The story so far:

Our little church has put on a number of Franciscan spirituality retreats, geared for our bunch, meaning not compulsively organized and pretty much an easy gathering of friends for conversation, prayer, and personal growth. On a whim, I thought, “Why not invite people who read this blog?” The response seemed good when I asked you what you thought. So we put three on the calendar. The first was last weekend (June 6-8).

This first retreat had less people than are signed up currently for the next two, which was perfect since we’re still figuring out the best way to do things. There were 7 people from around the United States (Washington State, New York, North Carolina, and a few from other parts of Texas). There were about 10 people from our church involved, some participating in the entire retreat and others who dropped in for parts of it.

The people who came were all delightful. It was such a joy to meet them. One woman pitched her tent on the church property and slept outside. Others slept on inflatable mattresses here and there. One person brought fancy chocolates from Seattle, so we had an impromptu chocolate tasting, my first.

Things were said and some information was given. People relaxed and spent time together. Most of the really wonderful things were not things we could have planned. I like our basic approach of trusting that living in the moment together is a virtue in itself and leads to the best moments. Such as:

-Mandolin music
-Chocolate tasting
-Midnight labyrinth walk by candlelight
-Conversation... Lots of it.

I was surprised at how immediately open everyone was. We had planned about 15 minutes for people to introduce themselves. Once everyone started talking, we ended up going over an hour. I immediately knew that some of these people needed to be here...desperately. A few had some rather important and difficult crises that they were dealing with. It seemed like they needed a safe place to relax, talk, share their stories, and yes, to pray and pursue a monastic, spiritual journey.

We were honored by their presence and so happy to provide a place where this might happen.

Whenever people get together, there are logistical details, of course. We used borrowed air mattresses this weekend, but a church here in Texas has volunteered to help us buy some really nice ones. And another church may purchase sheets and pillows and stuff. Ultimately, we hope to be able to say, “Just come. Bring nothing. We’ll feed you and care for your needs. Just find a way to get here and we’ll do the rest.”

I think this weekend was a good start.

And that brings me to the end of what I want to say, which brings me to Sumana. Everyone who came was, as I said, delightful. But Sumana was so delightfully unique. A very smart woman with, as she says, “Hindu leanings.” Her parents are Hindu priests. She grew up steeped in that tradition. Her natural curiosity, her love of life and mystery, brought her to us. She said she was a tourist in Christianity for the weekend. “I’m not a Christian, but you have such beautiful things. I’m always wanting to touch your pretty things.”

I felt grace coming from Sumana. I felt my own religion affirmed by her desire to find goodness in all things. I loved having her at the retreat. And at the end, when she came forward to receive communion with her head bowed, respectfully seeking to join us, I almost burst into tears. It was as if she said, “I don’t know all the details, but I’d like to join you as a fellow seeker after God.” I almost felt like this was finally coming true.

Technically communion is a ceremony reserved for those who have committed themselves to the way of Christ. But I dare anyone to spend a weekend with Sumana and not serve her communion. I double-dog dare you.

What can I say? It was wonderful. We get to do it again at the end of the month. The second retreat is getting full. I think we have 14 so far. Stay tuned. Who knows what this kind of thing can lead to?

rlp

Chocolate Tasting

Breakfast with Ben

Sumana & Me

Dinner on the Riverwalk

Dinner on the Riverwalk

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Well, here we are just days away from our first RLP Franciscan retreat. Our labyrinth is finished. I've created a website for it. There is no way we could thank Paul Soupiset enough for his design work, physical work, and the beauty of his vision for this thing. Two people have found the labyrinth via the web so far and come to walk it.

And Paul finished our retreat booklet, which is stunning. Seriously, this is unbelievable to me. It's got all kinds of information in it, including the details of our prayer services, etc. Every person who attends the retreat will get one. You can get all the information at our Retreat Blog. Whether you are coming to the retreat or not, this retreat booklet is very cool.

All of this for anyone who can get here and for nothing more than a modest volunteer donation to cover the price of food. Anyone who has trouble affording the transportation may forego the donation with our blessing and in complete anonymity.

