From Mike’s Desk
July 23rd, 2012 by Mike Enright
Have you ever considered doing a “Spiritual Retreat”?
Maybe the thought scares you! Or maybe you think it would be boring … or that such things are just for “spiritual” people, and you’re not one of those.
Maybe you’re not even sure what a spiritual retreat is.
Put simply, a retreat is simply a time to withdraw in some way from all the busyness and clamour of your regular life in order to seek to hear the voice of God. If you are serious about wanting to follow and serve God, putting a bit of time and effort into seeking to hear His voice more clearly every now and again seems like a pretty good idea.
As part of a period of study leave which I had a number of years ago, I did a four day Silent Retreat. The only time I spoke in those four days was the time I had each day meeting with the person who was assigned to be my “Spiritual Director” for the retreat. You might think: “He’s an introvert – being silent for four days would be easy for him!” Actually, I was pretty unsure how I would cope, and wondered what on earth it would be like. The truth is, it was one of the best things I’ve ever done – a very significant and formative experience.
Obviously, it’s not possible for everyone to do a four day retreat like that. But for several weeks, we’ve been advertising in our newsletter a Week of Guided Prayer which is coming up soon (August 5th-10th), and which will be based right here at Karori Baptist Church, and which you can participate in while still continuing with your regular daily activities and commitments. In fact, such a Week of Guided Prayer is sometimes referred to as a Retreat in Daily Life.
You can find brochures explaining more about this KBC Week of Guided Prayer (led by Spiritual Growth Ministries) on the wall in the foyer. The cost of participating is $60 (suggested donation – but don’t let finance prevent you being involved), and about one hour per day of your time, Monday to Friday … plus an introductory gathering on Sunday afternoon, and a concluding gathering on Friday evening.
I strongly encourage you to give it a try.