Thank you for registering for the Pastor Sabbath Retreat
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A message from Kara:
Pastors are notorious for knowing they need to take time for things like self-care, and then not doing it. The events I do around sabbath and rest have the highest number of no-shows. People long for it and so they sign up, and when the time comes, other things rise up in front of them and demand attention and take priority. When we're trained to measure our lives by what we accomplish, it's so counter-intuitive to spend valuable time purposely not accomplishing! So I want to give you a helpful way to think about this, (and feel free to come back to this page again and again as the date gets closer). The Jewish Sabbath begins right at sundown - not by a time on a clock or by someone's to-do list, not when everything is finished and everyone is ready for it. When the sun drops below the horizon, the Sabbath has begun. What’s done is done, what is undone remains undone. This is the attitude to hold as you look forward to this retreat. Everything gets set down, even the things that are not finished, so that space may be opened up within us to be met by God, just as we are. This is time set aside for being, instead of doing. Don't bring anything along that might tempt you to be productive. No "catching up" on work, no planning ahead, no last-minute, final details. Leave it behind. Come as you are. If the day approaches and you do not feel emotionally or mentally prepared, do not worry. Come anyway - this time will be a blessing to you. It really will! And if your plate gets full, and some super important things come up to compete for your attention (spoiler alert: THEY WILL) and you simply do not have time, all the more reason to keep to the boundaries of your time set apart. COME ANYWAY - this time will be a blessing to you. It REALLY WILL. I know you can do it, and I know you will survive and be grateful, even. Here's how I know this: For the past 7 years, I have gone on a 24-hour retreat the week before Christmas. For the first 5 years, I felt like I was crazy to leave everything and turn off my phone for 24 hours right in my busiest time of the year. Every single time, I return from retreat reconverted to sabbath. Stepping out of everything is the most life-giving, reorienting and grounding thing I could have done. I no longer question my sanity, now I put this on my calendar a year in advance. All that to say - if you felt called to do this when you signed up, stick it out, no matter how crazy it seems when the time comes. I trust that God has something especially for you in this experience. Receive the gift of rest. |
Did you complete your registration?Please pay in full by June 1. If you've registered after June 1, please be sure to pay in full.
Coming soon!
As we get closer to the date, more details, directions and advice for packing and preparations will be sent to you, and posted here. |