Parish Family Retreat

We had our First Annual Parish Family Retreat this weekend. It was held at Kanuga, an Episcopal retreat center in the mountains of North Carolina outside of Hendersonville.

When our Priest first began talking about the retreat, he seemed very tentative. We had reserved space, but he just wasn't sure if people really would sign up. The Youth decided to go, stay in one of the bigger cabins together, and spend the day skiing at Wolf Laurel, a short drive. They joined us for meals and the sessions, except the ones on Saturday.

I told Don several months ago that I wanted to go. He seemed surprised. It's just that we miss out on a lot of church activities because they overlap with Community functions. This was a chance to support the church as well as build some deeper relationships. Two weeks before the final deadline, we compared our calendars and Don sent in a check with our reservation form.

By the following Sunday, it was amazing how fast word had spread. At least 10 people came to me and expressed excitement that we were going. Interestingly, many of my closest friends from church were going to attend the Retreat.

Things got a little tricky with it following so closely on the heels of my niece's wedding. My sister from California, who stayed with us, didn't leave until 1 p.m. on Thursday. I planned on taking the children out of school at noon on Friday so we could get to Kanuga early enough to unpack and settle into our cabin before dinner.

We got packed and loaded, but were later than we had hoped leaving. Don joked that if we looked hard enough, we'd find the kitchen sink in the back of the van. In spite of all we DID take, I forgot pajamas for me and the extra set of clothes I took for everyone got used up rather quickly and left me hanging blue jeans in front of the fireplace and leaving tennis shoes on the hearth. I took a spare pair of shoes for everyone as part of their "extra" outfit, and still ran out of shoes and clothes. We had to send Daelyn to the session Saturday night in Dane's slippers.

On the way up in the van, I pulled out the schedule and read it aloud. Dane and Daelyn were very frustrated. They didn't quite understand what a "retreat" was. They kept asking questions like, "If we go to church tonight, do we STILL have to go on Sunday?"

Deanna sighed from the back of the van as I tried to explain what retreating was. When we arrived at the first session and the seats faced each other with a wide middle aisle, the boys began getting very suspicious. Then they discovered the Prayer Books on every chair and the complaining started. I finally responded with that century's old mother's reached the end of her rope saying - "I don't want to hear another word about it!" The people around me looked curiously at me.

Then the evening started. After an introduction, review of the schedule, and a prayer, the Youth Director came forward. He first had us put ourselves in groups by the type of toothpaste we use. Next, groups by the type of shampoo, followed by whether we roll the toilet paper under or over. Several more obscure groupings followed, until everyone was sufficiently loosened up, including the children, who were having a marvelous time. Next, he applied sticky notes to each person's forehead. Each sticky note had the name of an entertainer or a historical figure. We were to work the room, asking only "yes/no" questions, and guess who our person was.

Dane had Galileo, and did a great job asking questions and guessing. The church members were very impressed with his questions. Deanna had Moses and she struggled a little when one of the children told her it was a woman. I had Yoko Ono and would NEVER have guessed mine if it wasn't for the kind prodding of some of the folks, encouraging me to ask "certain" questions.

After the games, we took a short break, then regathered for singing and refocusing. Father David showed a brief video that explored prayer using a musical analogy (which the children ALSO enjoyed), then we had Compline (a type of evening prayer). We were done by 8:30 and adjourned to the Lodge, in front of a roaring fire, for snacks and fellowship. By the time we got back to our cabin, the children nearly fell into bed.

So, enough of the minutia. We made prayer shawls and icons and had teachings on prayer and time to spend alone with the Lord. We had great, filling meals and tons of fellowship and scheduled free time on Saturday afternoon.

I neglected to mention earlier that, on the drive to Kanuga, the children and Don saw two wild turkeys in the woods off the Interstate and there was LOTS of snow and ice - not on the roads, where it was dangerous, but on the sides where it was beautiful. Dane pointed out huge, 6-foot icicles cascading down a cliff on the side of the road. We prayed that there'd be enough snow at Kanuga for play. Our prayers were answered.

Saturday, at lunch, we still hadn't decided what we were going to do. A close friend of mine from church, who I never see because we now attend different services, and her son had been assigned to our cabin with us. We stayed up until 2 a.m. Friday night cstching up. It was wonderful. Anyway, she hadn't yet decided about her afternoon, either. People were inviting others to join them for winery tours and shopping when a couple stopped by our table and told us that they had brought along sleds, thinking we might want to use them. They had a two-person plastic sled and two saucers. A plan quickly began taking shape. Don would take our three and my friend's son sledding and she and I would go shopping.

When we got home, the children were exhausted, wet, and extremely happy. They had a wonderful time. The sledding was probably the highlight of the trip for them, although the snowball fights, family time and fires came close behind.

Church on Sunday was amazing. It was held in The Chapel of the Transfiguration, which is all done in wood. We were the only group there, and Father David had asked several of the children to participate in the service, reading prayers, scriptures, etc. The sermon was a Play on the Gospel reading and it held everyone's interest. It was poignant and captivating and the perfect worship service for this Retreat.

We got home last night about 5. None of the children wanted to leave Kanuga. It was rather a quiet evening, each of us reflecting on our memories individually.

Fr. David asked us during the closing session what we thought about the Retreat. Overwhelmingly, we all agreed we wanted to come back again next year, so he charged our Christian Education Director with making reservations before she left. The children and I definitely want to attend again next year. Don's not so sure. I guess we'll have to wait and see. He thinks it was a pretty expensive weekend. I think it was cheap for the memories we made.