Our diocese cares about our clergy and their families, and one way we demonstrate that is by providing a retreat for clergy and spouses and their pre-school children.

Since many of our clergy most in need of such a retreat can least afford it, we feel that it’s important for the diocese to cover the cost of this time away. It’s a significant expense and so we’re only able to offer it every other year. 

We held this bi-annual retreat last week and the Lord was wonderfully present among the 115 of us who gathered at the Virginia Crossings Hotel and Conference Center north of Richmond for two days of worship, teaching, fellowship, food and fun (see below for group photo).

Our speakers were Bishop Steve and Sally Breedlove of the Diocese of Christ Our Hope and Bishop Neil and Marcia Lebhar of the Gulf Atlantic Diocese. They very vulnerably shared about our retreat theme of friendship: friendship with God; friendship with non-believers; friendship with peers; and shame, the barrier to authentic friendship.

We had lots of time to relax and rest and enjoy one another. There were opportunities for personal prayer appointments with teams of lay ministers from The Falls Church and Redeemer, Richmond, who graciously came to be with us for just that purpose. A team from All Saints’, Woodbridge provided child care so parents could fully participate. And we had an evening of games and fun—my favorite part was the recounting of our most embarrassing and hilarious ministry experiences. And we were treated to a delightful concert by worship leader Jordan Ware and her husband, Patrick. 

I was asked again and again to express my thanks to you all for this retreat. The support given through our churches to the diocese made possible a much-needed and much-appreciated time of refreshment and encouragement. Thank you for your generosity!

And I hope that you will find other ways to care for your clergy and their spouses, as well, through your prayers and expressions of love and support. A note sharing how the Lord worked in your life through something your clergy said or did can mean a great deal. I’ve kept a file of such notes, labeled “Philippians 1:3-5,” and turned to it many times over the years for encouragement when I needed it.

So let’s continue to “encourage one another and build one another up,” as Scripture urges us (1 Thessalonians 5:11), that we would be strengthened to persevere as we await the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.