Retreat: Saturday, November 16, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Poetry Reading: Saturday, November 16, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.

Homily: Sunday, November 17,  at 8:00 & 9:30 a.m. services

Events are free | suggested donation for retreat lunch: $20 | RSVP: kim@gracehere.org

Steve writes: “What if God is not some imperious judge far away in heaven, but an intimate, life-giving presence, walking with you? What if God is not “a spirit,” but Spirit, The Spirit, the living, loving Heart of Being, Love itself, living within you? What if God is an infinite fountain of life, blessing, and healing, and you are a vessel of that energy? And what if God is in conversation with you? God knows you from the inside, calls you by name, calls you to follow, calls you into a particular life, a particular way of living. God has given you gifts, gifts of God's own being, God's Spirit, inside you, gifts that are there for you to share. How do we encounter that God, open ourselves to that calling, and get in harmony with that energy? We'll explore that on this retreat.”

“What can I expect at the retreat?” Good question! Here's what Pastor Steve writes: “What I have in mind is not so much a ‘writing retreat’ as much as a contemplative exploration of a way of seeing God, and praying, and seeing ourselves—with plenty of opportunities to explore that through writing if that’s the way folks want to work with it. But for some it might be a drawing retreat, a prayer retreat, or even a movement retreat.”

About Steve Garnaas-Holmes

Steve is a poet, songwriter, and retired United Methodist pastor. He served churches for 40 years in Montana and New England. For 37 years he wrote and performed music and comedy around the country and on NPR with a quartet called the Montana Logging and Ballet Company. He writes a daily reflection of poetry, parables, the occasional weather report, and other worship materials, at www.unfoldinglight.net, where you can buy his book of his poetry. He leads retreats and workshops on poetry, spirituality, and our images of God. He lives in Wells, ME, with his wife, Beth, a spiritual director, piano teacher, and retired pastor. They have three grown sons. He bicycles, walks in the woods, and kayaks around the Maine coast.