By Katie Reeder-Hayes
For my first five years at Blacknall, I was a Women's Retreat skeptic. I was sure it was nice for other people, but I wasn't a "retreat person." As a mom of young kids, I felt guilty about time away from them, and too tired to contemplate figuring out anything new that involved registration and a map. As a woman in the workforce, I didn't attend weekday women's ministry events and felt like an outsider to this event that other women seemed unnervingly enthused about. As an introvert, I was terrified someone would force me to wear a nametag and play icebreaker games. But at the urging of the unforgettable Amy Rowell (extrovert extraordinaire), I reluctantly signed up in 2006. Well into my second decade, the Women's Retreat now goes on my calendar months in advance.
I've been to the retreat in so many conditions -- excited, optimistic, exhausted, sad, and wounded. Over the years, God has used this time and place to remind me how important it is to create sacred space and ritual in our lives: ways that we can return to him no matter what external chaos happens to be swirling at the moment, and ways to reflect on how he has marked our lives over time. Doing this in the company of other faithful women, even those who were strangers at the outset, and new faces who appear each year, has bonded me to our church community more effectively than I could have imagined. In addition to all these considerations, the retreat can be restful when I need it to be, and at other times is straight up more FUN than anything else you'll find in a church bulletin. Lost in the woods at dark? Done it. Took the coffee maker apart to discover its disgusting secrets? Yep. Discovered which Blacknall elder is also a compulsive shoe shopper? I'll never tell.
If you've never been to the retreat, and even if you're skeptical, please, please join us this year and give it a try. Team up with someone you've met here and dive in together, or come alone and discover how well this community will welcome you. If you're an introvert too, just come stand next to me--I promise I won't be too bubbly. You can even borrow my motto: The Blacknall Women's Retreat: It's Worth Wearing a Nametag.
Katie is an elder and current member of the Session at Blacknall.
The Women's Retreat is Nov. 11-13 at the Valle Crucis Conference Center in Banner Elk. The cost for the retreat is $150. Scholarships are available. Questions? Email Becky bgould@blacknall.org. Register now. The deadline in Nov. 1.