Spiritual Formation Offerings at IMYM
This letter was sent by email to Monthly Meeting Clerks. It describes the Early Days Opening Retreat and the Interest Group to be held at the 2007 Annual Gathering in June. Please email andy at bardwellconsulting.com with inquiries.
April 20, 2007
Dear IMYM Friends,
Early Days Opening Retreat: This is to update you about the plans to provide a home-grown Spiritual Formation program across the Yearly Meeting beginning this Fall. We'd especially like those who are “far-flung” Friends or part of a small worship group, if you are already registered for IMYM Early Days, please consider signing up for the Spiritual Formation Opening Retreat during the early days of this year’s IMYM 2007.
The Opening Retreat will be held at Ghost Ranch Mon. evening, June 11 (7-9m), Tuesday, June 12 (9-5), and Wednesday morning, June 13 (9-11:45am). All are welcome, but this Opening Retreat is especially for Friends in IMYM who live in more isolated areas or who are part of small worship groups who would like to make the commitment to participate fully in a Spiritual Formation program (see below). Friends are invited to sign up with 2 or 3 others who would become a small Spiritual Nurture and Accountability Group that would meet monthly during the course of the upcoming year. If a Friend would like to sign up but does not have that small group already figured out, that’s OK. The facilitators would hook those individual Friends up with each other during the Opening Retreat so that they could meet by phone during the year.
We also welcome Friends to sign up who are part of a Monthly Meeting that is thinking about hosting their own Opening Retreat and Spiritual Formation Program beginning this Fall, and who would like to get a “hands-on” understanding of the Program.
Interest Group: We will also offer an Interest Group on Thursday afternoon of IMYM, “How to Set Up a Spiritual Formation Opening Retreat,” for anyone who is interested in bringing the Program to his/her Meeting this Fall. We will be available throughout Yearly Meeting to answer questions and help plan for an upcoming year of creating deeper connection among Friends and Meetings in IMYM, and promoting spiritual growth, individually and across the Yearly Meeting as a whole. We urge you to take advantage of the opportunity and we welcome you as fellow Friends on the journey. If you aren’t totally convinced yet, just wait until you hear this year’s IMYM plenary speaker, Margery Mears Larrabee on this year’s theme “Deepening our Spiritual Connections!”
