Quaker Retreat Projects - Meeting for Learning
Undertaking the Projects will be one of the main activities between the retreat weeks. We suggest that you aim for four projects. At least two of these should focus on your experiences of the spiritual life.
Projects can be short or long, written or created.
- Whatever they are, they need to be something that you find helpful in exploring your spiritual journey.
- Whatever you do, include some reflection on the process/and your learning.
- Trying to name what and how you are learning can help bring things to consciousness.
Where to begin
Work of sight is done.
Now do <heart work> on the pictures inside you.
Rilke
Choose a Project topic
- nearest to your heart, personal to you, your growth, your gift
- one where seeds of Light and Life might grow.
Between Retreat Resources
Building on your present life and ministry
You may be using this course to highlight some part of your present life and ministry. How are you doing this?
What do the facilitators and/or your support group need to know so that they can help?
Contact with others
Facilitator
You can of course talk to any of the facilitators between retreat weeks, but one will be your particular contact facilitator. You need to work out how you prefer to maintain contact. Some people like to connect by phone, others by email or letter, some can meet. Some people value regular contact, others prefer contact as needed.
Maintaining contact with others who have been on the retreat
Sometimes people find it helpful to talk to other people experiencing the retreat at the same time. It can feel hard to leave the closeness of the retreat week and return to 'normal' life. Talk to people about whether they are happy to be phoned or emailed between retreat weeks for mutual support, sharing
ideas.
Support Group
We would like you to have a support group in your own faith community. We hope you will feel you can ask people to share something of what you have experienced this week and what you hope for during the year. Make sure you have begun to think who you might ask and have raised any problems in your mind about the process. Do you want someone from outside your faith community? Have you thought about a family member or friend?
Try to choose people who will take participation seriously and who will be committed to meeting with you regularly, ideally about once a month.
Remember that the aim is to share about your experiences of the year and that the group is to offer you support in this.
People generally find the two retreat weeks very rewarding and the time between the two weeks can be enriched by having contact with a support group. Having a local support group has a number of benefits both for you and for the people you have asked to be part of the group.
The aims of having a support group are:
• to provide a group that you can use for exploring issues, reflecting, sharing your journey between the retreat weeks
• to have people to encourage you to keep working on projects during the
vear
• for any particular kind of support or challenge that you consider you need.
Quakers have a tradition of having support group.
Quaker Faith and Practice says about Support Groups:
12.27 Friends sometimes undertake, or are asked to undertake, tasks which they find challenging, either on a single occasion or as a continuing commitment. Under these circumstances, they may value the support of a small group of Friends. This could be offered by the body requesting the service or it may be requested by the Friend concerned.
Membership of the group should reflect the preferences of the Friend to be supported. The group may need to remind itself that its job is not so much to judge the task as to support the Friend carrying it out.
People often feel hesitant about asking others to join their support group, feeling that people won't be interested, or have time or energy, or because they don't want so much focus on themselves. What we've found is that people appreciate being asked and often talk about how the experience of being on a support group has benefited them. Typical comments would be that they have felt their own spiritual journey has deepened or that they have felt humbled and rewarded by the depth of sharing in the group. Participants have said things like, for example, that the quality of listening in the group felt like a gift and that there was a gentle unfolding of trust and giving.
Common queries about support groups:
Who to ask?
Is useful to ask at least one or two people from your own faith community @s they will have an understanding of that area of your life. Past participants in the program have also asked people they knew from other faith communities that they felt would provide a useful perspective. Some people attend another faith community as wellas Quakers and so ask people from both. You may also want to ask a friend or family member or someone you work with. People often don't know each other beforehand, although they may.
How many people?
Ideally, four - six people. Some participants have had three but this can mean that if one person can't come to a meeting, it's a very small group. Sometimes participants, especially those in small Meetings, have had a member by mail or phone.
How often does the group meet?
It's up to you and the group. We'd suggest about monthly for continuity.
Groups have varied a lot in when and how they have met. Many would meet over a meal, others in the evening, some at weekends. Generally, they would meet for a couple of hours, but again it depends very much on you and the group.
When should you start?
It is good to start thinking about who you would want in your support group before you come on the retreat. If you have time you could start asking people whether they would be interested. You may get other ideas as the retreat week develops, partly from hearing from people who have already had a support group. Ideally, you would aim to have your first meeting within a month of returning home, so that you can talk to people about the retreat while the experience is still freshly in your mind.
We will talk about support groups and how to get started during the retreat week, so don't feel you need to be completely clear about this before you come. The experience of having a support group varies a lot and there is no one right way. People who are finishing the retreat will talk about their experience and we will also talk about the experiences of past participants.
Support group - Letter from Beryl Homes
Dear Frances
Today, with some sadness, I had my final meeting with my Support Group - although I will suggest a celebratory lunch meeting on my return from Meeting for Learning. My support group has been special, and although we have only met once a month (except on one extra occasion), we have had some 'quality' time together which I treasure, and hopefully there were benefits accruing to everyone in the group. ....
