Rest, Relax, Retreat

By Rev. Carol Bodeau

Dear Friends,

This last weekend, a group of 14 Westsiders spent the weekend at Rock Island State Park, for our annual fall church retreat. We hiked, shared meals, talked about a wide range of topics, and got to know one another better. The group included Westsiders who have been attending the retreat for many, many years and also brand-new folks, for whom it was their first retreat.

A group of Westsiders enjoys a sunny day by the waterfall at Rock Island State Park.

Our church retreats have changed in many ways since I started my work at Westside, over 10 years ago. We used to spend our fall weekend together at Pickett State Park, in a large group retreat area. The Pickett group 'camp' had bunkhouses which most of us wouldn't sleep in, with their very thin and plastic-covered mattresses on bunk beds, but was located at the far end of the park in a lovely, separate natural area. We used the big lodge building for group meals, fires in the big stone fireplace, and sharing puzzles and games. Many of us rented separate cabins in the park, and had to drive to the lodge for group activities. There were always multiple group hikes.

A few years ago, the state park system experienced budget and staff cuts that meant they no longer maintain their group retreat areas except for during the few hottest months of the summer (and they raised their prices significantly), so we had to adapt. For the last two years, we have held our retreat at Rock Island, reserving a few cabins next to each other and sharing meals and activities in the cabins themselves, or in their outdoor areas. This is close, but not quite, like our previous experiences. But there are some things that don't change.

We still had the chance to share time and activities away from our day-to-day lives. We still got a chance to know one another better, hear each other's stories, and relax together away from committee meetings and church duties. We still got the chance to laugh, eat good food, and take hikes in a beautiful place.

The future of the church retreat is an open question, as circumstances have changed, and numbers attending have been dwindling. Do we want to continue these annual events? How should we organize them? Should we return to Pickett, and just rent cabins there (minus the big lodge), as was discussed this weekend? What do you think about attending a church retreat next fall?

I would love to hear your thoughts about future church retreats. If you have opinions or ideas, please email me with your comments.

Happy Autumn,

Rev. Carol