FROM THE DIRECTORS

Summer is finally with us and the gardens are in full bloom. After an amazing spring everything is lush and our perennials are about two weeks ahead of schedule. We continue our summer ministry as a bed and breakfast where families, couples, and individuals find a peaceful, welcoming place to get some much needed rest and relaxation. It is a busy but exciting and fulfilling time for us and, we hope, a fun one for those who visit with us.

Our programmed retreats run on an Autumn through Spring schedule, and so have come to a conclusion for this year. But we continue to accept private individual retreats throughout the summer months - there is a link to learn more about that in this issue in the left hand column. Meanwhile our 2010 - 2011 schedule is almost ready for publication and there are hints of it in this issue. There are some great opportunities coming up for this September, so be sure to get check them out and register early!

Our new sign (pictured above) is in place and makes us much more of a visible presence in the Allen Harbor Area. It is in part a response to the reality that, after eight years, Evensong Retreat Center has become a known entity in the town of Harwich as well as in the wider Cape area. Local residents as well as visitors had told us that they had a hard time finding us because our former sign was too small. The new sign is much easier to see, and with the gardens in bloom the beautiful Clematis which have climbed the signpost add a beautiful finishing touch!

There are some pictures and words below describing some of our experiences over the past few months. We hope you enjoy them. We also pray that you find some time during these summer months for well-deserved rest.

Blessings!

Marie & Jim David,
Directors

UPCOMING RETREATS AND OFFERINGS AT EVENSONG:

EVENSONG'S ANNUAL FAMILY LABYRINTH WALK
Saturday, October 2, 2010, 10:00am to Noon
  Begun in 2009 as part of the "Fall for Harwich" celebration of events, this gathering provides families a fun opportunity to walk our Labyrinth (known as "Margaret's Path") which has become a popular place for many local people to come for quiet time and a meditative labyrinth walk. People of all ages are welcome, especially families with small children, who quickly take to the labyrinth walk. There will be refreshments and art demonstrations by two of our local artists, Ann O'Callaghan and Bernadette Waystack. There is no charge for this event, but participants are asked to bring canned goods for the local food pantry, and these are used to line the labyrinth. We hope to see you there!

ASIAN BRUSH PAINTING & THOMAS MERTON'S EASTERN THOUGHT
October 15 - 17, 2010
Directed by The Rev. Dr. Judith Davis
This weekend retreat brings instruction in East Asian brush painting and calligraphy and reflection on Thomas Merton’s eastern writings and art. Join The Rev. Judith A. Davis, PhD for a weekend retreat and take home your own Asian brush painting as well as new ideas from Thomas Merton’s writings. Overnight and commuters rates available.

HANDS OF LIGHT, HEARTS OF JOY
October 23, 2010, 9am - 5pm
Directed by Rev. Marie David
This retreat is a gathering for Reiki Practitioners. It provides an opportunity to connect with others and to celebrate a day of Reiki Wellness! There will be an opportunity to exchange Reiki treatments and learn to listen more deeply to our wisdom within. The day will include time for a walk on the beach or on our labyrinth as well as a session with Katherine Trainor for Chakra Toning. This day long retreat can be extended into a weekend experience for those who wish. Learn more at our website or by calling Marie at 508-432-0027.

SEASON OF PEACE, SEASON OF STILLNESS
Saturday, December 18, 2010, 10am - 4pm
Directed by Rev. James David, M.Div.
This day long guided meditation retreat will focus on learning to relax one's body and focus one's awareness in several prayer experiences. Join the Rev. Jim David as he guides participants in directed meditations using Advent and Christmas themes. During this wonder-filled season we are all too often caught up in making sure everything is prefect for family and friends and find ourselves stressed out. Gift yourself with a day of relaxation and find yourself renewed and ready to appreciate the season.

MORE INFORMATION ON ALL OF THE ABOVE RETREATS CAN BE FOUND AT OUR WEBSITE
OR BY CALLNG EVENSONG AT 508-432-0027.

LISTENING TO GOD'S VOICE
By Rev. Jim David, M.Div.

[This past Spring Jim David led a local church community, Pilgrim Congregational Church, in a Communal Discernment Process. The following is an article written for the Pilgrim Church community as part of the preparation process. If you are interested in learning more about the Communal Discernment Process for your community, or if you have questions, feel free to contact Jim at 508-432-0027, or by email at jim@evensongretreat.com.]

