Friendship Retreat

A group of us from L'Arche Inverness have just come back from a Friendship Retreat held jointly with L'Arche Edinburgh. Five pairs of friends, (core member with assistant) had been preparing for some time beforehand, meeting to share about some important aspects of their freindship, looking for photos, music, everyday objects and anything else that would help them communicate their life journey and special friendship. The retreat was facilitated by members of both communities. We all travelled to The Bield in Perthshire, which is a small but very beautiful place to meet. Each day we started in prayer, then in energetic and enthusiastic ball throwing and stretching outdoors in the spring sun! We told the story of the Road to Emmaus, from the Gospel of Luke, using wooden figures. Two pairs shared their stories each day and although all were different, all were very rich and proundly beautiful. We also had celebrations, times of creativity in the art room, time to talk and reflect, breadmaking, music and song. Some went swimming, others preferred walking in the beautiful gardens. We enjoyed lovely food and plenty of tea breaks! It was really good to make new friendships and deepen existing ones between our two communities. The size of the group meant that the retreat was tailor-made and personalised to the needs and interests of those attending, and it was a joy to see everyone's gifts being utilised and celebrated. It was a very full four days, but a great reminder of what our life in L'Arche is all about: Transforming Relationships.

Check out the slideshow of pictures from the retreat on the top right hand side of the blog. Click on the picture if you want to see it a little larger.