6th Annual Florida Unitarian Universalist Women’s Retreat

April 8 -10, 2016
DaySpring Episcopal Conference Center - Ellenton Florida

As the theme suggests, we’ll be traveling in mind, heart, and spirit… discovering many paths to explore ourselves and the world to see how movement in this world is, itself, home. It’s an adventure that we’ll share through music, art, movement, poetry, meditation, and play.The retreat begins Friday at 5:00pm and ends Sunday at Noon.

DaySpring Conference Center is conveniently located off I-75 just north of Sarasota on Florida’s West Coast. The beautiful campus nestled under ancient oaks and located on a cove of the Manatee River offers a serene setting for our annual retreat. Take a look. http://Dayspring.dioswfl.org.

$220 per person covers expenses for a semi-private room and six meals. 8 women share a cozy cottage with 4 bedrooms and 4 baths, a screened porch and common area. A non-refundable deposit of $20 will reserve your place. Final payment is due January 15, 2016.Come join us for a memorable weekend. To register contact Helen Leddy helen.leddy@gmail.com

DOWNLOAD A FLYER

Quoting an article from TampaBay.com:
"The University of South Florida, which leases the 160-year-old house north of Brooksville and runs it as a conference center, will shut it down July 1. The facility loses about $100,000 a year, said spokeswoman Lara Wade, "and we can no longer afford to subsidize it.'' 
That means no more retreats or weddings, no more jobs for the Manor House's five employees, and, most importantly, an uncertain future for what may be the county's most historically significant and scenic property."

What this means to us is that we currently have no place to host this fall's retreat. Those of you who may know of a suitable site, please contact Michelle Gilberrt-Gregg by email: mmgyoga2go at yahoo.com

Michelle has been working on a retreat for October 9 - 11, 2009, to be titled

Peace through Yoga.

Here are the pictures of the Conference held at UU Clearwater, contributed by Diane, Carol & Mary.

Click on the first picture to start the slide show, keep your mouse near the upper right of the photo to click on "Next" when you're ready.

{gallery}Conf07{/gallery}

At the Fall 2001 Retreat, the organizers laid out a labyrinth on the grass, outlined with clothesline. Tobey Miller offered a writing workshop titled Spiraling In, Spiraling Out

Labyrinth

(for Tobey Miller & the Boca Babes)

You may never go to Stonehenge
nor yet the Cathedral at Chartres.
The traceries of fairies in the dew
may never grace your lawn.

But the mystic circle,
the mandala, the labyrinth
can rise at will.

The labyrinth on canvas,
painted and portable;
the more enduring,
planted with tiny hedges,
outlined with shells,
patterned with stones.

The truly ephemeral
drawn with chalk,
with string,
with spray paint,
with duct tape if you will.
With clothesline.

Each invites us to spiral in,
to focus on our core,
to spiral out refreshed.
Marble and mosaic can do no more.

-Lynn Montgomery, Miami

Facilitator: Diane Anderson

Co-Facilitator: Michelle Gilbert

Diane Anderson has been facilitating and participating in Women's programs for over 12 years. She has presented programs titled: Women Who Dance with Spirit, Unmasking the Soul, Resurrecting the Primal Spirit, and Women's Day of Renewal. Diane also teaches and lectures on Native American ritual and ceremony. She leads ceremonies recognizing rights of passage, such as those honoring women reaching maturity and older women at the end of child bearing. For many years, Diane led a Medicine Wheel Ceremony for a monthly Indian gathering and was the lead drummer/singer at many other gatherings and ceremonies. Both she and her husband, Glenn, lead Sweat Lodges for groups. Diane and her husband of 20 years have written a workbook for couples, Relationship Renewal: Step Up to Intimacy, and also lecture couples on achieving joyful relationships. Diane may be reached at (727) 898-9653 or by e-mail at WolfSongMe@aol.com.

