Retreat at St. Peter’s

On August 30th I was invited by Chaplain Nick Howe to lead a day retreat at St. Peter’s church in central Stockholm. We had a diverse group of 16 participants, many who had never been on retreat before. We began the day by leaving our mobile phones in the basket pictured above as an invitation to be fully present to each other and to God.

The theme of the retreat was based on Jeremiah 6:16. “This is what the Lord says: Stand at the crossroads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Over the course of the day we made a “personal compass” pausing to look in each direction of our lives seeking to notice and pay attention to what we felt and saw. Looking South, we faced the sunny side of our lives and reflected on what is bringing joy and inspiring creativity. Looking East, the direction of the rising sun, we noticed what beginnings may be appearing on the horizon of our lives. Looking West, we reflected on what may be setting in our lives, things we may be invited to release or let go of in order to embrace the new thing God is doing. Finally we looked North, reflecting on people, Scriptures and experiences with God that guide us into the good ways of God. In the end, with our reflections written in the four directions of our lives, we were invited to write “yes” to our lives in the present, with the joys, the struggles, the endings and beginnings trusting in God’s faithfulness to complete the work he has begun in our lives.

It was a joy to be able to share this day with people who desire to be attentive to God and walk in his good way. There was a tenderness in the way people held one another’s stories and reflections and a feeling of being held and invited to keep walking in the grace of God.