End of Year Retreat:
Seeking Union with Spirit
28 December 2020 to 3 January 2021
Led by Fiona Gardiner & Drew Lawson
A retreat to reflect on our spiritual experiences, to become more deeply aware of the gifts they contain;
- to acknowledge the people, places and institutions that have influenced our spiritual journey;
- to recognise the truth of our own experiences which may be similar or totally different to others;
- to allow our spiritual experiences to help us deepen our awareness of who we are as pilgrims on the way;
- to ponder our approach to nurturing our spiritual selves;
- to recognise the choices we make which hinder or affirm our intention to be faithful to the call we have received.
There will be plenty of time for separate
personal reflection and times for group sharing.
Fiona Gardner came to the Religious Society of Friends in her mid-thirties, convinced by the depth and power of silent worship, the warmth and welcome of Quaker community and social commitment. She is part of a small worshipping group in rural Victoria and has been fortunate to be a Meeting for
Learning facilitator since its beginning in 1996. She seeks to integrate Quaker ways into all aspects of her life.
Drew Lawson is an experienced retreat leader,
spiritual director, poet and artist. He was trained in
the art of spiritual direction at the Jesuit Center for
Spiritual Growth in Pennsylvania, USA.
He is a member of both The Religious Society of Friends
and the Catholic Church.
He was the founding director of Daybreak, an ecumenical spiritual centre
in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia. Drew has recently facilitated two year and one tear spiritual formation programs involving Quakers and pilgrims from
other traditions. Drew has,for number of years, been practising spirituality of the hermit path. For over thirty years Fiona and Drew have lived in a small intentional community in the forest outside Bendigo.