Michelle Gilbert, originally from Maine, has lived in Florida for ten years. She has recently graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a degree in Museum Studies and lives on Treasure Island.

 El Caribe Resort & Conference Center Daytona Beach, FL

Rooms with a View - Blue Chiffon - Pretty Feet
Beach Walks - Sand Castles - Water Drums - Sunrises
Yoga - Journaling - Books - Breakfast in Bed - Brownies
Laughter - Fun - Songs - Little Goddesses - Sisterhood

JUST LET GO!

Dive deep into a spiritual and relaxing full moon, ocean side Florida Women & Religion retreat Nov. 7-9 on Daytona Beach. Bubbles, mermaid tea, and sunrises from private balconies! Some Florida women requested that we try a different locale for a retreat so join your sisters on the beach. All women who have served as W&R co-chairs are specially invited. Our private retreat space faces the ocean. Breakfasts, lunch and dinner will be enjoyed in our private ocean view retreat environment. We have a large goddess suite, three breakout suites, private balconies, heated pool, and a wide beach for our pleasure.

Facilitator: Michele Hope

Co-Facilitator: Ann Goodrich

Michele Hope of Key Biscayne is a “key” retreat planner. A teacher, education specialist, counselor, connected to the Womenspirit retreats at The Mountain, and the woman who croned our co-chair Lucy Swenson-Knights, Michele will lead us in guided meditations, special ingatherings, and fun.

Mary Ann Goodrich of St. Petersburg owns Impeccable Consulting, a facilitation, training and project development company. Mary Ann is connected to the UU community and serves as volunteer coordinator at First Unity Church in St. Petersburg. She is hospitality coordinator for the retreat and has planned many surprises.

Additional planning committee sisters: Diane Anderson (designer of fantastic logo), Carol Vogel, Cathy Stanton, Mary Cadwell, Sondra Ickes, Pamela Leavy

All Text property of Fl UU W&R and its contributors

 Elly Kelly Baker and UU women from around Florida invite you to share this weekend of

Ethereal Music ~ Workshops ~ Belly Dancing ~ Meditative, Music-Inspired Art ~ Crystal Bowls ~ Sisterhood ~ Visitations from Our Creative Muses ~ Drumming ~ Sacred Space ~ Yoga ~ Deeper Listening~ Improvisation~ Chanting ~ Free-Form Movement ~ Harmony ~ Hawaiian Ancient Kahuna Principles ~ Accessing Your Creative Flow ~ Ritual

"When you put your heart into your music, it goes everywhere." Alyshia Keyes

Music is considered the most spiritual of the arts for it originates in another realm.

Whether you accept the modern-day concept of "String Theory" (Everything in the Universe is composed of vibrating strands of matter in space.) or your ancient DNA instinctively senses it----Music is everywhere and allows us to spiritually transcend this existence.

Music connects us all to the spiritual experience of being human. And so, we are all natural musicians: Every moment our biological systems rhythmically ebb and flow, pulse and pause. Everyday we voice our intentions and express our innermost vibrations with our ongoing "dance" of body language.

Consider how our minds constantly struggle to keep pace with the never-ending input of stimuli. Our bodies are likewise continually adjusting to the daily rhythms around us. Our spirits are endlessly searching to co-create balance and harmony with our Self and our Universe. At times we may "tune out"; we can feel "out of sync"; we sense that we're not "resonating very well" with others; we may even get "strange vibes" when we are in unfamiliar surroundings. Our language hints at what's needed: Just as every object in the universe creates its unique vibrational "song", we are asked to rediscover our ancient pathways to harmonic union and spiritual creative flow.

We are asked to remember that Music is our birthright, and we are all natural musicians. Intention, not perfection, is the key.

So, join us on a spiritual rendez-vous with music. Come with an open heart and mind. Give yourself permission to accept and share the unique gifts with which you have been blessed. Together we will call forth our Muses and re-awaken our musical connection to the cosmos.
Through sound, dance, art, and writing, we will access and realign our inner and outer spheres of harmonic energy. Together we will laugh, gyrate, chant, glide, tone, meditate, drum, hug, and release our way to vibrational union.

