We live in an extraordinary moment on Earth. As we witness unprecedented destruction of ecological, biological, and social systems, including the covid-19 pandemic, we can feel overwhelmed by grief, anger, fear or despair. How can we remain resilient, creative, and empowered to act to heal our beautiful, irreplaceable world?
The Green Sanctuary Committee is offering a one-day retreat to explore answers to that important question and to help us find our own paths to resilience and healing. The Zoom retreat will be held on Saturday, March 19 from 10 – 4:30 with a half-hour lunch break. You will not simply be sitting and looking at a Zoom screen for the whole day. The retreat will include guided meditations, creative rituals, conversation in pairs, small groups, poetry and song led by Anne Goodwin, an experienced and certified facilitator.
Anne has worked with Joanna Macy and completed a year-long facilitator training through the Work That Reconnects Network. She has offered WTR programs to Unitarian Universalist congregations, Friends Meetings, and activists in Extinction Rebellion and the Sunrise Movement. She has also offered programs at Rowe Conference Center and other community settings over the past 4 years. In the past two years, she has adapted the practices to Zoom. She is a lifelong UU, a folk musician and a climate activist with Mothers Out Front.
The work is organized in a spiral form with four parts, leading participants from feeling their gratitude for life, to recognizing and honoring their pain for the world, to seeing the situation with fresh eyes, to going forth with an intention to take action. Head, heart, spirit, and body are all employed to envision a life-sustaining society together.
WHAT to expect from the retreat
- practices in resilience and gratitude
- acknowledgement and expression of our pain for the world
- sources of hope and insight
- commitment to change, healing and action
- tools to take into your life
If you would like to participate, please fill out this form. We ask $25 for the full day retreat but anyone is welcome, regardless of ability to pay. On Feb 28, we will open up registration for the retreat to other congregations in the area.
NOTE: We ask you to commit to attending for the whole day. We are giving our UUSA members and friends first dibs on the retreat. Maximum attendance is 24 people so we can all see each other on one Zoom screen. It’s best for each person attending to use their own computer but not essential. We hope to see you at the retreat!
If you have questions, contact Polly Peterson or Louise Grosslein. (Reach out to Lea in the office if you do not have access to our directory with these members’ contact information.)