It was around this time last year – in the thick of Covid – that we originally started dreaming about how to make spiritual formation and community available to women in a way that was easy-to-access, affordable and meaningful. I remember sitting on my friend’s porch on a cold January night, catching up over a cup of tea and sharing the “Retreat-in-a-Box” idea around a beautiful ice candle. Verbalizing and sharing ideas allows the seed to start to take root, and there’s nothing like the support and encouragement of friends who speak life over such ideas to help bring them to fruition!
Long story short, over the past year Mary and I have really enjoyed experimenting using various forms of spiritual formation in a small community of women who were willing to join us for seasonal retreats. It has been a blast, actually, and we think there might be something to this. Our hope is to find a way to make these retreats accessible to more people.
Maybe, like some of us, the term “women’s retreat” feels loaded and triggering to you because you haven’t had great experiences with other women in the past. (Let’s face it, ladies, this is true for A LOT of us.)
Or maybe you feel spiritually homeless right now and the thought of a spiritual retreat conjures up a lot of religious baggage. (Totally get it.)
Or, perhaps you’re in the thick of a busy season of life and it’s just not practical/realistic to get away, even for a day. (Been there!)
Most women we know are in dire need of a space to, as our friend Whitney puts it, “catch up with one’s self”. And along with that, space to slow down, cease striving, quiet the noise of day-to-day life and tune into the “voice” of God. The desire is real but the reality is that we often don’t realize how desperately we need these times of refreshment until after: after we totally lose our cool with those in our care; after we hit rock bottom and find ourselves back in the pit; after we have already been living on the figurative (or literal) “payroll advance” for too long and it’s finally caught up with us in the form of mental, spiritual and physical exhaustion….
If any of this resonates with you, please know that you are not alone! We get it. We’ve been there. We still end up there sometimes (though we are both getting so much better about proactively acknowledging our limitations and carving out space to cultivate rest)! We would love to pass this gift of the Winter 2022 Fresh Vision retreat onto you to use in a time/space/way that feels restorative and life-giving. Our hope is that we would be able to make these seasonal retreats easy to access for anyone, anywhere – whether as a small group or personal experience.
If this is something you’d be interested in testing with us, here’s what it would look like:
FIRST: Carve out space and time.
We’re using the following schedule as a guide for the Fresh Vision live one day retreat on 1/15/22, but you should feel free to pick/choose which offerings work for you and when. We highly recommend taking an overnight away if you can swing it!
Suggested Schedule:
9:00………… Catch Up (if doing this with others) over Coffee/Tea/Morning snack
10:00…………Spiritual Movement/ Worship (link provided after 1/15/22)
10:30…………Spiritual Practice: One Word
12:30…………Lunch
1:30…………..Creative Practice: Quilt Square (To be completed after the Spiritual Practice)
4:00…….…… Spiritual Direction Session
SECOND: Schedule a time to meet for a one-on-one spiritual direction session with Jen, Ellie or Mary. (This can take place over the phone or on Zoom.) If you’re new to the concept of Spiritual Direction, check out this short video to learn more.
Cost: $50 paid to whomever you meet with for your Spiritual Direction session.
Consider this your invitation to clear a spot in your schedule and join us in making space for fresh vision. Spiritual formation in the company of women is a powerful thing; it might be just what you need!
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