We had our first whole church retreat this past weekend. Previously there have been women's retreats, men's retreats, and youth retreats, but never whole families. This time, the retreat was for everyone. There were about 300 of us who came together at Rockridge in Princeton. It was such a good time of connecting and relaxing and walking and playing cards and fellowship. Sunday morning conversations at church barely scratch the surface. Community groups fortunately go much deeper and do life together in a more meaningful way. But it is still another level of community to spend a weekend together. To eat together. To go for walks and play games. To have extended time to just hang out. Needless to say, it was great! The icing on the cake was Sunday morning worship. Pastor Jon preached such a moving message about unity and meaningful dependence on one another. It made me want to serve more, to give back more and to love on the people in my church more. What a wonderful weekend with some of the best people that I know.
Food for thought from Bonhoeffer, which Jon quoted in his sermon: "He who loves his dream of community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter".