May Your Journey Bring Harmony,
Elly

Fall 2005 - Laughing at Sacred Cows

What We Expect Will Happen Till the Cows Go Home

"In the beginning there was nothing. God said, Let there be light! And there was light.
There was still nothing, but you could see it a whole lot better." - Ellen DeGeneres

At our Friday night Ingathering after dinner we will invoke the directions and create our circle once again. We'll get acquainted or re-acquainted, and introduce the idea of laughing at (and with) Sacred Cows, especially those connected with organized religions and some forms of spirituality. The use of humor and laughter in healing wounds, both physical and spiritual, will be stressed this weekend, especially in our workshops. We'll share some anecdotes and jokes, maybe sing a song or two. Did we mention that we'll laugh a lot?

Did you celebrate World Laughter Day in May? Do you belong to a Laughter Club? It was news to us but we'll learn about it all when we gather Saturday morning right after breakfast with Sandra Herskowitz, Certified Laugh Leader, who will help us tone our laugh muscles and discover the healing power of laughter. Recommendation: Don't sleep late; nap later.

When we have caught our breath, Adele Alexandre will offer the first of two workshops on the use of humor to reduce stress in caring for others and ourselves, 'The Healing Power of Humor, Lightening Up with Laughter.' Space and workshop time will be set aside for the ongoing making and wearing of Silly Hats, and the creating of Sacred Cows from potatoes, sort of Mrs. Bovine Potato Heads. You will introduce your cow on Saturday night.

After lunch Adele will give a repeat workshop and there will be a workshop on the art of the clown, given by Ann Myers. She will teach us to laugh and enjoy the benefits of laughter while exploring our faces and features as we apply clown make up and find our smile lines. Bring a joke or a smile for the group.

It's also a long, long time from August to November. The retreat planning has already been blessed with serendipity and we anticipate more surprises. There will be time for rest, recreation, swimming, canoeing, and what-you-will.

Saturday night is for more fun and games: devising a Ritual of the Sacred Cow, naming our cows and placing them on the altar, presenting other fruits of our workshops, hearing a story from Jill Oldenski, and winding up with our very own Open Mike. Sorry Drummer Girls, 'not tonight Josephine,' too many other groups in residence. We will end Saturday evening with a campfire and marshmallows.

"If life hands you lemons, ask for tequila and salt."

Sunday morning after nine o'clock checkout time we will have our closing circle, laugh some more, evaluate our experiences, open the circle, send the cows home, and exit laughing.

Two nudists of Dover,
Being purple all over,
Were munched by a cow
When mistaken for clover.
- Ogden Nash

Update!

Kyle emailed Sandy to ask her for the bibliography so we could post it on our web site. This is a link to Sandy Herskowitz’s web site:
http://lifetakesbalance.com/index.html
This is the link for the world laughter tour that she talked about:
http://www.worldlaughtertour.com

If you email the webweaver with a request, you can get a link to a page of pictures from this retreat...

FL W&R 2008 Fall Retreat!

October 10-12, 2008
Chinsegut Hill Education Conference Center
University of South Florida, Brooksville

Read more ...

5th Annual Florida Unitarian Universalist Women’s Retreat

March 20 - 22, 2015

Cedarkirk Conference Center, Lithia Florida

Through structured and unstructured activities, attendees will discover ways to connect to themselves as they are today, see others in new light, and delve into the spiritual and natural universes. Take a new look at the labyrinth, create a private centering display, and experience mental and possibly physical challenges with leaders through Pathfinders. Spend time with some new others or see old friends in a deeper way. Such will compose the weekend. See you there.

Registration is limited to 40 Participants – reserve your space now !

The retreat is moving to Cedarkirk as DaySpring is not available.

The retreat begins at 5pm Friday afternoon and concludes at noon on Sunday.

