COME MEET THE WOMAN AT THE WELL
An Interactive Retreat and Workshop for the Professional
July 4th to July 9th 2010
Maryholme Retreat Centre
Lake Simcoe, Roaches Point, Ontario, Canada
An invitation to PROFESSIONALS, especially hospital, school and hospice chaplains, teachers, spiritual directors, parish ministers, parents, and any others who are interested in exploring profession as a life of ministry.
DRAWING WATER FROM THE WELL
In the narrative of 'THE WOMAN AT THE WELL' WE MEET Jesus as a public HEALER, a Man who is also God.
HE WHO IS GOD offers us a way to become truly ourselves. Through a compassionate relationship, he draws the woman that he meets at the well to give Him a drink of water and to become a resource of faith beyond her own poverty of relationship. We, as Professionals, are also challenged to go beyond our difficulties and make the life we live into a life of faith, in ministry. By living steady, rhythmic lives of connection with a faith tradition we move beyond ourselves to become HEALERS in public life. A faith-filled professional reflects the WELLSPRING OF ETERNAL LIFE. Others, like the Samaritans, will say, 'It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and we know... He is the Saviour of the world.'
A combination of different patterns offer ways of opening up to the self: Scripture, dream interpretation, psychodrama, group activities, a gentle therapeutic approach. Participants benefit from sharing and accepting their own narrative. There is creative input: suggestions of hope, self-confidence, self-awareness and self- esteem offered each day. These deep relaxations help us to renew and explore our deeper selves and our profession.
An invitation to the professional to explore life as ministry
This is an exciting invitation to men and women to immerse themselves into the living Waters of their professional life. We, too, can meet the 'MAN' who told the woman 'all about herself'. A reflective and interactive five-day, live-in encounter for teachers, parents, chaplains, hospice workers, Pastors, lay parish ministers, nurses, social workers, doctors, lawyers, therapists, counselors and for any dedicated Christian who requires a drink of living water from the well to refresh themselves.
The powerful energy of a meeting between Jesus and the woman at the well propels all of us into the domain of the spiritual reality of ministry and of transformation. In today's world, it is important for us to make a concrete connection with the self and with the "I AM" of God. When Moses asked God, "Who should I say sent me?" God replied, "Go Tell Them 'I Am' has sent me to you." God has sent every one of us into the world to do His will and to build up the KINGDOM. The "I Am" of God exists within the self of everyone and in all that we do. It is here that the woman at the well and Jesus meet. When Jesus asks the Samaritan woman for a drink He was seeking to draw her back into the deep connection of the "I Am", a call to ministry. The woman, like the rest of us did not understand this at first. Jesus explains, "The water I shall give will turn into a living spring inside you, welling up to eternal life. Anyone who drinks the water I shall give will NEVER BE THIRSTY AGAIN!" The Samaritan woman was so revived, so inspired that she runs off to the town and proclaims, "COME MEET THE MAN WHO HAS TOLD ME ALL ABOUT MYSELF."
MAKING PROFESSIONAL LIFE 'A MINISTRY’ is a courageous act of fully embracing our individual and collective self in our lives. Come drink the living water and explore the "I Am" in your profession.