North Carolina Synod ELCA Spirituality Committee
Retreat Page

A Silent Retreat in the Fall by the Sea

The event will begin with dinner on Sunday evening and our first gathering will be 7:30PM in the Pelican House on the Ocean side of the Trinity Center for orientation and schedule.  A male and female spiritual director will be available for you to meet with as you desire during the event.  Our time will be spent in silence with at least four times of worship daily and an hour of group centering prayer each day.  One meal will be spoken each day with the option of sitting at a silent table.

The cost is $240.00 for three nights and nine meals.  All rooms are singles and registration is limited to the first nine who apply.  Send the form below with full payment to Phillip M. Squire, 401 Thornbury Court, Clemmons, NC 27012-9054; phone: 1-336-766-8468; emails: phillipsquire@aol.com or psquire@stpauls-ws.org.  Contact Phillip for partial scholarships.

NAME: _____________________________________

ADDRESS: ___________________________________

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Phone: _____________________________________

E-mail: _____________________________________

Dietary Restrictions: ___________________________

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Pelican House is NOT handicapped accessible.

Our Winter Retreat Was at the
TRINITY CENTER
(Episcopal Retreat Center)
Salter Path, NC
January 28 - 30, 2008

Dr. Mark Allan Powell

Our Summer Retreat, in Late August, 2007 Was A Contemplative Retreat at Lutheridge.
"Seeing Beyond Seeing - The Spirituality of Photography" marked the return of Brad Berglund. Brad is a gifted and talented retreat leader. With humble sincerity and personality, he guides those attending a retreat to discern their inner strengths. The Spirituality of Photography is one more of his innovative ways.
As one might expect, this retreat yielded many photos. The photos below are but a sampler of the many different shots taken at this retreat.

Retreat Photos 

Sitting By The Lake

Morning Mists

At Evening Worship

Reviewing Beth's Photos

Past Retreats - Themes, Photos, & Features

"Being God's Partner, Bearing Christ's Yoke"

Elizabeth Canham - Retreat Leader,   January, 2007

Scenes from Being God's Partner, Bearing Christ's Yoke; led by Rev. Liz Canham
at Trinity Center, Pine Knoll Shores, NC Jan. 22-24, 2007

Photos by June Witherspoon

Lighting the Fire III
A Review of
Take Off Your Shoes:
Finding Sacred Ground in Sharing Our Stories of Faith
North Carolina Synod Spirituality Committee
Summer 2006 Conference and Retreat  August 20 – 26, 2006

Pastor Marty Ramey

The experiences at  our most recent retreat are described below with a report from Steve Reeves, and photos by June Witherspoon

Lighting the Fire III

Take Off Your Shoes:

Finding Sacred Ground in Sharing Our Stories of Faith

        One by one the participants at this storytelling retreat arrived at the Crow’s Nest, Lutherock, located  on Sugar Mountain. The black-eyed Susans planted in the raised beds outside nodded an invitation to come inside. After getting better acquainted at the dinner table we gathered in a semicircle around the fireplace hearth located in the lounge. Pastor Marty Ramey started her presentation by explaining how our individual stories connected with God’s story to form sacred ground. In the dimly lit room with a high vaulted ceiling we listened intently as she retold of Moses and the burning bush. The reddish glow from the exit sign over the east entrance reflected off her face much as you might expect from this fiery encounter that Moses had in the desert. Protected from the elements and the mosquitoes we probably appeared much as a group of children gathered around a campfire anticipating the outcome of this familiar and oft told tale.
        On Tuesday morning we once again circled at the foot of the huge stone fireplace to hear our assignment for the day. We were to recall an occasion in our life that was transformational in our spiritual growth and make a connection to a story in the bible. There was a short quiet time to reflect on the possibilities.  After lunch Pastor Phillip Squire led us up Sugar Mountain on a narrow trail to Cross Rock. On this hike we had a unique encounter with nature that included fallen trees, huge rock formations, many varieties of plants and trees, steep banks and finally at the pinnacle, the Cross and a spectacular view of the surrounding hills. A good distance away from our perch aloft and farther down the mountain we spotted the lodge from where we had started. It seemed so small. We paused here for awhile to gather in some of the breathtaking vista below. As we started back down, we occasionally stopped to catch our breath and observe some of the tiny clues of life that abound there at Lutherock. One in particular was a cluster of seedpods on a maple tree that would soon flutter to the ground in a circular pattern to ensure the future of this species. Again we stopped as a woodpecker that was hidden from view tapped out its message as if in code to announce that it would soon be dinnertime. It was a message of faith and providence from a living forest. It was a story of manna. A story of water that seemed to emanate from a rock as we crossed over a small stream. We were somewhat relieved to be back on flat ground when the descent was over. “We’re almost halfway there”, we joked as we got closer to our destination – both going and coming. But we were heartened to have caught a glimmer of the mountain from higher up. The view from above had left no doubt that it was surely part of the creation story.
         After dinner on that second day, we gathered once again. Our theme song for the retreat was, “I Love to Tell the Story”. By invitation, one by one each took center stage, either standing at the foot of the fireplace or sitting on her hearth, we told our stories. Our hearts felt warmed and open in the soft light of the lanterns that adorned either side of the huge rock formed wall in front of us. We imagined a fire within the smoke stained stack of flat gray colored stones – the same fire that had inspired story throughout the history of mankind. We heard God’s voice in the burning bush saying, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." We searched desperately for the one lost coin. We tended to a wounded stranger along a desolate road while we ourselves were healed. We heard and saw a blind Bartimaeus regain his sight. We imagined water being transformed into the finest wine. We thought of what it meant to forgive seven times over, then seven more. The many pieces of our journeys’ puzzle came together in community as we shared our collective story like so many hot air balloons that rise above the landscape of our life to catch a glimpse of a bigger picture. God’s picture.
        We closed on the last day with a simple service. We gathered for one last time as a circle of friends. In sharing our stories, we had made a connection that felt like authentic community. Nothing fancy, just real. Just before leaving I once again glanced through the glass paneled wall into the dining room. My eyes were drawn upward to one of the ceiling fans there. It reminded me of the maple whirligigs we had spied as we hiked down the mountain on Wednesday from Cross Rock. Just as these seeds would soon fall to the earth to grow new trees, so we would descend and sow our seeds of storytelling. On my way home the words of our theme song continued to ring in my head:

“I love to tell the story of unseen things above,
Of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love..."

The Crow's Nest - A Place Apart

Brady & Phillip - Our Chief Cooks

Snapshots from the Art and Soul Retreat
by June Witherspoon

Art and Soul participants with Harriet (wearing black and white with scarf)

Instruments

Rocking and wearing colorful socks

Additional  Retreats

Radical Amazement: Seeing God at the Heart of Creation - was  at Lutheridge, April 25-27, 2005. A description is displayed below.
Please visit this page again.

Radical Amazement:
Find God at the Heart of Creation

Thomas Aquinas said that a mistake in our understanding of creation will necessarily cause a mistake in our understanding of God. Does it then follow that a revolution in our understanding of creation will necessarily cause a revolution in our understanding of God? Possibly so.

The discoveries of modern science on both the macro and micro levels have been stunning, completely changing our notion of the universe. Images from the Hubbell Space Telescope have expanded our horizons, while the findings of quantum physics have revealed that we are more mystery than matter.

The retreat will begin with a look at some of the fascinating discoveries of science, then connect them to our experience of God. The spirituality that unfolds is what Abraham Heschel called "radical amazement" -- a response that takes us into a contemplative awareness of life.