In just a few weeks Pilgrim Congregational Church will be using a process called Communal Discernment to gather input from each and every member of the Congregation who wishes to participate.  This is a challenging yet very important undertaking.  In this article we’ll examine the way the process works and why it is so essential to your Church’s future planning.  First let’s look at discernment.

Discerning God’s Call
As Christians we believe that God has a plan.  That plan has unfolded most clearly in our world in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, God’s son.  Jesus came to announce God’s plan to the world – His mission was to ‘proclaim the kingdom of God’ and that mission continues to unfold in the Church.  The Church exists both to sustain the faith life of its members and to continue Jesus’ mission through preaching, through good example, and through works of Christian mercy and service.

But how do we know in what way we as individuals or as a Church are called to engage this mission at this time and place in our lives?  Saints and mystics down through the ages have told us that it is important to ‘discern’ God’s Spirit at work in the world around us and, importantly, in our own lives as individuals and as a Church community. That way we can see more clearly at a spiritual level the best manner in which to live in cooperation with the movement of God’s Spirit here and now.
 
‘Discernment ‘ is a word that we have all used at one time or another but not one that is likely in our daily vocabulary.  It refers to the ability to distinguish fine differences in something.  For example, ‘John has a discerning palette when it comes to fine wine.’  The first time I truly got a sense of what that word meant was when my wife was learning to paint.  When an artist, a painter, views the seascape he or she sees a myriad of shades of blue when they look at the sky (as opposed to someone like me who sees in just one tone – blue!).  The artist is able to ‘discern’ a variety of hues in what looks like just one color to someone else.

Communal Discernment
Communal Discernment means attempting to discerns God’s call to an entire Church Community such as Pilgrim Congregational Church.  One of the beliefs that it is based on is that each one of us, each member of Pilgrim Congregational Church, has a piece of the truth.  Another belief is that no one person has the whole truth.  Still another is that it is vital to communal discernment that each member of the  congregation pray to discern God’s call to the community and then share the fruit of that prayer with others.  As we listen to each other respectfully we will work together to discern the pattern of God’s call (the movement of God’s Spirit) in the prayer experiences that are shared.

Here at PCC the Communal Discernment process will unfold as follows.   A question, along with a context for the question, will be given out (that question and context appear below).    Each member of the Congregation will be asked to pray about and listen for God’s guidance.  At the beginning of May there will be opportunities for all who wish to participate to come together and share the fruits of their prayer  in small groups.  The sharing process will unfold with guidance and some ground rules in place to ensure that each person has an uninterrupted opportunity to share and to listen to everyone else in the group share.  Each small group will then spend some time discerning any patterns they see in the sharing. This information will be collected and used by a leadership task group to establish guiding principles as your Church undertakes its Visioning 2010 process next October.

Conclusion
Pilgrim Congregational Church is blessed as a community which is vibrant and active in its worship life and in service to the town and the wider world.  This is God’s work – an important part of God’s plan.  It is Jesus who announced that plan, and it is Jesus who commissions us as Church to continue its proclamation by what we say and what we do as individuals and as a community.  God deeply desires to help and enable us in this commission and gives us His Spirit that we might be disposed to accept that help.  We have but to listen – beneath the distractions, deep down in our souls, where that Spirit lives.

Go back to the first words  your soul heard, “You are my beloved son, my beloved daughter, in whom I am well pleased.”   Your soul knows that Voice – let it become more and more familiar day by day, so that it becomes the first Voice you listen for in a noisy crowd of voices.   Share the fruits of your prayer – and let that Voice continue to guide Pilgrim Church in the years ahead.

PICTURES FROM RECENT
EVENSONG HAPPENINGS

On the left: Retreat Director Nicole Sotelo with participants from her "Discovering Love.." Retreat.
On the right: Retreat Directors Rev. Jean Marchant & Rev. Ron Hindelang with some of their participants from the "Soul Food for Caregivers" Retreat.

On the left: Marie puts the finishing touches on hanging our new sign.
On the right: our "new guest room" located in the trunk of one of our scrub pines!

EVENSONG OFFERS...

• Programs for Church Pastoral Teams and Church Leadership Groups
• Spiritual Direction here or at your own site
• Space for individuals who wish private time to pray or to reconnect with themselves
• Reiki Treatments
• Reiki Training
• Guided Retreats personalized for your group
• Peggy Huddleston's Prepare for Surgery Heal Faster program
• and much more....

Call us to discuss how we can serve your needs: 508-432-0027

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE :