July 10thOur First Church Retreat
Our First Church Retreat
Over the weekend of June 21-23, we in Calgary First Mennonite Church tried something for the first time - something that many other congregations here in Alberta have been doing for many years: we had a “church retreat” out at Camp valaqua. Together, we enjoyed the beautiful land, weather, activities, and the presence of God as a community of faith.
Putting together a church retreat is not necessarily easy, especially when you are starting it from scratch. And inviting a congregation to give up a weekend in the early summer and leave behind some of their creature comforts to sleep in cabins or a lodge is not something to take for granted.
So why do it at all? Why have a church retreat?
For us at Calgary First Mennonite Church, the initiative to have a church retreat arose out of our strategic planning that was approved in early 2022. Many in our congregation had noticed how spread out we had become as a congregation. Modern urban/suburban life with all it’s demands tends to slowly pull us apart from one another. And if the only place we will interact with one another is the foyer after Sunday worship, our relationships won’t have the opportunity to deepen and grow with one another.
Being intentional about finding ways to spend time with one another outside of Sunday morning is a crucial part of being the visible church; the community of God. It is part of an Anabaptist/Mennonite understanding of the Church of Jesus Christ. Our Confession of Faith isn’t short of images and metaphors to underscore this beautiful and life-giving calling: “The church is the new community of disciples … the new society established and sustained by the Holy Spirit … the household, or family, of God.” It goes on to say that, “Commitment to one another is shown in loving one another as God loves, in sharing material and spiritual resources, in exercising mutual care care and discipline, and in showing hospitality to all.”
One church retreat doesn’t suddenly transform us into some perfect, problem-free community of faith. That isn’t the goal or the calling of Jesus anyway, as far as I understand it. But it is a small step in recognizing that our faith is not only lived out in attending Sunday worship, or privately or in isolation, but upon the stage of our relationships with one another; where love, forgiveness, forbearance, and self-offering can be concretely practiced.
Trust is a critical ingredient in all of this, which is certainly another thing our culture slowly eats away at. Simply spending more intentional time with one another at a church retreat may make a difference in helping us to trust one another enough to place our lives and faith in each others hands. Perhaps it may slowly allow us to trust each other enough to nurture faith in Jesus in one another, or, as the author of Hebrews writes, to “spur one another on in in love and good deeds.”
Our church retreat initiated conversation around tables while we eat together. It initiated gathering around a fire together to sing songs or tell stories together. It initiated learning from José Luis Moraga of MCC about how to better understand our Indigenous neighbours. It initiated a connection to the beautiful land here in Alberta. And it initiated the opportunity to get to know new members who officially entered into covenant with us on that Sunday morning to join in this great calling to grow as communities of grace, joy and peace so that God’s healing and hope flow through us to the world.
After our Sunday worship under the tall, tall trees of Camp Valaqua, we shared lunch together and prepared to head back into our weeks. And while we cleaned up, the reviews of the weekend came in quickly through most of our conversations: our first church retreat would not be our last. We apparently already have a new tradition.
