Thursday, April 23, 2020

What the Create in Me Retreat Means to Me

Yesterday, a seminary student wrote to me to ask if she could get some information from me about the Create in Me retreat.  Of course I said yes. 

She sent this e-mail:

I appreciate your help! I just have four questions and would love to hear any basic information about you as well (family, involvement with church, involvement with camp, etc.).

1. How has the retreat affected you personally?
2. How have you seen the retreat change over the years?
3. Have you seen the retreat's planning or execution affected by either current events in the United States or the politics/happenings of the ELCA?
4. Can you describe any major changes that come to mind between the early years and current retreats?

Thank you again so much! Feel free to answer as many or as few as you feel like answering.

I really liked my answer, and so I'll post it here.  I realize that those of you who read this blog faithfully may feel like you've already read a variation of this answer, and you likely have.  It's good to remember why this retreat is important.

---------------------------------------

What great questions. My plan is to write a response this morning, and I may write a follow up e-mail in the next 24 hours. I could write a whole book about this retreat.

My background: my mom was one of the first camp counselors at Lutheridge; she worked there in one of the first summers the camp opened. It was important to her, and we came back as a family. I went to Lutheridge as a camper, and then again, in college for retreats. I never worked at Lutheridge because the year I applied, they had already filled positions by the time they got to my level (they started hiring with those who had finished the most college, and the year I applied, I had just finished one year). My family has come to Lutheridge once a year for a family reunion, almost always at Thanksgiving. We started doing this because it was the one place my grandmother would travel (her church in Greenwood, SC always came to Lutheridge for a Sunday picnic once or twice a year). We've continued gathering at Lutheridge even after my grandmother's death.

I've been going to the Create in Me retreat since 2003, and I've only missed 2 years before this year, when the retreat had to be cancelled because of the pandemic. This retreat has been one of the more important things in my life--it has grounded me and inspired me and nurtured me in a way that few other things have.

Lutheridge, too, as a place and as a group of people and as an idea has been one of the important things in my life.

Let me start with some of the easier questions.

#4 and #2 seem similar. The biggest change in the retreat came with the Faith Center. Before the Faith Center, we'd do the various drop in stations at different buildings across the Lutheridge campus. With the Faith Center, all the afternoon drop in stations are in the same space. This change leads to more fellowship, as we work in closer proximity. It also leads to cross-pollination, both in terms of ideas and materials. We've seen supplies from one drop in station migrate to another--and it's never planned, to my knowledge. It's just the serendipity of having materials nearby. There's also the serendipity of having people nearby--it makes asking questions and getting guidance easier.

#3. When I first started coming to the retreat, it was before the sexuality statement. It's been wonderful seeing people more able to be themselves. Before the sexuality statement, I could see people being careful not to reveal too much about sexuality or home life--this was particularly true for rostered people. I am not rostered, so I had more freedom, but I was still careful about not outing others. It's been great to see people be able to relax and to be honest about their situations.

In terms of the political situation, most of us seem to be left of center, and that hasn't changed. Some of us are more concerned about climate change than others, some of us have other issues that concerns us, but we all seem to be similarly situated when it comes to peace and justice issues. Most of us don't seem to be at the very edges of that left margin--closer to the center than the radical edge. Most of us are older, and most of us are in a precarious economic position--but not precarious enough to give us that reckless abandon one might see if we were truly poor. In other words, most of us have a lot to lose, and therefore, we're not as radical as we might have been in our youth.

I do realize that people with right of center politics may not be as open with someone like me who is left of center. I realize that they may come to the retreat and not come back.

I think that many of us have muddled politics too--we're left of center on some stuff, right of center on others. But most of us are part of ELCA denominations, most of which are less likely to be right wing. But most of us are coming from the southeast, where we're more likely to have some right leaning sympathies. For example, I'm not as anti-gun ownership as some of my more liberal friends.

#1. The retreat has affected me personally in so many ways. I'll list some here, and then I may write more later:

--I've made friends, many of them intense friendships. I feel like some of these people understand me in a way that few others do, even though we only see each other once a year, maybe twice, if we're on the planning team or come to Lutheridge for other reasons. I feel like I don't have to explain as much. In my regular life, I have friends who are religious/spiritual and friends who are creative/artistic, but few friends who understand/know the intersections. My Create in Me friends understand the intersections.

--Some of those friends have helped me at major transitions. We changed churches in 2008. I was very unhappy with our old church, and one of my Create in Me friends said, "You know, you've been talking about this for years now. When will you make a change?" There's a group of us who have been interested in seminary, and then in various certificate programs in spiritual direction. It's been wonderful not traveling that discernment road by myself.

--I've tried a variety of practices. With some, like the pottery wheel or a weaving loom, I say, "Well, I'm glad I didn't buy that piece of equipment, thinking I would love it." With some, I've kept up the practice (like spiritual sketching with Copic markers).

--I've brought ideas home. I teach English and writing of all sorts on the college level, and I often come home with ideas for the classroom. But more interestingly, I come home with ideas for how to do church differently. And happily, I'm now in a church that's open to some of these ideas. And my church is becoming known for its creative experiments. Because of that work, I've been asked to play a bigger role in Synod Assembly. Last year, I helped with the prayer chapel. This year, if we have Synod Assembly, I'm in charge of the prayer chapel, and I'm leading a workshop.

--I've also been a retreat leader at several women's retreats--I've used ideas I got at this retreat.

--But for me, the most important part has been the various human connections I've made. I've gotten support and inspiration. I've had rich conversations about how people are living their lives. I've realized how many ways there are to live a satisfying life--I'm not sure that many people have the opportunity to have that realization.

If I think of more, I'll let you know. And you can get far more information than you can likely use (and pictures!) if you go to my blogs and type Create in Me in the search box:

my creativity blog:
  

my theology blog:




And if you have any other questions, please feel free to write back.

No comments: