Last week the staff of OLHC had their overnight retreat at The Hermitage, Mittagong. The theme of the retreat was ‘Presence’ and was facilitated by the Lamplighters and Shining Lights team; Mrs Fazio, Mrs Rolfe, Miss McKenzie, Mrs Dew and Mrs Hampton. This theme of ‘Presence’ is just one of nine Capacities that will be explored over the course of our Lamplighters journey.
Our main mode of reflection and prayer has been through journaling this year and this was continued at our retreat.
Our journey with Presence is so important because it is one of discovery and reflection. It challenges us to think about how we are present to others and how much we allow ourselves to be present to God.
Our scripture focus for this retreat was The Crucifixion of Jesus from John’s Gospel. We also explored different forms of prayer:
Lectio Divina - God in The Word
Visio Divina - God through seeing
Audio Divina - God in music
What a blessed opportunity it is to pray and grow in our spiritual journey together as a staff. Thank you all those who helped plan this experience and thank you to Mr Gilmore for these beautiful photographs. We look forward to bringing the fruits of our retreat into different aspects of our lives.
Some thoughts to ponder on:
How present are you to others? When someone comes to talk to you or interact with you what is the message you are sending them with your body language and words? Are you truly present or are you distracted? Are you listening attentively? What does that look like? These questions might sound basic, but when you're caught in a moment, busy with a task, it's difficult to be present.
Another great point to reflect on is, What do you spend most of your day focussed on? tasks and obligations or people, relationships and feeling?
Our main mode of reflection and prayer has been through journaling this year and this was continued at our retreat.
Our journey with Presence is so important because it is one of discovery and reflection. It challenges us to think about how we are present to others and how much we allow ourselves to be present to God.
Our scripture focus for this retreat was The Crucifixion of Jesus from John’s Gospel. We also explored different forms of prayer:
Lectio Divina - God in The Word
Visio Divina - God through seeing
Audio Divina - God in music
What a blessed opportunity it is to pray and grow in our spiritual journey together as a staff. Thank you all those who helped plan this experience and thank you to Mr Gilmore for these beautiful photographs. We look forward to bringing the fruits of our retreat into different aspects of our lives.
Some thoughts to ponder on:
How present are you to others? When someone comes to talk to you or interact with you what is the message you are sending them with your body language and words? Are you truly present or are you distracted? Are you listening attentively? What does that look like? These questions might sound basic, but when you're caught in a moment, busy with a task, it's difficult to be present.
Another great point to reflect on is, What do you spend most of your day focussed on? tasks and obligations or people, relationships and feeling?