Dear Friend,

It's hard to believe we are heading into our last retreat, A Rule of Life: Arranging our Lives for Spiritual Transformation on September 13-15, 2021. This will be a special retreat with some added elements to help us bring closure to this experience and celebrate all that God has done.

We are paying attention to the current COVID realities and we are in communication with Q Center about continuing to provide precautions that we believe will help keep everyone present and safe for this retreat. We will communicate those details more fully as we get closer to our time together.

As always, we are praying for each of you as you prepare and travel. The culmination of the Transforming Community experience is signficant and we look forward to being with you in meaningful ways.

Blessings,
Reflecting on the Last Quarter
Our time learning from Bob Mulholland about spiritual transformation for the sake of others—particularly as that is expressed in cruciform love—was deeply meaningful. I do trust you have had time to go back over your notes, continuing to pray through the Scriptures to which he referred us and letting God speak to you about how he is calling you to practice cruciform love.

As this quarter draws to a close, please remember to carve out time to reflect on the questions found in your During the Quarter document (click here) and prepare your 2–3-page paper related to the themes from the last retreat.  This written reflection will form the basis of your sharing with your small group over dinner. There is also a copy of the questions in your retreat folder.

Even if you are not handing in a paper for the certificate program, we encourage you to write down a few of your reflections as a way of pulling your thoughts together in preparation for sharing with community members over dinner.

Preparing for the
Upcoming Retreat


We will be covering significant content on this retreat in addition to the special activities that will help us bring closure to this experience. Our main teaching focus will be on arranging our lives for spiritual transformation by establishing sacred rhythms both personally and in community. Topics will include finding God in the ordinary, Sabbath-keeping, and reflections on the monastic tradition of cultivating a rule of life and how that applies to us today.

Tuesday

Tuesday evening will be devoted entirely to celebrating community—both the small group communities and the larger community. Small groups will eat dinner together and participate in an intentional conversation about the journey they have shared. Guidance will be provided for this conversation. Then we will go directly to our meeting space where you will find dessert and after-dinner drinks provided as we move into a time of sharing in the large group. This will be our opportunity to offer testimony regarding what the community has meant to each of us... the ups and downs, the laughter and tears, and everything in between. If words seem inadequate, feel free to plan a skit or offer special music if you would like! Following the sharing time, we will conclude with a simple but meaningful Night Prayer with Communion.

Wednesday

Wednesday morning will include a teaching session plus one final group spiritual direction session in which you will share your progress on developing a rule of life and pray for one another in that regard. The Leaving Service will be the culmination of the entire two-year experience and will contain several elements to help us mark this important ending—including a special gift and blessing.

While we will be finished by 1:00, you may want to give yourself a little more time than usual to say goodbye to friends in a way that is satisfying for you. Please plan to stay until the end. Departure takes a little longer on this retreat!
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