UUCC Women's Retreat

Retreat Program of Events 

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30 November – 2 December 2018

 

 

We are excited to have Rev. Paige Getty lead the worship portion of our opening gathering on Friday evening. 

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The program includes an opening service, three sessions with four concurrent workshops or activities, a Craft & Connect nook, a community dinner, and closing services.  

 

Preliminary Schedule:

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Friday -

3:30 - 6:15 Registration

5:00 - 6:15 Gathering Activities

6:30 - 7:15 Dinner        

7:30 - 10:00 pm Evening Program and Kick-Off

 

Saturday

8:00 - 8:45 Breakfast

9:00 - 9:45 Morning Gathering

Workshops:

Session 1 – 10:00 -11:30am

12:30 -1:15 Lunch

Workshops

Session 2 – 1:30 -3:30pm

Session 3 – 3:30 -4:30pm

5:30-6:15 Dinner

6:30-9:30 Evening Campfire and Activities

 

Sunday

8:00-8:45 Breakfast

9:30-11:00 Closing Worship

Workshop information:

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Session 1 – Saturday  10-11:30am (choose up to 1)

• Connecting with your Healer Within through Qigong - Heather Dorst  (Maximum 20 participants)

• Intellectually Humble UU - Ashley Briggs

• Green Burial - Robin Hessey  

• Intro to Weaving; Bookmarks - Jen Siegal  (Maximum 15 participants)

 

Session 2 – Saturday 1:30-3:30pm (choose up to 1)

• Vision Board; Nurturing Connections - Joy Bingham

• Weaving Spirituality into your life with the LEGO SERIOUS PLAY method - Becky Reese (Maximum 12 participants)

• Sharing Women's Stories - Suzi Gerb

• Spiritual Drumming - Nellie Hill

 

Session 3 – Saturday 3:30-4:30pm

• Writing for Change - Amy Brooks  (Maximum 15 participants)

• Sexuality Education (OWL excerpts) discussions for middle age and above - Robin Slaw (Maximum 18 participants)

• Beginners Meditation/Mantra Chanting - Aliya Abbas

• Stretching & Alignment w/Hula Hoops - Deb Baysinger

 

Evening Activities led by a retreat participant:  (No pre-registration required)

• Weaving Silly Stories – Jean Joklik

• Tai Chi Chih – Inge Hyder (9:30-10 Friday and Saturday evening)

  • Description below

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Concurrent Workshops:

Session 1

Connecting with your Healer Within through Qigong* - Heather Dorst  (Maximum 20 participants)

Introduction to easy qigong movements, self-massage and breathing techniques. Qigong - which is translated as qi (life force, or energy) gong ( work) is related to the more well known Tai Chi. It is a practice of gentle movements which engage the natural healing mechanisms of your own body, mind and spirit. These are practices which are easy to incorporate into your daily life with a few minutes of practice. 

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Intellectually Humble UU - Ashley Briggs

Exploring the concept of intellectual humility and how as UUs we are primed to develop the skill of being ok being wrong about things and making mistakes. Drawn on existing literature and a previous presentation.

 

Green Burial - Robin Hessey

Financial, Environmental & Emotional Benefits:  Modern Updates to Centuries-old Traditions; Legalities

This workshop will help you understand some alternatives to current burial and funeral practices that will enable you to feel more connected to the continuity of time, the oneness of our living system, and to your family members. (For more info, you could look at the Green Burial Assn of MD website: https://greenburialmaryland.org/about/  ). As you near the end of life, the need for connection is felt very strongly by many. Come to this workshop to make an end that fulfills your values, leaves a legacy, and connects you with those that you hold dear.

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Intro to Weaving; Bookmarks* - Jen Siegal  (Maximum 15 participants)

Make your own handcrafted bookmark out of yarn in our introduction to weaving class. You‘ll learn some of the basic methods and terminology of weaving. We supply all of the tools you’ll need and can take home with you. Just bring your love of crafts and creativity to share as we weave connections with each other.

