“You need only claim the events of your life to make yourself yours.
When you truly possess all you have been and done… you are fierce with reality.”
Flora Scott-Maxwell
“How you stand here is important. How you
listen for the next things to happen. How you breathe.”
William Stafford
As the spring begins to blossom or as autumn turns towards winter, depending on the hemisphere in which you live, how are you faring both inwardly and outwardly? How do hold yourself amidst the many challenges in our world today? In this year 2024, the tragedy of conflict and violence continues to unfold in many parts of the globe; several nations – among them, the USA, the UK, India – are moving towards elections which threaten to divide rather than to unite; escalating climate change continues to impact our planet and its inhabitants, the most vulnerable suffering the most. How do we resist turning away from this suffering; with what frame of heart do we turn towards it? How can we allow our hearts to break open instead of to break apart? How do we find the courage to live with integrity, with purpose and with hope at this transformational time?
The theme of this retreat – Here I Am – is offered as an invitation for you to reflect on some of the questions you may be holding at this time. How has the journey of my life brought me to where I am today? How do I choose to show up in the world? How do I listen and how am I present to others? What does it mean to be here in authenticity and vulnerability, with my doubts, fears and failings as well as my convictions, joys and successes? What tensions am I holding in my life, and how might I transform this experience from one of predicament to one of creative paradox? To what inner work or to what work in the world am I being called? Even if I am not sure of the nature of this call, or of what is being asked of me, how can I respond with my own particular and wholehearted “Here I Am”?
Michèle and Cat invite you to join them on Zoom for five sessions with screen-free breaks and movement. We will embark on a journey, guided by the Courage & Renewal® approach, and together create a sacred, confidential space in which to do our own inner work in solitude and community. In the first four sessions, we will have the opportunity to listen generously to our inner teacher (soul, spirit, still small voice, inner voice, identity and integrity) and to one another in small groups and the whole group, speaking from the heart. Since a Circle of Trust® is enriched by metaphors, we will reflect on “third things”: poetry, prose, images, video, and song. The quality of the space is shaped by the practices that everything we do is invitational, and there is no fixing, advising, saving, or correcting. Instead listening generously and learning to ask open, honest questions open new doors in our relationships with self and others as we journey toward wholeness. The timing of the retreat, as we move towards and through and beyond the summer or winter solstice, will support us in this work of transformation.
In the culminating session, we will experience Clearness Committees, a powerful 1.5-hour discernment process from the Quaker tradition, adapted for Circle of Trust retreats. One person who wishes to think more deeply about an issue – transitional, vocational, relational, or spiritual – has an opportunity to be the “focus person” while a “committee” of three to six others listens and asks open, honest questions for an hour and a half. Both focus person and committee members alike have a profound experience in this unique way of supporting another human being together in community.
This retreat is based on the work of Parker J. Palmer and the Center for Courage & Renewal. The Courage & Renewal approach, described in Palmer’s book A Hidden Wholeness, focuses on cultivating our inner capacity to live a more authentic, meaningful, and engaged life. Informed by Courage & Renewal Principles, Practices, and Touchstones, we can create a trustworthy, brave space with our attention, imagination, and confidential conversations. Over the course of five sessions, we are able to create a Circle of Trust.
Scheduling Specifics
Every session includes centering, an opening circle, reflecting in solitude, moving into small groups to share, listen, and ask honest, open questions, and then sharing in the large circle. Movement is included. Here are the dates and times of these sessions:
Saturday, June 8th, 2024 from 13:00 – 16:30 EDT; 18.00-21.30 UK summer time
Saturday, June 22nd from 13:00 – 16:00 pm EDT; 18.00-21.00 UK summer time
Saturday, July 6th from 13:00 – 16:00 EDT; 18.00-21.00 UK summer time
Saturday, July 20th from 13:00 – 16:00 EDT; 18.00-21.00 UK summer time
Saturday, August 3rd from 11:00 – 16:30 EDT; 16.00-21.30 UK summer time
Check here for your time: www.thetimezoneconverter.com
The week before August 3rd, the facilitators will meet with the focus people for 30 minutes (time TBC) and with the timekeepers for 30 minutes (time TBC) to prepare for Clearness Committees.
Registration Information
While we understand that circumstances change and “life happens”, we ask you to commit to participating in each session of the series in order to foster community and trust within the group. When you say “yes” to this retreat, you say “yes” to attending at least four sessions, including the first session.
Space is limited. Registration closes Saturday June 1st or when there are 25 participants.
This offering is our gift; your presence is yours. As an extension of your gift, we invite you to support our work, as you are able, out of a spirit of gratitude, generosity, and reciprocity by gifting through Venmo @Cat-Greenstreet or PayPal at cgreenstreet1@verizon.net, or by sending a check to Cat Greenstreet, P.O. Box 927, Millbrook, NY 12545. We thank you in advance. Every amount, no matter how small or large, is valued.
There will be space on the Registration Form for you to make any requests regarding how we can support you to be fully present in the circle in trust and ease.
If you have any questions, or would like more information, please email Michèle at: maleroux@btinternet.com.