Both private and semi private rooms are available. Meals included in your registration fee are Friday dinner through Sunday breakfast. Our new location is less expensive! $155 semi private room with $20 deposit $175 first floor semi private room $20 deposit – limited number available $200 private room with $30 deposit – limited number available

Final payment is due by January 15, 2015

For more information and a registration form contact: Helen Leddy helen.leddy@gmail.com

We look forward to another great retreat and hope you will be able to join us this year!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hgcfjcwf6v920na/FL%20UU%20Women%27s%20Retreat%203-2015.pdf?dl=0

The 2014 program is being planned by women from the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ft Myers.

The theme is Women and Power.

During our weekend together we will share stories and inspirations and explore the many aspects of power in our lives and in the lives of women of the world.

DaySpring Episcopal Conference Center, located conveniently off I-75, offers a wooded setting on a cove of the Manatee River.

$220 per person covers expenses, including semi-private room and six meals. A non-refundable deposit of $20 will reserve your place.

Final payment is due by January 15, 2014.

For more information and an application, contact Rita Sizemore:
rsrsizemore@gmail.com or call 239-437-1014.

Third Annual Florida UU Women’s Retreat, March 15-17 - The weather was perfect, the setting attractive and the energy warm and welcoming for the forty women who gathered in retreat last month at the DaySpring Conference Center in Ellenton, Florida. For the past three years this gathering has brought UU women together from congregations as far north as Georgia to as far south as Fort Myers. The goal of the retreat is simply to strengthen connections and enjoy time together in a comfortable setting.

Read more ...

photos by JB Conover

The Spring Retreat was a very relaxing affair for the twenty women and five children who attended.

Friday evening, after one of the Pines’ famous dinners, we gathered together around a flower-bedecked Spring altar, courtesy of Leslie Rigg. We closed the circle with thoughtful (and thought-provoking) readings provided by Katie Sill. Then Katie brought out a songbook she’d saved from her childhood, and we launched ourselves into an old-fashioned sing-along. We finally wore ourselves out around eleven and took ourselves to bed.

Saturday we had breakfast and packed our lunches for the day, and took ourselves off to…whatever. Some of us went canoeing (which was magical, despite the deerflies). Others went shopping, and came back with reports of wonderful little shops and special treasures. Some walked trails, Rebecca took two of the kids to the waterpark, and a few went for the ultimate self-indulgence: a good book and a good nap.

Saturday night the ‘Owl Lady’ came with wonderful fierce birds and many tales to tell.
Then there was Free Dancing for those who had a little energy left.

Sunday we rose to breakfast, and discussed the W&R awards while we ate. We gathered once more around the altar, opening the circle (readings provided by Katie) and bid each other a safe trip back. It was fun, which was exactly what we intended.

Inside Out: Mask Making and Spirituality

Once again, we invite you to share in Sabbath Time...
"Sabbath invites limited time
to become expansive time.
Sabbath makes spacious what is cramped.
It makes large out of small,
generous out of stingy,
simple of complex.
Sabbath is time that actively includes
the presence of Spirit...
The purpose is spiritual leisure
to make a spiritual choice
to have time for your own purposes."
--Sabbath Sense, A Spiritual Antidote for the Overworked

Together we will be creating a sense of the Sabbath by entering sacred time and space separate from our routines: time that feels "expansive, spacious, generous"

We will feed our Spirits through ritual, play, dance, laughter, creative focus, and enriching opportunities to be in solitude and community.

We will encourage the freedom to wander, explore, create, discover and have some spaces and times designed for silence and solitude.

This weekend, in particular, we will explore "Inside out", by way of creating a soul mask, guided by Maryanne's work in this area.

