Retreats are run in a relaxed environment, where all members of the group are invited and encouraged to fully participate without compulsion.
This facilitates an open, supportive environment where people feel safe to step outside their normal comfort zone which enhances their spiritual journey and personal growth.
We work with a high level of liaison between you and our team, ensuring our brief is clear, and that programmes fulfil your requirements.
All programmes are designed around your needs. Our facilitators are skilled in drawing groups together to address the issues of the group.
The Mustard Seed programme is a process centred retreat. It therefore seeks to achieve a specific task only in the broadest terms. The task as identified is to bring the group, through an experiential learning process, from a focus on outside influence to a focus on who they are in relation to Others, Themselves and thence to finding a personal relationship with God, as they understand God to be within their own religious tradition.
Methodology
The process is the same for all year groups in so far as it works; large groups, smaller group large groups. The purpose of this methodology is to ensure a sense of safety in a limited openness. To explore the theme with them, as identified in the group and follow that with proper closure which avoids the student going home in a vulnerable or emotionally charged state. All of this needs also to be in an atmosphere of fun and trust.
Session 1 (Others)
Aims to establish a trust and allows the team to asses and to interact with the existing group dynamic. In some cases it is necessary to challenge that dynamic in order to progress the day. This can lead to working through a problem with the group and in that event the second session can be squeezed to a shorter timeframe.
The tools used fall broadly into the remit of icebreakers but they serve a much more important function in seeing the underlying group processes. (This acts as a codification of their experience) The session is usually drawn together through a story and or contemporary song that reflects appropriately the theme as identified. In older groups, we will use Affirmation cards to help them to see the good in themselves and each other.
Session 2 (Self)
This session varies from year to year to try to take account of their development.
Here, with seniors, is where we focus on the adult person they are becoming. We may use resources like Photospeak where they may be asked to find a picture, which reflects something about you or something you, would like to see in yourself. Or find a picture to which you respond emotionally (Love hate fear etc) and talk about why. This invariably leads to sharing of their own story and so creates openness to what follows in the final part of the process. This is also the first time we begin to look at the future What is the basis for my future plans what values am now operating from where does faith or spirituality or religion fit into all that? The Key question is how will they keep their faith after they leave home.
Session 3 God
Final session is always based in meditation allowing them to foster their personal relationship with God. It concludes with a paraliturgical input from us to help them understand the meditation an identification of the parallels in the process to the mass an explanation of our symbolic centrepiece and sometimes affirmation cards if they haven’t been used before. We try to get and give some feedback from them and us. We always conclude with something thought provoking.