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Session 2

Vision Board; Nurturing Connections - Joy Bingham

Create a vision board collage through a facilitated process.  A vision board is a tool used to help clarify, concentrate and maintain focus on a specific life goal by displaying images that represent whatever you want to be, do or have in your life. Use images and words to inspire you to nurture connections as you create a piece of art that you can continue to contemplate once it is completed.

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Weaving Spirituality into your life with the LEGO SERIOUS PLAY method* - Becky Reese (Maximum 12 participants)

Using the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® method, create a vision for your spiritual future and weave connections as you share it with a warm community of supportive UUCC women.  This approach supports creative thinking, problem solving and communication by letting your hands reveal thoughts you didn't know you had! By the end of the workshop, you will have developed a vision and identified concrete steps to weave connections that will bring you joy and satisfaction as you blaze a trail toward achieving your desired ends.  Don’t miss this opportunity to experience this method that corporations pay thousands for! It was wait-listed at the 2016 retreat. New participants will have priority.

 

Sharing Women's Stories - Suzi Gerb

Bring your stories or your ears. We will use oral storytelling as a way of weaving connections with each other and with our places in the world. There are as many ways to be a woman as there are women in the world but we're often too busy to take the time to learn about the paths that others have walked. It can take reserving a time and space at a special retreat like this one for us to slow down enough to share and listen. Participants may bring personal stories to share or come prepared to listen and (possibly) become inspired to speak.

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Spiritual Drumming - Nellie Hill

Creating music together as a community is the most powerful form of spirituality, celebration, and connection. We’ll weave connections with each other and with our spirituality as we cooperatively create rhythm and music.  I will be bringing lots of fun instruments, along with drums so that you can choose many different ways to find your own music.

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Session 3

Writing for Change* - Amy Brooks  (Maximum 15 participants)

When we slow down and turn inwards, we often feel called to reflect and write. This Writing for Change workshop will explore what we can do with our writings to create deeper connections within ourselves. We will also see how our writing can tie us to the world and people around us. Reflection and connection are the first steps to deep and meaningful change. If your ready to embrace shifts in yourself and the world around you, join us!

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Sexuality Education (OWL excerpts) discussions for middle age and above* - Robin Slaw (Maximum 18 participants)

Explore the topic of adult sexuality through excerpts from adult OWL (Our Whole Lives) curricula.  Many of us had no role model for conversations about sexuality as we grew up. Move the mountain of shame and uncertainty, open up a beautiful vista of clear honest conversations with partners, family members and friends.

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Beginners Meditation/Mantra Chanting - Aliya Abbas

Introduction to meditation/mantra chanting for prosperity, peace, and good health.  This will be a 30 min active workshop, with the opportunity to practice silent meditation afterwards.  

 

Stretching & Alignment w/Hula Hoops - Deb Baysinger

1)  Hoop making - Make a hula hoop to decorate and keep (or use one of Deb’s).

2)  Stretching and Alignment - Learn some ways to improve posture and encourage circulation using hoops and other common items.  This can aid in recovery for aging or injured joints, or simply for a reminder of proper alignment and movement for any body.  Also demonstrate the use of hoops to support harmonic movement of our upper limbs (because we need to remember that 'motion is lotion' for the body).

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*Workshop size restricted. Sign-ups are first-come, first-serve during Registration.

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Evening Activities

Weaving Silly Stories – Jean Joklik

Let's weave something silly together after dinner! You are invited to play Story Slam, a creative storytelling game with 350 cards that set the scene and suggest plot twists, leaving the rest of the story up our collective imaginations! Connect with friends, tell tall tales and weave something silly together!

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Tai Chi Chih – Inge Hyder (9:30-10 Friday and Saturday evening)

Tai Chi Chih is a meditative type of activity that I use to close down my day. I feel it is easier to learn than Tai Chi -- it is a set of 19 separate movements that you repeat either 3, 6 or 9 times.  I will not be teaching it -- that is I won't be asking you to do the movements (unless you are already familiar with it). In preparation and to learn more, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONjHjM4puGY on YouTube to see Carmen’s demonstration. I will be handing out a sheet with the list of movements so that you can follow what I'm doing; I will be talking and explaining while I am doing movements.

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