SPECIAL EVENTS
Beloved. Still.
August 23-26
St. Cyprian of Carthage once wrote, “No one can have God for their Father who does not have the Church for their mother.” At a time when many are disenchanted, alienated, or wounded by the church, this statement may be painful. Many who feel pushed out by the church experience guilt and shame because of lost rhythms, lost relationships, lost connection to the church, and perhaps, distance from God.
This retreat is designed to create space and rest by engaging spiritual practices, inviting conversations, and making connections while processing relationships to the church. But more importantly, this is a space to remember that no matter what, we are beloved. Still.
Your hosts and guides for this event will be Nate and Sarah Pyle. They have been involved in ministry for nearly 20 years as youth pastor, pastor, coaches, retreat facilitators and teachers. Nate is the pastor of Christ's Community Church in Fishers. He is also an author of two books and has written for a number of publications. Additionally, he is a coach with The Leader's Journey, a coaching organization helping leaders grow in wholehearted leadership. Sarah is also involved in ministry at Christ's Community Church and has overseen marriage ministry at the church. They enjoy creating hospitable spaces for people to explore their faith, ask deep questions, and feel God's love.
Retreat begins at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 23rd and ends at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday August 26th. Meals, coffee and snacks included.
With the pandemic and all the cultural upheaval of the past few years, many of us have not had the time or guidance to process our experiences: working through the traumas and tragedies as well as the graces and gifts.
So we thought, what if we held an intimate retreat for people to work through two simple questions:
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What do you need to grieve that you haven’t given space for?
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What do you need to celebrate that you haven’t given space for?
That's the very simple agenda for this retreat. For two days, we will linger over home-cooked meals and fire pit conversations together, providing time and space for participants to work through the unprocessed experiences and feelings of the past few years, lamenting the losses and celebrating the gifts.
This retreat is hosted by Gravity Leadership and facilitated by Ben Sternke and Matt Tebbe.