It has been many years since SJV held a retreat weekend for adults. But as a part of Father Ken’s sabbatical grant from the Lily Foundation, he is required to provide something for the benefit of the parishioners as a follow-up to what he experienced.
Friday – Sunday
Green Lake Conference Center
The following is from Father Ken about the upcoming retreat:
“The purpose of my sabbatical was to experience something of the Divine in solitude and prayer as a result of seeing the wonders of nature in our national parks. I then took those experiences with me to two monasteries for quiet retreat and prayer and to a weekend of reflection at a conference with Fr. Richard Rohr. I would like to share what I found to be true during those three months and also offer you an opportunity like it. So I decided early on that a retreat experience at some beautiful site with time for private prayer and sharing would be both enriching and fun. Of course I did the trip in an RV and at first I thought a camping retreat might be a good idea, but now instead I’ve settled on a weekend retreat at the Green Lake Conference Center. There we will enjoy the beautiful surroundings of nature on their huge campus on Green Lake, as well as hotel-like accommodations including four meals. But the main thing is to ask yourself if you need a weekend away for your own sense of balance and for your own spiritual growth. If so, this will be a fine way to do that.
The weekend will include presentations by author and psychologist Philip Chard. [You may read more about Philip at his website, PhilipChard.com.] You may be familiar with him as a weekly columnist in the Journal Sentinel. I always enjoy reading his column. Three years ago he also wrote a book entitled, Nature’s Ways, which I will ask everyone to read before the retreat. It is a book about exactly what I was trying to accomplish during my sabbatical and, in fact, did on one occasion. He writes, “I am grateful that within the clouds, grasses, cracks of lightening, snowdrifts, and sparkling stars, I am blessed to perceive a mysterious yet evolving spiritual presence that is far more than a “just” or a “mere” or a “simply.” I hope you are so blessed as well. This book is a small affirmation of this mystery, one that is shared by many, some consciously and others only in some vague or unrecognized sense. It is about the presence of the sacred within that which so many now perceive as the secular, the ordinary, and the mundane. It is about how to find the confluence and connection with this presence and, in doing so, to discover a clearer sense of direction, purpose, and identity in one’s life.”
Friday, June 28, 2013
Leave Saint John Vianney at 4:30 pm and travel by motor coach to Green Lake. Stop along the way for dinner (This is the only meal NOT included in the cost of the weekend.) Getting to know you activities, a talk by Father Ken about the sabbatical experience, refreshments (non-alcoholic at Green Lake) and social time.
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Breakfast from 7:30 to 8:30 am, morning prayer, talk by Philip Chard, experiencing nature’s ways, lunch, talk by Philip Chard and sharing in small groups, a second chance at experiencing nature’s ways, dinner, evening activities.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Breakfast, Talk, Mass, Depart by 1:00 pm.
DOUBLE Rooms are $325 per person based on DOUBLE occupancy for the weekend and include meals at Green Lake and transportation to Green Lake.
SINGLE rooms are $555. (The only meal NOT covered is the one on the way to Green Lake. The bus will make a stop at a restaurant en route to share dinner.)
Green Lake Conference Center is located just west of the city of Green Lake on State Road 23 in south central Wisconsin, close to the state’s population center.
