Exploration & Authenticity

First Pres will be hosting our annual

All-Church Retreat at Friendship
Park Conservatory on April 29 from 11:00 am–3:00 pm. The theme of the retreat is Exploration and Authenticity— Time to Rekindle the Gift. Our retreat speaker is pastor and poet, Arianne Lehn.

This is an important opportunity for the members of our community to reflect on the special gifts God has bestowed upon us and how we can bring those gifts to fruition in the world.

Arianne says: “In your heart are planted unique passions, desires, and wisdom only you can be and bring to the world. But this treasure is easily buried. The light quietly dimmed. As we live our lives, we accumulate layer upon layer of expectations and responsibilities. In seeking to care for those we love, provide and achieve (all important in their own way!) we keep our eyes and ears outward, focused on who we’re told to be. When we do, we miss the voice with both the greatest vulnerability as well as the highest authority— The voice of God within you.”

Each of us wants to reach our life’s end believing we were our true selves living out the purpose God gave us. And yet, when we are not in the daily practice of listening for the voice within us, we will spend most of our time not doing the things which actually matter the most to us.

In this retreat, we will accompany one another on one of the most important exploratory journeys we can make—the pilgrimage into our deepest hearts, which is, in turn, God’s

heart. We will reflect on what our inner voice is and how
we connect with this deep wisdom. We will do some digging (however far we need to go!) to listen for what’s at the bottom of our hearts. And we will take the next step in returning to and rekindling the gifts God has placed within us.

The morning session will primarily be in lecture format. Arianne will share some ways we can hear and connect
with who God has made us to be. Over lunch, Arianne will provide a handful of questions for people to consider and chew on individually or together as they digest the morning’s reflection.

The afternoon session will be more experiential. We will have space for both individual and small group time in which we engage tangible forms of connection with our inner voice and wisdom (e.g. writing, art, silent meditation). Arianne will offer participants about twenty minutes to delve into one of these practices on their own, then bring them into small groups to share about this experience before coming together as a whole for the remainder of the session.

Arianne’s prayer and hope with this retreat is to provide space and empowerment for people to connect with the heart of who they are, find tangible ways to live by that compass, and by doing so, to use Paul’s words to Timothy, to “rekindle the gift of God that is in you” (2 Tim. 1:6).

The cost for the retreat is $20 for adults and $10 for those 18 and under. Lunch is included. During March, members of the CLE Committee will be out in the lobby in-between services taking registrations. There will also be a link to the signup in Weekly Highlights. We are limited to 100 people, so make sure to register soon as it’s going to be a wonderful event!