Facilitators

Susan Stephenson Hefte has been an active leader and participant in W&R for many years. The last W&R Retreat she facilitated was "Silence and Sharing in Community: A Sabbath Retreat" in 1998. Her work now is largely as a facilitator and trainer of "Alternatives to Violence Project" workshops in community and prison settings with her husband, Darrell Hefte. Her doctoral work in creativity and spirituality continues to be an important focus in her life and in what she brings to this weekend. Susan can be reached at 727/799-0683 or by E-mail drshefte@aol
Maryanne Hamilton has been a participant at two Women & Religion Retreats in the past. Susan is delighted to welcome her to the facilitation of this Retreat. Maryanne is a registered art therapist and writer who has been using creative processes to facilitate personal growth workshops since 1978 in Florida, New York and Tennessee. She enjoys sharing her studies and experiences in art, Sufism, and the healing arts with those who seek to unfold their inner potential. Maryanne can be reached at 727-576-8985; E-mail artxham@hotmail

Finding Your Inner Faerie

Know you what it is to be a child
It is to believe in love
To believe in loveliness
To believe in belief
It is to be so little
That the Elves can reach
To whisper in your ear
It is to turn pumpkins into coaches
Mice into horses
Lowness into loftiness
And nothing into everything
For each child has its Faerie Godmother
In its soul.

-Frances Thompson

Faeries of all ages,

Join us May 16th for a magical weekend at The Pines where we will become Faeries and contemplate Faerie lore through the mediums of dance, song, and art.

The wonderful vocalist Elaine Silver will lead our Friday evening ritual. She will conduct a “Faerie Gathering” Friday night where we will explore the infinite possibilities of the realm of Faeries.

Dress in your best Faerie or Goddess attire as we call the directions and honor women as goddesses. There will be a chance for each woman to express herself and her ideas, encounters, stories, etc. . . involving Faeries.

Think about what you would like to share Friday evening. If you wish, bring a poem, a Faerie figure or other objects related to Faeries to add to the altar. You will also be asked to choose a Faerie name.

On Saturday night Elaine will provide a special concert of Faerie music and sacred songs. Lots of participation will occur naturally as our hearts and minds open to the love and blessing that surround us.

Our Saturday workshops will delve into Faerie lore allowing the creative spirit to emerge through writing, collage, clay and other artistic means. Workshop choices will be available for signup during dinner Friday night.

Wee Faeries may join their Faerie Goddess-mothers for some of the workshops.

Co-Facilitators

Elaine Silver
Leading the evening celebration will be Elaine Silver – Faerie Elaine who sings a cappella and play stringed instruments. Elaine has been nominated as the Garden State Outstanding Folk Performer and has accompanied such noted folk legends as Arlo Guthrie, Suzanne Vega, and Tom Paxton. She has made numerous recordings, and her newest release Faerie Goddess has been very well received. Please visit her website at elainesilver.com to hear samples of her music. Her assistant for the Friday night in-gathering is Fran Kaplan.

Susan Pendergraft
Susan has been attending UUW &R retreats for approximately 15 years. She is a teacher of Gifted Education and is currently teaching at a private Montessori school. She has experienced many years of wonderful retreats. It is her hope this retreat, Finding Your Inner Faerie, will be a great success and that everything her foremothers taught her over the years will culminate this weekend. She has called upon many Faerie Goddess-mothers to help her in this endeavor.

 A Storytelling Retreat

To prepare for this Retreat, think of the stories which you learned as a child/teen -- the Latin/Greek/Celtic/other Goddess stories. Secondly, think of the "stories of your life" -- Siblings, Moving, First Day of School, Graduation, Marriage, Baby(ies), Divorces, Single Years, Best Year, Worst Year -- what "characters" did you play in these stories? Who were you 20 years ago? Who are you now? What's YOUR Story?

THE ART OF STORYTELLING

Lynn Carol Henderson and UU women from around Florida invite you to share this weekend of ritual feasting of womanspirit and adventuring into sacred space. Step up to the table and explore for yourself women’s ritual art in action.

