Presbytery retreat

I was invited to my presbytery’s retreat day on Tuesday. All involved in ministry in the presbytery were invited – so this included a couple of readers, associate and assistant ministers, myself as a candidate and full-timer ministers. I don’t think there are any Deacons in my presbytery, as I would have expected them to be there.

After the “icebreaker” (which I hate), we had communion. The facilitator of the day asked if anyone had a bible. Of the 30ish there, only 3 did (myself included). That confirmed it was a Church of Scotland retreat day. We will be more likely to turn up with a hymn book than a bible!

But I digress. The strange thing about communion was Sherry was used…that’ll be a white fortified wine. Sorry, but was it bulk blessed before the day by a vicar from the back of an artic? Once I had that “Only Fools and Horses - Miami Twice” reference in my head, I didn’t take communion as seriously as I should. Sometimes I have to remind myself I am not 8 years old anymore...

The day focused on prayer. After communion, we were given some thoughts on prayer by the facilitators, then invited to spend 20 minutes in prayer and reflecting on what prayer meant to us. The group broke up and headed in different directions. Some went for a walk; some stayed in the meeting room and found a quiet corner; others sat in their car. As the venue for the day is set in a park I know very well, I headed straight for the swings. I could see for miles – all the way to the Pentland Hills. Closing my eyes, while swinging backward and forward was very relaxing and meditative. With the bird song and view I really felt God with and all around me. It was probably a little irreverent, but it worked for me.

The rest of the day was a discussion on prayer, what works as individuals and as leaders of worship, what doesn’t work etc. The main thing I gained from those discussions was these things vary depending on individuals, group dynamic, circumstances etc. Frankly, I could have figured that out on my own, but maybe I'm being a little too blunt and not appreciating other may not see things quite the way I do.


At the end of the day, we were led int prayer by one of the facilitators. She invited us to sit comfortably and in our minds visit the various areas of our body and get them to relax. This instantly put me off. I did yoga many years ago and this technique was used at the end of a session. I enjoyed it in that context, but not in prayer. As we went on, it felt more and more as though it was yoga meditation than prayer. We were invited to concentrate on our breathing. Not God. Again, this is a yoga technique! Eventually, in our breathing we were invited to say Yahweh with each breath. Sorry, that just didn't do it for me. I'd rather be on the swings, if that's all the same?

Again, this re-enforced what works for one person may not work for another. As I discussed this with Spot, he commented "It strikes me the people leading this day have their ways of prayer and want to tell everyone about it. It's not based on finding out what other really think, but almost imposing their way and ideas on others". Personally, I think he hit the nail on the head.

As for the day itself. I enjoyed meeting most of the ministers from my presbytery. I enjoyed talking with them and exchanging views with them. I enjoyed the Christian fellowship. I was also in a position to talk with some of the ministers who may be my supervisors during my training. Networking – isn’t it great! So, if that's the one thing I gleaned from the day, it was definitely worth it.