I'll post pictures after the retreat, of course. And links to anyone attending the retreat who has a blog and offers thoughts of their own.

rlp

The retreats have come together in ways that I could never have imagined. A number of people in the church have stepped up to organize things. We're learning to function like a retreat center. We currently have about 10 people signed up for each of the three retreats. I anticipate additional people coming to the last two retreats. We can take a maximum of 20, but 10 to 15 is a very nice number for this kind of thing. There will be 5 to 7 people from our church attending as well.

But even if we had 20 people come, it would still be an intimate gathering where we can get to know each other and enjoy lots of good conversations. We're really not interested in doing anything on a larger scale than that.

Paul Soupiset has put together a booklet that we will be giving to everyone who attends. There will be more in it, but you can see the schedule and read more about the retreat. Click the cover to download the .pdf file. Note: This is just a demo version. There will be more information in the final version, and the example Franciscan rule will be changed slightly.

A few things have changed:

1. You can spend the night at our church as our guest on Saturday night if you want to stay over for church on Sunday. Those who do will all go to the Riverwalk on Saturday night for authentic Tex-Mex food.

2. We're providing towels so that you don't have to carry wet ones back home. For this first retreat, you'll need to bring your own sheets and pillows, etc. Hopefully we'll have those for people soon. We'd like this to be as easy for you as possible. Drop everything and come without worrying about food, lodging, etc.

3. Here is our updated schedule for the weekend:

Friday afternoon/evening:

12:00 - Arrivals begin. Feel free to explore.
6:00 - Sanctuary: Reception & Sign-in
7:00 - Vespers Prayer Service
7:30 - St. Francis and his life before God
8:30 - Snack Supper
9:00 - Making a Rule of Life I
10:00 - Compline Prayer Service
11:00 - Free Time: Conversation / Sleep / Rule of Life / Late Night Yoga / Labyrinth

Saturday

4:50 - A Bell will be rung to announce Lauds
5:00 - Lauds Prayer Service
5:30 - Free Time: Sleep / Prayer / Sunrise Labyrinth
7:00 - Free Time Options: Yoga
8:00 - A South Texas Breakfast
9:00 - Terce Prayer Service
9:30 - Making a Rule of Life II
10:30 - Free Time: Rest / Work / Art / Meditation
12:00 - Sext Prayer Service
12:30 - Lunch, Free Time
1:30 - Free Time (Some will pack for departure)
2:00 - Making a Rule of Life III
3:00 - None Prayer and Communion Service
3:30 - Benediction / Group Photo
4:00 - Vans leave for Airport & Downtown
6:00 - Dinner on San Antonio Riverwalk
±11:00 - Vans return to Covenant

Sunday

8:00 - Stow all luggage in Gordon’s office by 8
9:30 - Optional devotional with Paul
10:15 - Coffee & Doughnuts
10:30 - Covenant Worship Service
12:00 - Vans leave for Airports

Full details (contact information, etc.) are on the retreat page.

Well, I lost the data from the Franciscan Retreat poll. It was my fault. I didn't understand how the poll results mechanism holds its data. You can still vote and if you vote you can see the original results. But the details about people who cast votes originally are gone.

So this is important:

Yesterday I sent out about 50 emails to people, letting them know that details and sign-up procedures are online for our 3 summer Franciscan retreats. I sent these emails to people who left comments indicating interest at various things I've written about these retreats.

BUT, the ones who took the poll were some of those most serious about coming. So I had wanted to send everyone who took the poll a personal email to alert them that people are signing up. There is only room for 20 people per retreat. The first retreat was half full a few days ago, and I think 5 people sent emails yesterday.

So if you are interested in joining us, better do so soon. Click here for dates and information.

rlp

I have created a page with the dates and details for the upcoming Franciscan retreats at our church this summer. Originally we had a date in July, but we had to change it to the last weekend of June. Paul Soupiset was not able to be there in July. He's our musician/artist and pretty much indispensable.

We can only take 20 people at each retreat. There were a lot more than 60 who expressed interest. Of course, expressing interest and actually buying a plane ticket are two different things. Still, if you really want to come, you might consider signing up pretty quickly.

But don't worry. If this is well received, I'm sure we'll do it again.

rlp