A day retreat of worship, walking, contemplation, and creativity

Church family members and friends from across five parishes, north-east of the diocese, recently came together for a day of worship, walking, contemplation, and creativity, set around the theme of self-awareness within nature.
The rural retreat began with a Celtic-style Eucharist service at St Mary’s Church in Barkby and brought together more than 20 people from the towns and villages of Barkby, Syston, Queniborough, Birstall and Wanlip.
The framework for the day was Psalm 139 and that God knows us and everything that we are.
Revd Biddy Saunders led the group and gave a homily to evoke thought and feeling around the liturgy during the opening worship. The fancy silverware was set aside and a ceramic dish and chalice were used, in keeping with Celtic tradition. Biddy said: “The service was something very different to what our parishioners would normally experience, and it was a joy to see the way people interacted, prayed and shared the Eucharist in this way.”
After the service the group walked around the Brookside in Barkby, taking in the sun-baked countryside and appreciating God’s wonderful, fragile, creation.
“The usually trickling brook was bone-dry, so we were unable to get a glimpse of a kingfisher, but there were plenty of wonderful things to see along the way, including one garden full of fabulous roses,” said Biddy.        
Once the circular walk had been accomplished, a chair in the shade was offered, for meditation and rest. Each retreater was gifted a ‘goody bag’ including a small hessian-filled sack of bird seed, a cross, a shell, and a medallion inscribed with a message such as ‘God loves you’, and ‘All things are possible if you believe’. They were also given a finger labyrinth for contemplative prayer, as well as water and chocolate. 
“It was a time to pause, for people to sit and think and wonder and pray about all we had seen and discussed,” said Biddy. “Some sprinkled seed on the ground and waited for the birds to come, others let it run through their fingers while they meditated.”            
Living in the rural village of Barkby and walking around the Brookside every day with her dogs, Biddy was keen to share this ‘lovely place’ with others and offer them the company to enjoy it. 
She also saw the retreat as the perfect way to encourage worship in a different environment, away from the usual ‘bums on seats on a Sunday’.
After lunch, which was served in Biddy’s garden, the group were invited to take part in a selections of crafts.  
Pastoral Assistant, Sue, led an Anglican Rosary workshop, and some people made a nine knotted prayer bracelet, tying them around their ankles and wrists. With Biddy, they also chose a piece of scripture and made a friendship bracelet with charms featuring words such as faith, believe, and love, exchanging them with one another while reading aloud the verse.
Biddy said: “Everyone created something they could use to remember what they had discerned and learned during the day, and that would aid and centre their continued everyday prayer.”
In terms of attendance, the group of 23 was beyond Biddy’s expectations, and an intergenerational mix of people, including a young helper and a lady who had been introduced to the church through funeral ministry and grief support, who brought along two friends.
“The day was an opportunity to be prayerful, creative, to share in hospitality and fellowship, but most importantly, for people to learn how to be quiet with God – and each other,” said Biddy. “I think those who came along realised that no matter where we are, God is with is, and we can just be and feel God’s presence.”
During the final moments of the retreat, everyone was invited to choose and hold a heart-shaped pebble, to contemplate how they felt, before laying down their burdens and cares. They were also given a light, which they floated on a pool of water, to remind them that no matter what happens, the light of Christ is always with us and will never go out.
The day ended in a prayer. 
On reflection, Biddy said the retreat was well received, with people describing the day as, “a wonderful opportunity to spend quality time with members of local churches,” and a chance for “rest, reflection and becoming closer to God in prayer, in the stillness of nature.”
Others said: “Starting with mindfulness helped focus the mind to let go of other thoughts and fix thoughts towards God,” and “I found the service in the morning meaningful and giving communion to each other was very special.”
And one participant added: “For me, retreat days are important days out to encounter God, learn, meet others, and encounter the new and unexpected. As I lead a busy life - and can be easily distracted at home or in my own Church - it is important to have 'quiet space' to just be.”