Dear Friend,

It’s only a few days until we are on retreat together! We are so looking forward to our time in community and praying for God’s blessings in all our lives. The retreat begins April 25 with check-in beginning at 4pm at University of St. Mary of the Lake. 

We hope you are looking forward to receiving all that God has for you on this retreat and we want you to rest assured that the Transforming Center and USML are continuing to abide by the health and safety protocols set forth by the CDC and State of Illinois. All retreatants will be required to wear masks and practice physical distancing while on retreat. A document with full explanation of these protocols and more can be found here.

Remember to bring: 
  • Bring your Bible and journal
  • Casual, comfortable clothing with layers for adjusting to the varying temperature
  • Pillow or any other items that would help you rest well
Blessings,
The TC17 Ministry Community
In Person Retreat Attendance
Check in begins at 4pm. When you arrive to University of St. Mary  the Lake you will need to enter from US 45 as Route 176 is closed. Follow signs to the purple parking lot and then walk down the ramp from the lot to the Conference Center Lodging Building (E on the attached map). You can check  at the registration window, then around the corner in the living room, find the Transforming Center check-in table.   

At 5:30p.m. we will meet in the chapel, on the 2nd floor of the same building for a brief orientation, Gathering Prayer, then a walk together to the dining hall for dinner.  If you have extra time before dinner, you can check out the Transforming Center book table room 105 of the Conference Center Meeting Hall (building D on the attached map).

Virtual Retreat Attendence

For more guidance on how to plan for your meals, solitude, unplugging from technology, etc., click here. Take some time to intentionally think through how you will prepare for this set apart time; doing so will greatly impact your experience.  

Refunds
For those of you who have personally paid for your TC experience, you will receive a $200 refund. 

If you received a scholarship or are being fully/partially sponsored, we can reimburse you (up to $200) for any accommodation costs you might incure to find a quiet space to retreat. Please email us your receipts. 

If you are interested in turning your refund into a donation to help offset virtual production costs, we would welcome that!

Please click here to fill out the refund request form.

Schedule by Time Zone
All four time zone schedules will be included in your folder. If you would like to view your schedule prior to receiving your packet, you can find the links below. You will need internet access for all prayer services, teaching sessions and small group time.

Eastern Time Zone
Central Time Zone
Mountain Time Zone
Pacific Time Zone

Requests for Prayer and Pastoral Care

Our intercessory prayer team and community pastors are available to meet with you virtually or in person while we are on retreat but it will require planning ahead just a bit. Please don't hesitate to reach out for what you need on this retreat. As always, the content of these meetings will be confidential.

Prayer — Please email Jerry Lee to schedule time during afternoon solitude. 
Pastoral Care — To connect with a community pastor, please email BJ Woodworth.

Retreat End

The retreat will end at 1:00pm on Tuesday. Please plan to stay until the very end since our Leaving Service will always bring both the content of the retreat and our time together to a meaningful close. 
Other Reminders

Papers
If you have not already done so, email your written reflections to TC17papers@transformingcenter.org. For formatting guidelines, please refer to the During the Quarter document in your folder or click here to review.

Certificate in Spiritual Formation
If you have any further questions about what is required in order to receive the Certificate, you will find it on our website here.

Absences
If you missed the first retreat in November, please refer to the document Helpful Information found in your folder, in order to catch up with all that is needed to fulfill the requirements to earn a certificate. This information and more is also on the TC17 community page on our website. Use the password, sacredrhythms17, to gain access.

Remember, if you have to be absent for any retreat, email TC17@transformingcenter.org to let us know so we can be aware of the things going on for you and can hold you in prayer.
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