By Kristin Dalbrun
Last weekend, 13 brave and beautiful guests joined us for our first ever creative retreat, hosted by Katoomba Lighthouse Church.
This retreat was evidence of a growing seed planted years ago. The tiny green shoot finally peaked its head, revealing evidence of the life that we hoped for.
The fruition of this exciting green shoot was cultivated by a combination of God’s perfect timing, churches of Christ’s equipping, courage given from “A Time to Plant” (the churches of Christ creative cohort), ministry experience gained in triumphs and trials and, finally, the Spirit of creativity and healing who has nurtured us through the hands and feet of our beloved home, Katoomba.
We are thankful to be part of what God is doing here in Katoomba and hope this is merely the beginning of a growing organism that will continue to bring life, healing and refuge. We wonder what this will look like, but we are confident more retreats will follow.
This particular “Oasis” Retreat (whose name was inspired by an extraordinary experience at a “Navigate” retreat years ago) was metaphorical of the “Oasis” within – the secret place where the Living God resides.
The Oasis retreat was about sifting through our life stories and recovering our true self, creative dreams and visions, bringing fears into the light of restoration and forming relationships with others on a similar path. With creativity as our medium, Oasis participants were invited to ponder and engage with the question, “What if God came to you as your life?”
Our weekend was spent working out our thoughts and reflections through contemplative activities which included pasta making, bush walking, viewing art installations in the town centre, beadwork, drumming, movement and dance, and silence and solitude.
However, the greatest gift was experiencing God through the facilitators who each brought their unique expressions of God. Each facilitator invited participants to engage and experience their own understanding of creativity, communion, creation, beauty, worship and restoration.
The weekend was an absolute delight. Creating space for others to form relationships with one another and watching God meet them in unconventional ways was an absolute joy. The Lighthouse Church community shone, reflecting God’s hospitality, creativity and adventurous spirit.
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