Praying with Luther
Presented by Mark Oldenburg
January 24-26, 2005

"Always make the Amen strong, never doubting that God is surely listening to you with all grace and saying Yes to your prayer. Rmember that you are not kneeling or standing there alone, but all devout Christians are standing there with you and you with them in one united unanimous, united prayer which God cannot ignore. And never leave off praying without having said or thought: There now, this prayer has been heard by God; this I know of a certainty."
                                                                                                                 -- Martin Luther

Thanks to Mark for gently leading us through ways to open up our prayer lives. -- Spirituality Committee, NC ELCA

Many thanks to June Witherspoon for the photography.

The Fire Beneath Retreat
was held at Laurel Ridge
August 1 - 3, 2004

The Fire Beneath Retreat at the Moravian Conference Center, Laurel Ridge, was an outstanding success. David Miller, upon listening to how our various committees work and the missions we hope to accomplish, cautioned us to avoid "working in our own silos". Our silos are similes relating to our committees that work alone, and are unaware of the plans and resources we may share. We explored ways in which we can work together - clergy and laity - to carry out the goals we have in common for the purpose of Discipleship formation.
To sum it up, our fires will burn with more intensity as we communicate with and assist each other to reach common goals. As church leaders and disciples, we have determined ways in which we can enhance the foundational practice of the church through discipleship.  We will have more information about this on our Discipleship page soon.

"Reinventing Sunday"
At Lutheridge, Arden, NC

Brad certainly lived up to his billing. He does indeed have ways to make worship all it can be!  - including  on Sunday. Consider the following quote from his book - Reinventing Sunday:

"Because the Holy Spirit cannot be controlled, spirited worship is spontaneous and thus a point of vulnerability for a religious institution. By definition, opening our lives to God in worship has an uncontrollable quality to it. In this environment of openness to Divine leading, where God speaks and we respond, the church groans to become all it was meant to be."

Brad did indeed Reinvent Sunday at this retreat. We explored the purposes and possibilities of the worship experience and were inspired to make worship at our churches all that it can be. Brad discussed each element of the worship service in the context of his high vision for worship: the gathering and greeting, the praising and singing, the praying, the Scripture reading, the preaching, the listening, the communion, the giving, and more. Each step of the way, he offered practical suggestions designed to enable us to improve our  worship experience in terms of quality, creativity, and meaning.

Our 2003 Summer  Retreat
- Being Peace -
was led by Reverend David Fouche
from August 3 - 6

Our Winter Retreat of 2003 - Lisening To Your Life was held at the Trinity Center from January 27 - 29, 2003. Scroll down the page for a quote from  Brad Berglund - the retreat leader, and his brief biography.  

"Our lives can be seen as a pilgrimage, an adventure into the mystery and meaning of being human. In our day, the practical practice of pilgrimage is gaining in popularity. In our high-tech, fast paced busy world, perhaps there's a deepening need for meaning.  In their longing for divine connection, people are discovering that time apart from routines and business pressure is necessary. A different quality of time is needed to heal our wounds, listen deeply to our lives and hear the voice of God."
         - Brad Berglund in Reinventing Sunday: Breakthrough Ideas for Transforming Worship -

About Our Retreat Leader...

Rev. Brad Berglund is learning the art of listening to his life. Since his four-year old son was diagnosed with a brain tumor in1989, his family has learned how to live with cancer, surgery, treatment, handicaps and many new opportunities. Brad's spiritual journey has been marked by despair, triumph, insight and transformation. Brad directs an ecumenical ministry called Illuminated Journeys; it's devoted to deepening the spiritual life of individuals and churches. He has completed the two-year program for Spiritual Direction at the Shalem Institute in Bethesda, Maryland and has a particular interest in the spirituality of pilgrimage. As a pastoral musician, he directs an association of Denver area churches in TaizE-style worship and is a consultant in the area of worship renewal and spiritual formation. Brad recently authored a book called, Reinventing Sunday: Breakthrough Ideas for Transforming Worship. http://www.reinventingsunday.com . He lives in Denver with his wife Rita and their children, Brandon and Brianna