• Friday night graze through fields of the Goddess in an opening ritual combining storytelling performance and the creation of a group mandala.
• Saturday morning digest the art of storytelling, empowering yourself as you create ready-to-tell Goddess tales from your own life.
• Saturday afternoon dip into the workshops and try your hand at Storytelling through DANCE, IMPROV!, COLLAGE, and STORYBOARD.
• Saturday night – BE the Banquet – Sharing Circle filled with laughter and group connections.
• Sunday morning - stay with us for dessert -- the closing mandala ceremony.
  • Religious Affiliation:
    • St. Petersburg Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Registrar)
    • Greensong Grove (1st Degree Wiccan)
    • Reformed Congregation of the Goddess (Attender)
    • Daughters of the Earth and SisterSpirit (Pan-Indian Spirituality Circles)
  • Education:
    • BA: Art and Art History, University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia
    • MFA and teaching certification K-12: Washington University, St, Louis
    • Ph.D. Art History and Women's Studies with a focus in Women's Ritual Art, Union Institute and University, Cincinnati, Ohio
    • Foreign Studies: Art, Language, Shamanism and Healing Modalities Italy, France, Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, Chile
  • Work Experience
    • 1980-Present: Ritual leader in Women's Spirituality Groups and Drumming Circles
    • 1989-Present: Adjunct Professor, Eckerd College Courses: Magic, Myth and Ritual in Art Collage, Art Appreciation, Altars and Mandalas Adjunct professor, U. of Tampa Courses: Insider/Outsider, Multicultural Art
    • 1973-Present: Expressive Arts and Storytelling Workshops (all ages): Eckerd College Guest Lecturer, University of South Florida Guest Lecturer, The Salvador Dali Museum, the St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts, The Tampa Museum of Fine Arts, Florida Elder Hostel Programs, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco and Manatee County Schools, Pinellas and Hillsborough County Arts Councils, Florida Humanities Council , all the Art Centers in Pinellas County (sampling)
    • 1980-Present Storytelling Performances: Tampa Recreation Festivals: International Festival, Santa Fest, Hillsborough County Storytelling Festival, Tampa Bay Storytelling Guild Tellebration (sampling)
  • Professional Associations:
    • PAVA Pinellas Association of Visual Artists
    • Tampa Bay Storytelling Guild
    • Florida Storytelling Association

Throughout the weekend savor the atmosphere of woman space, dip into the suggestions for future projects, and fascinate yourself with the many ritual sourcebooks from Lynn Carol’s lending library.

Facilitator: Lynn Carol Henderson

Co-Facilitator: Leslie Rigg

Biographical Statement of Lynn Carol Henderson

More can be seen at: http://www.enigmaartstudio.com

Leslie Rigg has been attending UUW &R retreats and conferences for approximately 8 years. In the course of her life, Leslie has studied/participated in Arica, Unity, Iroquois medicine, A Course in Miracles, Sufi dancing, and multiple styles of personal growth training including dance and movement. She has previously led workshops in a variety of disciplines, from IT training to 12-Step weekends. She is currently exploring the offering of a new personal growth venture, YAGATTAWANNA, which may be seen at http://www.yagattawanna.org

AT THE ROOT OF LONGING

Florida Women and Religion's Annual Spring Retreat

April. 22-24, 2005

at U.U. in the Pines, Brooksville, FL

Sisters, many of us are feeling an intense longing in our lives for serenity and calm and, indeed, a deeper sense of the spiritual in our lives. We are longing for the restoration of power and energy that seems to be drained away in these chaotic times. We are constantly faced with schedules that are over-burdened. We note that our desires to take care of ourselves are too often pre-empted by our need and wish to care for others.

This retreat begins on Earth Day, April 22, 2005. We will come together to reconnect with the earth, with our thankfulness for the grounding and inspiration that is abundant in this realm, and with ourselves as spiritual beings.

