2023 Clergy Retreat, Abby of the Hills Retreat Center April 24-27
Clergy Retreat Registration: Clergy Retreat information Packet:
With a good balance of rest, reflection, and recreation, our clergy retreat this spring at Abbey of the Hills will focus on deepening our relationships with each other by reflecting on the past year and sharing and telling God's story...by sharing our own stories.
Although we serve in the same Diocese and are part of the Body of Christ in this part of God's kingdom, our contexts, backgrounds, ministry, prayer, and life perspectives vary greatly. We know our own selves well – and we all have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Yet how well do we know, and what can we learn from our fellow clergy that might enhance our own understanding of God, ourselves, each other, and our Diocese as a whole?
There is much to learn from each other's lives as we serve alongside Jesus and each other. So in keeping with our Diocesan theme of “Loving to Tell the Story,” using material from the Episcopal Church Program, “From Many, One: Conversations Across Difference,” and by reflecting on our relationships with God and what God has been up to in our lives since our clergy retreat in 2022, we will spend our Tuesday morning session time in small groups doing theological reflection and exploring these four questions: “Since we last met…What have you lost? What do you love? Where does it hurt? What do you dream?”
During our Wednesday morning session, we will again break into small groups, and on that day, we will further explore where God's story is in our stories by answering questions that come from “An Invitation to Evangelism” program from Forward Movement. These questions, which are all about telling God's story in our stories, will prompt us to share our thoughts and practices of prayer, the people who have been our saints, where we have seen God in those different from us, etc.
Additional information about this theme and our time together will be sent in a document separate from this registration form.
The deadline for registering is Friday, April 7th at 4:00 PM Central Time. This deadline is set by the needs of the Abbey for a solid count of how many people will be attending our retreat.
Scholarship assistance is available for those who need it, and you may direct a request to the Bishop (jonathan@episcopalchurchsd.org). Clergy who serve in reservations or who have continuing education funds provided through the diocesan budget are encouraged to pay the full amount and then request reimbursement from their continuing education funds by contacting Canon Mitch Honan (mitch@episcopalchurchsd.org).