed to the gathering, etc.<br \/>\nAffirm that the loving spirit of God is always present with, to, and in this person.<br \/>\nAsk God to help, be present with, heal, console, or give attention to helping this person discern their ministries and how to move forward.<br \/>\nDescribe an image that may come to you during the silence<br \/>\nExpress appreciation, affection, or love for the person; and\/or faith in them.<br \/>\nThe clerk says \u201cAmen\u201d to end the time of holding this person in the Light.<br \/>\nThe focus person is given a minute to tell what their experience was like.<br \/>\nThat person leaves the center chair and another person sits down.<br \/>\nSince time is limited, it is important to move quickly from one person to the next, maintaining a quiet atmosphere of prayer during the change.<br \/>\nAfter all members of the group have had a time in the center, take hands around the group for a moment of concluding prayer together.<br \/>\nIf your group finishes early, speak quietly so as not to be disruptive to other groups.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">11:30-12:00 Farewell worship (JP)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia',serif; font-size: 12pt;\">12-1:00 lunch ALL\u2014\u2014 check out by 2 pm<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Friday night: Reconnecting, building trust and exploring the role of our physical selves in spiritual nurture. 4:00 Welcoming people as they arrive to check in (DK) 5:30 Dinner together 7:00- [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":315,"featured_media":0,"parent":136,"menu_order":8,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"iawp_total_views":26,"footnotes":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":""},"class_list":["post-141","page","type-page","status-publish","entry"],"ticketed":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/spiritual-formation-program-collaborative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/spiritual-formation-program-collaborative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/spiritual-formation-program-collaborative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/spiritual-formation-program-collaborative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/315"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/spiritual-formation-program-collaborative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/spiritual-formation-program-collaborative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/141\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/spiritual-formation-program-collaborative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/spiritual-formation-program-collaborative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}