We will come together for a weekend with no demands and yet many opportunities. Opportunities for your creative self to be expressive; for your spiritual self to reconnect with a deeper consciousness within you; for your Earth-being-self to give service to the Pines as we help heal the grounds. Read further to learn more about these options.

There will be the opportunity to enter a period of silence at the end of Friday's gathering and to emerge from it at 5:00 PM on Saturday, both by way of a guided meditation. Connecting with friends, old and new, can be significantly different and satisfying through non-verbal expressions. Speak to some of the women who participated in the last silent Women & Religion retreat at the Pines and discover their appreciation of time with no verbal demands. This is a brief taste of silent community that we believe will leave you refreshed and wanting more. This retreat cannot claim that it will satisfy your longing but it does claim that it will give you a window of opportunity to tap into that root and find some ways of healing and nurturing your life.

At the Root of Longing – the Saturday Experience

North The direction of the earth, of the body, introspection, mystery, the power to keep silent.
Experience: creating a Secret Garden triptych, a 3-panel collage that begins with the edges folded in to form a gate on the outside, opening to your spiritual garden. Basic materials supplied.
East The direction of the air, of light, of the emerging soul, of the power to know.
Experience: writing in answer to questions that will help your inner light to emerge and your soul to speak. You may want to bring a journal for this, or some special writing papers and instruments.

South The direction of fire, of energy and spirit, of the power of will.
Experience: creating your Spirit Candle to light your way on your spiritual journey and to add to the altar for the Saturday evening experience. Basic materials supplie

 

West The direction of water, of emotion, of the power to dare.Experiences: creating and decorating a medicine bag to heal yourself and the earth (basic materials supplied). Working at the Pines to heal some hurricane damage, in silence (after instructions given).

 

Center The point of transformation, of pure essence, of timelessness, of the power to go.
Experiences: Meditation in any form that helps you access your spiritual center in addition to what we are providing. If you want to bring meditative music we will have a space provided for this. The Center, of course, is the invitation of the rituals that we will be doing on Friday and Saturday nights.

 

Other spiritual activities that you might choose to experience: Readings from selected books we will provide, on loan for the weekend only, on women’s spirituality and nature – see our book list for suggestions in case you want your own copy. Yoga in the outdoors, in the early morning and other times, led by experienced teachers. A creative project that you bring to the retreat. Silent communication with other women at the Pines. Walks in the woods. Breathing.

Remember: Bring small objects with special meaning to you to decorate (or use in) the spirit candle, the medicine bag, or the Secret Garden triptych – such as beads, charms, crystals, shells, stones, feathers, etc. Also bring 2-3 favorite magazines to use and share, for cutting out pictures.

 

Our Retreat Leaders
April 22-24, 2005 at U.U. in the Pines, Brooksville, FL

Retreat Facilitator Biography:

Susan (Stephenson) Hefte has been involved with Florida Women and Religion almost from its beginnings. She was W & R co-chair (with Emily Williams) for two years and has facilitated many W&R retreats at The Pines, including the very first one in November 1987. Her background is in transpersonal psychology with an emphasis on creativity and spirituality. She is a retired licensed mental health counselor and currently facilitates Alternatives To Violence Project community workshops in the Tampa Bay area and monthly at Coleman Federal Correctional Complex. She is also an experienced quilter and textile artist.
Susan has loved facilitating women's retreats and groups since the mid-70's and finds the focus of this retreat particularly valuable. She looks forward to seeing you there.
Sarah K. Snyder is a national consultant and trainer living in Seminole, and has been active in women’s groups and spirituality for over 25 years. She has participated in and led women’s retreats and groups, including some at the Pines. She led one of the national test groups (in Pinellas County) during the final completion of the “Rise Up and Call Her Name” UU curriculum. She counts herself very fortunate to be a part of the truly heady days of the growing women’s spirituality blossoming starting in the mid-70’s, and is excited about continuing the tradition.
Sarah has been having a great time planning this retreat with Susan, and can hardly wait to be silent and spiritual with you!

... has been cancelled.