F23 Retreat Recap
Retreat usually happens every Fall and Winter term at UWCCF; it is a time to get away from the busyness of school or co-op and spend a weekend in fellowship and community, redirecting our focus and attention to our relationships with God and one another.
We asked the fellowship for their reflections, sharings, and thoughts, and here they are! What follows is from the fellowship, to the fellowship: hopefully it is a source of mutual encouragement!
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
1. What is something you’ve learned from retreat? Was there anything in particular that stood out to you? What did you enjoy about retreat?
The Lord is good to those who are faithful. When you find time to abide with Him, He will bless your efforts in ways you cannot foresee. If you do your best, God will do the rest :))
Just as important as it is to work hard, it is equally important to take a good rest. God created the world across six days before resting on the seventh. Retreat has always been great for me in particular because it allows me an opportunity to sit down and spend more personal time with brothers and sisters, amidst the busyness of regular school. I’ve gotten to pour out to many people, especially my SG members & fellow frosh, and I’m thankful God placed me in a position to be a faithful servant and a good example to others. I’m hoping that everyone is well-rested after this retreat and that we can all continue to move forward in our day-to-day, and continue to ride our spiritual highs, higher and higher :)
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” (Psalm 19:1)
I was reminded of this passage during retreat’s personal reflection time. As I walked around Circle Square Ranch, God’s creation felt so beautiful and peaceful. I chose to sit on a rock near the stream and listen to the water pass by. Birds were chirping in the sky, and the air was chilly. When reflecting on the first sermon, I was convicted by how I so often forget about God when praying. I would focus so much on what I was praying about but not the One I was praying to. This pleasantly reminded me of the mystery of God’s creation, and how amazing of a blessing it is to know Him. I would be starstruck at meeting a famous inventor like Benjamin Franklin, but this pales in comparison to meeting the inventor of this world! The rushing water in front of me, the solemn rock under me, and the lively birds above me were all created by simply His voice. And God’s creation crescendos at his precious and complex children, me and you made in His image. We are not just able to meet with Him, but this Creator even chooses to pursue us in a relationship! I find this unfathomable how the Lord can love His fallen creation so much. I am filled with gratitude and a greater thirst to know Him. As I bow down to pray in front of the flowing stream, I set my mind on meeting the Creator, warmed by His wondrous power and love.
2. What do you think about the theme of this retreat, “seeking God in prayer?”
Really liked this topic of Seeking God in Prayer because sometimes prayer is rushed and just seen as a way to finish off or begin meetings. So this effectively made me realize how much more important prayer is! It’s like communicating with our Heavenly Father rather than asking for unending gifts from some vending machine. We just have to make it a two-sided commitment which is vital to developing a more personal relationship with God.
Being reminded about intentionality with prayer, and learning more about the purpose of fasting has been very useful for me. The theme was a great reminder and contrast to the overall theme of loving and serving one another, which is to strengthen our own personal walks with God and to make it a habit of relying on Him constantly. I had a great time growing closer to the others in fellowship, and 4th year sharing with just the girls was really nice, since some things are harder to share in a large group/with the other gender too.
3. How has your prayer life been? How might it change or look different after this retreat?
This term, I struggled a lot with prayer. With praying intentionally, willingly, and consistently. I shared with a few people during retreat that prayer didn’t feel “productive,” and in the busyness of the term, it truly felt like I could not set aside time to pray because it was not a good use of my time. It wasn’t like I could see a progress bar of my relationship with God growing and improving every time I prayed and I think that’s how I approach a lot of tasks and responsibilities in my life. But prayer isn’t just a task or a responsibility that I have to do. That’s like saying making time to spend with family and friends is simply another thing to check off. As some people put it, how could you not want to spend time with an Almighty, loving God who has given you everything you could possibly need in this life and more? How could I treat time with God as simply something to do or worse, deem it as “unproductive?” I really wanted to set a goal for myself coming out of retreat to change my perspective of what prayer means to me. To change my heart into not thinking that the only reason I should pray is because it’s a responsibility I need to do, but instead, to see prayer as a privilege and blessing to approach God.
4. How did you see God working through the retreat? Was there anything that encouraged you?
I think one of my favourite parts of retreat each year is large group and year sharing. It gives us an opportunity to take a pause and hear about how God is working in everyone’s lives. I think too often we see God in relation to our own experiences and sometimes forget that He is always doing great things. To hear from other brothers and sisters and be encouraged by their sharing is the beauty of a Christian community. We are united through Christ and encouraging each other to pursue Him because He is worthy of it all. I really enjoyed our year sharing because I got to be reminded of God’s continual work in everyone’s lives even if I felt like I was in a season where I was far from God. I am also encouraged by the faith of people and their pursuit of Christ in all they do. Our faith does not exist in a vacuum and it’s so important to be surrounded by a community that is striving for Christ so that we can each uplift each other towards Christ.
Every time retreat approaches, I’m hopeful yet cautious. Will it go well? Will the sermons and sharings be good? Will everyone enjoy it?
This year, not everything was perfect, but my hopes were still fulfilled. If I were to describe retreat in one word, it would be “encouraging”. So with this writing, I hope to encourage you all too!
One super cool thing was the year sharings. Every retreat, it is an amazing sight to see each year come together. For my year, despite the large size, logistical issues, or distractions, I couldn’t help but smile during each of the sharings. I saw people desiring to genuinely share life with each other. I saw my dear friends from different stages of faith share about how God is working in them, and what was truly on their hearts. We shared about how people are growing in their desire to love God relationally. We shared about people’s experiences with the Holy Spirit and how our readings and prayers are coming to fruition. We encouraged and prayed for each other. Overall, year sharing wasn’t perfect, but the encouragement and joy that came from it far outweighed everything else!
Upon reflecting through all the sharings and conversations, I’m reminded of the children’s song lyric — “Jesus loves me this I know!” And so, maybe you didn’t have the best or most encouraging retreat. That’s okay! Because we know that if all else fails, including retreat, we can find joy in the objective fact that Jesus always loves you so much!
