A "date with God"

Being

Stand here on this little hillside long enough

grasses waving,

breeze breezing, until you can outgrow the illusion

that you are some thing,

some little object apart from all the others,

and know you are the part of it

that is being you;

and trees are the treeing part of it,

the river is rivering,

the ground grounding,

the birds birding, each in their own way,

each as their own birding part of it.

And the clouding and the raining and the earthing and the starring

and the personing are all part of one being,

being.

Last week a small group from St. Clement’s paid close attention to ‘Being’. For The Rev. Peter Elliott, our retreat facilitator, the poem is perfect for Rivendell, situated as it is on top of Cates Hill. We were lucky to experience a week of crisp sunny days with some of us making the early-morning climb to the top of the hill to see the sun rising. The night sky was spectacular with clear dark nights and we were lucky enough to witness a full moon on our first evening.

Our retreat days consisted of the option to attend the 8 am Centering Prayer or meditation in the beautiful sanctuary. We looked after ourselves for breakfast and at 9:15 am Peter called us into gathering with song and Prayer from Philip J Newell’s “Praying with the Earth”.

Peter had compiled a beautiful workbook, illustrated by his spouse Thomas, divided into 3 sections: God/Prayer/Hope of Resurrection. Each section had poetry, writings, quotes from some of Peter’s favourite authors. Over the days we were asked to think of phrases to describe who God is to us; think of phrases describing prayer and lastly think where we see Hope/Resurrection in our lives and in the world.

Lunch and dinner were taken in silence. At Sacred Hour, 5 pm, we were invited to join the wider community in the Sanctuary or observe our own silence. We gathered again at 7:15 pm for an hour where we could discuss our discoveries of the day. These were written on large yellow stickies which was on display in our meeting room at Rivendell as well as this past Sunday at St. Clement’s.

The afternoons were free with some going for long walks, walking the labyrinth, sitting around a blazing fire or having a nap. On one of her walks Elizabeth gathered rushes and assisted some to make their own St. Bridget’s Cross. These, as well as an Advent Stole she is knitting for Helen, were blessed at our closing Eucharist on Friday.

During Monday night’s Sacred Hour gathering in the Sanctuary we were asked to share a moment of gratitude; personally for me, the opportunity to attend a silent retreat at Rivendell was like having a date-night with God. It was rich and full and filled my heart to overflowing with love and gratitude.