Into the Deep: "Create in Me"
Spring Retreat
February 19-20, 2010
"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me."
~Psalm 51:10-12.
What is it?
Briefly, the title for "Into the Deep" comes from the scripture in Luke 5:4 where, after the fisherman catch nothing, Jesus tells them to, "Put out into the deep water and lower your nets for a catch." This spring retreat is designed to give students a chance to connect with the experiences and wisdom of guest speakers while offering the quiet, the time, and the space to explore their own depths for responses to the important things in their life.
The theme and topic for Into the Deep changes every year, but this year Into the Deep happens the weekend after Ash Wednesday, so the retreat falls right in the beginning of Lent. This could be a perfect time to "go deeper" into this surprisingly rich liturgical season--giving us the tools to examine ourselves in the light of God, and giving us the strength to be cleansed and renewed. Lent can be so much more than a pentitential time where Catholics and other Christians simply "give up something" for Lent. A reflective and effective Lent (or time of cleansing) doesn't have to leave people feeling depleted or exhausted. It will be difficult for some, and different for all, but we'll feel renewed and fresh to "start over" in the season of Easter after using the season of Lent to better themselves and their relationships with others. The Into the Deep weekend could be a very rich and supportive time for students to evaluate themselves or their areas of weakness in a safe and supportive environment, and maybe even to implement the changes you have only thought about before.
Psalm 51 is our basis because, on this retreat, we are asking God not only to cleanse us of our sin and weakness but to create something, someone, new....to change us, to restore us. Who do you want to become? Who has God made you to be?
Some topics/talks of guest speakers include:
1) Create in Me a HUMBLE Heart (What areas of our lives need restoration? Need growth?)
2) Create in Me a RESILIENT Heart (How can we be strong in our resolve to change...strong in our resistence to temptation?)
3) Create in Me a TRANSFORMED Heart (How can we be transformed as a new creation?)
We'll have a rockin' bonfire, a closing prayer service, and lots of games, activities, and crafts. All meals are provided,
Details:
If you have any questions, please call Liz or Kay at 314-385-3455
or email us at cnc@cncumsl.org.
Sign me up for the "INTO THE DEEP" RETREAT