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Light from the Shadows
 This second of three Journey to Wholeness retreats, called Light from the Shadows, taught techniques for greater self awareness about negative aspects of our personality using dream work, personality types, artwork and even the annoying people in our lives.
 The event was well attended and everyone seemed to enjoy and benefit from the program (and the time at Honey Creek). We even got to share Friday evening's Celtic Evening Prayer liturgy with the Deacons
of the Diocese of Georgia as their conference coincided with the retreat.
Below are pictures of the weekend, click on any photo to see a larger version of it.
Then further down you can see the information on what was covered and who
presented.
A wine and cheese reception began the retreat.
Jacqui Belcher speaks in the opening session on Shadow work.
The chapel at Honey Creek during the breakout session on Centering
Prayer.
A participant makes a mandala, art created within a circle
which is made freely and then interpreted.
Breakfast in the Honey Creek dining hall.
A group dream exercise in the Saturday general session.
The theme for
the Advent 2007 retreat was Light from the Shadows. During this retreat,
retreatants discovered how Jung's concept of your shadow can help one take the
next step on your own spiritual journey.
The
basic idea is that each of us has aspects that remain hidden. These parts of
ourselves both good and bad come out in dreams. They also manifest in hidden
strengths we are afraid to tap into. This retreat used dream work and
information gleaned from personality type and other methods to help
participants come
to better understand more about her or his self. It was an overnight journey into
tools for better self awareness so that one can more fully become the person
God created you to be.
Schedule
Friday, November 30, 2007
5:30 p.m. Reception
6 p.m. Dinner
7 p.m. Opening session
8 p.m. First break out sessions
9 p.m. Celtic evening prayer
Saturday, December 1, 2007
7:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
8 a.m. Breakfast
8:30 a.m. Morning general session
9:30 a.m. Saturday break out sessions
11 a.m. Final general session
12 noon Lunch
1 p.m. Celtic Eucharist
2 p.m. depart for home
 Friday
The Light From the Shadows retreat opened with a casual wine and cheese
reception prior to dinner at 6 p.m. This gave those of us who have
already arrived for the event a chance to know each other a little better.
The main sessions began at 7 p.m. and introduced the concept of the
shadow with several of the presenters tag teaming the introduction.
Following the main session, about 45 minutes was devoted to break-out
sessions. Breakout sessions Friday evening were:
Judy Carter: Faithbooking
Linda McCloud: Centering Prayer
Victoria Logue: Intro to Dreamwork
Joan Killian: Visual journaling
The evening concluded with Celtic Evening Prayer at 9 p.m.
Saturday
Saturday morning began with optional Celtic Morning Prayer in the Chapel at
7:30 a.m. followed by breakfast. The main session began at 8:30 a.m. and
was devoted to collective dreamwork, using dreams from the previous
night as well as those that occured since registering for the retreat. This session was led by Carlene Taylor.
Following the morning general session, we held the Saturday break out sessions,
of two 45-minute sessions on:
Judy Carter: Faithbooking
Linda McCloud: Centering Prayer
Frank Logue: Enneagram Personality Typing
Victoria Logue: Symbolic Art and Mandalas
Jacqui Belcher: Virgin Mary
The last Saturday general session at 11 a.m. told how to benefit from the
annoying people in one's life and offered an opportunity for reflecting on
the weekend and giving feedback. The closing
Celtic Eucharist followed lunch.
Below you will find brief bios and
descriptions of some of the breakout sessions below including links the the
home work which preceeded the retreat.
Retreat Leaders
The Rev. Frank Logue is a 2000 graduate of Virginia
Theological Seminary. In June of that year, he and his family moved to
Camden County to plant a new Episcopal Church in Kingsland. As part of the
vision for this church plant, Frank recognized the importance of offering a
variety of ways for people to experience spirituality—from the Labyrinth to
Anglican Prayer Beads to Stations of the Cross and more. This has since
expanded into the vision of the Journey to Wholeness Retreats, which allow
the Diocese and beyond to explore spirituality.
Frank led a breakout session on the Enneagram, another form of
personality typing that is a wonderful tool in working with one’s shadow
aspects. To discover your Enneagram type, you can take
a free online test at:
http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/ Then use the free RHETI sampler.
Victoria Steele Logue is a Tertiary in the Third
Order, Society of Saint Francis. A trained labyrinth facilitator, she holds
a Lay Degree in Theology from Virginia Theological Seminary. She has
attended numerous retreats on both Celtic Spirituality and Dreamwork.
