Gather a Few Friends!
Wanting to share our online retreats with others?
Invite people into your home or find a room at your church.
“Being able to experience an online retreat in my own home surrounded by my friends who are also yearning to grow in their faith was amazing. It felt wonderful to be in a comfortable, familiar setting while getting to be nourished by new ideas and new people via zoom. It was the best of both worlds.” - Mary W.
“Although I'm very appreciative of the opportunity to participate in virtual events, I miss the warmth and connection of interacting in-person. Plus, I wanted to share this experience with my friends. We sat around my friend’s kitchen table and zoomed on a laptop computer set up on a side table. We had time to share before the program started, during breaks, and while we ate lunch together. After lunch we even took a short walk through her neighborhood. We each enjoyed the intimacy and privacy of sharing in our little group and having some togetherness time.” - Cece G.
Here is a group from St. Thomas More Church in Henderson, Nevada who shared our 2021 Lent retreat, calling it a, “Brown Bag Retreat.” They used a classroom at the church, asked everyone to bring their own lunch, and shared the recorded version of the retreat.
Suggestions
Download Group Pledge: Sharing is an important part of a Retreat, Reflect, Renew retreat. It is our mission to create a safe sharing environment. If you are sharing this retreat in person, we suggest making a copy of this pledge to go over with the group. Ask your guests to print out the handouts at home and bring them to cut down on costs.
Consider your start and ending times: Most of our Zoom retreats are three hours. We usually do not take formal breaks during a three-hour retreat. We expect you can use some of the personal reflection times for that if desired.
Tips from those who have shared a Zoom retreat in person:
Using a TV or computer
“Having a TV that can stream or use screen share was the best. It allowed us all to be able to be comfortable in one large space.”
“We placed a computer on the counter in the kitchen. We sat at the table and it was comfortable and easy to see.”
“Gather early enough to have all the logistics and technology figured out before the retreat starts.”
“Have a backup computer, laptop or pad ready, just in case of a technical issue.”
Food
“We made it a potluck where everyone brought a little something to share. That made it simple to host.”
“I picked up some salads for lunch and made it really simple.”
“We had everyone bring their own lunch. Easy!”
“My suggestion is to make it easy. We all decided to not serve food and make it simple. It took the pressure off which made me actually invite people over and we had a special time.”
Sharing
“We did sharing/break-out in one large group because we all know each other well so sharing was easier and quicker. We could’ve broken into 2 or 3 and that would have worked too. When we wanted more time to share, we caught up during the breaks and lunch. We ended up hanging out for another couple hours after the retreat was over so we could share more.”
Suggestion: Think about breaking into groups of 2 or 3 ahead of time to allow more time to share. Then when you come together at lunch you can share with the larger group.
“We had plenty of time to share when everyone went into the breakout rooms and people ended up staying after because we had so much more we wanted to share with one another.”
Thank you for sharing a Zoom retreat. Email Christine if you ever have any questions or suggestions to share with others!