A well planned retreat is a great gift to give your congregation or other spiritual friends. Anyone who has taken the opportunity offered by a retreat to get away and spend some time with God and their own spirit knows the value of retreats.
But planning a good retreat is not easy. It takes creativity and time. Retreats to Go: Twelve Creative Programs that Renew and Refresh can make retreat planning simpler and less time-consuming. Author Susan J. Foster offers valuable tools for someone planning their first retreat or those who have led many retreats but are looking for new inspiration.
The first chapter of the book offers helpful information covering the basics of retreats such as how to encourage people to experience a retreat, as well as where and when to have one. The reader is encouraged to form a retreat team by inviting people to share their gifts.
The following twelve chapters focus on retreats with specific themes, ranging from seasonal ones such as “Following the Star: Celebrating Epiphany Together” to those which focus on the challenges of daily living like “Experiencing Wilderness: Friends on the Journey through Challenging Times.”
For each theme, Foster supplies a title, information about the theme, and suggested Scriptures and quotes to focus on. Icebreakers, name games, and introductions are provided and there are even suggestions for theme-related objects for participants to bring to introduce themselves as well as decorate the worship area. There are video, graphic, music, and worship resources to choose from along with ideas for preparing your retreat space. Activity ideas include discussion questions, crafts, and other activities. There is even a suggested schedule for a twenty-four hour retreat.
The variety of options available makes it easy for a retreat leader to plan a custom retreat which fits the needs of those attending without spending as much time as they would working from scratch.
The book is available from the publisher, Wipf and Stock, as well as Amazon and other sellers. Author Susan Foster also led a webinar for PRC – Practical Resources for Churches titled Creative Retreats for Adults and Teens. You can click on this link to register to view the recording of the webinar and download two handouts from the author; there is no charge for the webinar or handouts.
A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher.
