Sunday, April 3, 2022

Rainy Retreat

Tomorrow I will do a post that wraps up the retreat with more pictures.  The wi-fi is just too slow here at Luther Springs to take the time to do that today while I'm still here.  In some ways, it's a miracle that there's internet access at all.  Once we got lost on our way here and never found the camp; there was no cell phone coverage at all.  Now there is wi-fi, but it's iffy.  I tried to watch a lecture video for my online seminary class, and it took so long to load, reload, etc, that I finally decided I would do better to watch at home where the access is better.

We're not that far from Gainesville, where there's a major research university.  You'd think there would be more connectivity.  Of course, I'm also not seeing other signs of "city" life, like a grocery store or a restaurant nearby.  In some ways, it's refreshing.

It's been a good retreat overall, despite my irritation with the retreat materials.  We're using the "Renew, Restore, Refresh" book from CTA, which has such a baffling website that I'm not even going to link to it.  I can't find the resource that we're using, and I can't find out much about the group.  The books have a conservative whiff to them; I wrote a whole post on my theology blog in response to our first session with the books.

We've had talk about Psalm 23 and how we're lost sheep, determined to go our own way, but God comes to get us.  We've talked about God giving and taking away.  I've concentrated on keeping my face neutral (skills honed during administration pays off!) and listening, instead of trying to explain how people are misguided.

I persist in being amazed that Christianity took root and became so widespread with these ideas.  Why would I want to worship a God that snatches away all that I hold dear?  Do I really think I deserve that treatment?  Some of these women seem to think so.  It's puzzling to me.

My idea of God who is either not omnipotent or who limits power in favor of free will and free choices in the hopes of truer relationship makes more sense to me.  I am aware that I could be deeply misguided too.  And I am aware of how odd many people, especially those raised with a judging God, find my beliefs.

Happily, these sessions with CTA curriculum have only been a small part of the week-end so far.  My favorite time, of course, was the time for creativity.  I made a small book and learned about neurographics, which involves sketching and circles and getting rid of angles in the sketch and thinking about whatever's causing us pain or conflict and creating new neural pathways that will solve our issues while we sketch.

I made this sketch:



Will it solve my issues?  I'll let you know.

It was a rainy afternoon, which meant no hikes, no archery, but that was fine.  There was something so soothing in the rain, knowing that I could get to everywhere I wanted to go by the covered walkways, which was better than a hike on sand trails, better than archery which would remind me that I'm not as fit as I once was.

Along the way, I got some seminary work done (reading previously downloaded materials and writing) and kept in touch with the online classes that I'm teaching.  Even sloggy internet lets me do that.

I made this Facebook post last night:

"If you had a hammer, you'd do what? Spent time tonight teaching the next generation some classics by Peter, Paul, and Mary and Pete Seeger. I'm the one taking the pictures and singing along. You may or may not be happy that I am not posting audio."

It was great to end the day singing and smiling with a larger group.  And I'm hopeful that our singing didn't get in the way of a good time for others who didn't want to sing.

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