“I have been given this existence, these years on this Earth, to accept what has come into my lifetime — wars, loves, trucks, betrayals, kindness. I must take them. I must find a way to live in this world. You can’t refuse it. And along with the difficult is the radiant, the beautiful, the intimacy with which each one of us enters the life of all of us and figures out, what is our conversation? What is my responsibility? What must be suffered? What can be changed? How can I meet this in a way which both lets me open my eyes the next day and also, perhaps, if I’m lucky, can be of service?”
How might we begin to live into these questions? Join us for The World We Make - a Circle of Trust ® Retreat based on the approach to reflective inquiry of sociologist, educator, author and activist, Parker J. Palmer and the Center for Courage & Renewal. This retreat will offer practices to help you to:
Strengthen your resilience and vitality by taking time to reflect on the world you long to make.
Build your capacity for asking honest, open questions and deep listening so that you can be more present with yourself and others.
Learn to hold the tensions between what you hope for and what is, and to renew your willingness to work courageously toward what could be.
Your facilitators:
Kirsty McGeoch (PhD, MEd, LLB, B.Com) has a few different hats: engaging with schools to embed the 4Cs - creativity, communication, collaboration, critical reflection - in their teaching and leadership practices through her role with 4C Transformative Learning; working at the University of Sydney in pre-service teacher education; and facilitating courses for women leaders in education with the National Excellence in School Leadership Institute. A common thread is her deep interest in reflective practice, which led her to becoming a Courage & Renewal facilitator. In this role, she derives great joy in offering people the safe and welcoming space to tune into their own wisdom for living and leading well, and loves the insights the natural world can bring to this exploration.
Noela Maletz (M Soc Sc BA Dip Ed) is an educator, psychotherapist and visual artist who also loves to write. More than thirty years ago she joined with others to establish a Waldorf School and then a Social Therapy Centre for people with disabilities, in Adelaide, and worked in both of these places. Most of her current work is in private practice, as a psychotherapist, and in growing Courage & Renewal work in South Australia. She is awed by the possibilities and necessities of a life lived as mindfully, wholeheartedly and as kindly as she can manage and is challenged by remembering her many grandchildren’s birthdays.
Kincumber Broadwater, St Joseph’s Spirituality and Education Centre
Venue:
The World We Make will be held at St Joseph’s Spirituality and Education Centre, 8 Humphreys Rd, Kincumber South. The centre is approximately 1.5 hours by car from both Sydney and Newcastle. For those coming by train, it is a 20-minute taxi ride from Woy Woy station. St Joseph's historic sandstone buildings and expansive grounds are set in bushland right on Kincumber Broadwater, creating a tranquil environment for reflection.
Walk the labyrinth at St Joseph’s Spirituality and Education Centre
Cost:
Early Bird - $650 (incl. GST) payable by March 11, 2022.
Full fee - $750 (incl. GST) payable by April 1, 2022.
The price includes all materials, nourishing meals and comfortable accommodation in a single-occupancy en-suited room.
Feel welcome to inquire about payment plans.
Covid safety:
There will be a COVID safe plan in place for this retreat. It is also a requirement of the venue that all guests be double or triple vaccinated and not attend if they have any symptoms. We also request that all participants take a Rapid Antigen Test before arriving.
Cancellations:
We understand that life challenges emerge and changes happen, particularly during the current pandemic. If you need to cancel due to testing positive or being a close contact of someone with COVID-19, you will receive a full refund. If the program is cancelled due to low enrolment or other circumstances, you will receive a full refund. Please note travel costs are solely the responsibility of participant.