Halfway through retreat week

Post by Rev. Lucy Bunch, Spiritual Director

We’re just beyond the halfway point here at SpiritRest and people have settled into their new patterns and practices. It does take a while to let the silence embrace you, but by Wednesday afternoon you can feel a sense of calm pervading our spaces. 

There is lots to do here at SpiritRest, but you don’t have to do any of it. What there is very little of is talking. The leaders talk in some of the sessions, and you talk for 30 minutes during spiritual directions, but the rest of the time is silent.

Every year I marvel at how community is created with almost no verbal interactions. I find myself feeling connected to my fellow retreatants, caring about them, and wishng them well.   

And I feel particularly connected to the jigsaw puzzle team. Each year we bring a 1000 piece puzzle for the table in our communal space. Those of us devoted to this practice, dive in. Our heads bowed over the table; sometimes we will point out a piece that we think someone is looking for, or hand them a piece that matches the area they are working on, but usually not. We are creating together in silence. After I leave the table, someone else may step up and complete the section I was struggling with. What a joy to come  back later and  see the progress of our little puzzle community.

What a joy to be together in silence and community. My heart is full.