Victoria led breakout sessions on an introduction to dreamwork
on Friday and on Symbolic Art and Mandalas on Saturday. The dreamwork
session included one method for working with one's dreams in addition to
the introduction; the art session allowed participants to use various
materials to create a piece of art followed by a discussion on what the
piece symbolizes for the artist as well as the opportunity to create mandalas and some of the symbolism behind this form of art that was so
important to Carl Jung.
Carlene Holder Taylor, LPC, NCC, is a partner at Family Matters
Counseling, an outpatient psychotherapy practice in St. Marys, Georgia. She
has been involved for more than ten years in the Journey into Wholeness
conferences and seminars, which explored the relationship between modern
spirituality and the psychology of Carl Jung, and recently ended its program
after 30 years.
Carlene is a member of the American Counseling Association, the National
Board of Certified Counselors, Equine Facilitated Mental Health Association
– Past Board of Directors Member, and the North American Riding for the
Handicapped Association.
Carlene led a breakout session on the Keirsey Temperament Sorter-II,
which helped participants understand their personality and its shadows.
To find out your Temperament type, you can take a free
online test at:
http://www.advisorteam.org/Kiersey-Bates
The Rev. Linda McCloud is Founding Pastor of The Episcopal Church of Our
Savior at Honey Creek. Prior to moving to Waverly, Linda served as Vicar of
St. Margaret of Scotland Episcopal Church, Moultrie, Georgia.
Linda holds a bachelor’s degree from Belmont University, Nashville,
Tennessee. She received her Master of Divinity degree from the University of
the South School of Theology in Sewanee, Tennessee and did additional
graduate work at St. George’s College, Jerusalem. Before attending seminary
Linda was instrumental in the formation of the Atlanta chapter of
Contemplative Outreach, International.
Linda led breakout sessions on Centering Prayer which included a brief discussion of the method as well as the actual practice of
Centering Prayer for twenty-minute intervals. Time was allowed for
discussion after the prayer time.
Those who have practiced Centering Prayer for many years recommend that we
pray in this way twice a day for twenty minutes at a time. This is easier
said than done, and easier for some than for most. But the rewards are great
as eventually Centering Prayer gets “into your bones” and you will find
yourself more able to go about your daily tasks with a sense of calm and a
sense of the presence of God. Developing this practice as a habit of the
heart is really is worth the effort.
The Rev. Joan Kilian is the rector of Trinity, Statesboro. Prior to
that, she served at The Church of Our Savior, Martinez as both assistant
rector and interim rector. She helped create the labyrinth garden at Our
Savior and has led workshops and retreats involving the labyrinth, icons,
spiritual gifts, and art & spirituality.
“Visual Journaling is a practice that allows individuals to be reflective in
a way that goes deeper than words are able,” she said. “Images, like music,
can often express far more than what we can articulate. Drawing on the right
side of the brain, the individual is able to explore thoughts, feelings or
even emotions through images and shapes and colors that reveal truths that
might otherwise be only abstractions, out of reach of words. This workshop
was a brief introduction into the process that unlocks what is deep with
us.”
Jacqui Belcher has been studying and speaking on fascinating, faithful
women found in the Bible and throughout Christian history for several years.
The Blessed Virgin Mary is her favorite, perhaps because of the mysterious
nature of her life and legacy. A former teacher and Franciscan Tertiary,
Jacqui moved to Savannah 27 years ago to work for the Episcopal Diocese of
Georgia. She has been its Communications Officer since 1995.
Jacqui led a session on Mary: Living in the Shadows of the
Gospel.
“The mother of Jesus is but a shadowy figure for one who has such a key role
in this powerful event – the redemption of humankind. Was it cultural mores
that stopped the hand of the gospel writers from saying more, or did Mary,
herself, keep to the shadows? And what finally put her into the spotlight?
It’s all a bit of a mystery. Become a scripture detective for an hour or so
and let’s see what unravels!” she said.
Judy Carter, a Creative Memories and Faithbooking Consultant, led
breakout sessions on Faithbooking as it relates to working with one's shadow.
Judy explained, “While experiencing my husband’s call to the priesthood, I
came to enjoy documenting our journey with photos, writing journal entries
and collecting memorabilia. In 2003, Creative Memories Co-Founder introduced
the concept of “Faithbooking” as a sideline to our direct sales business,
giving it title. In 2004, when Will graduated seminary, I had completed two
volumes of albums titling them: Journey to Priesthood.”
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