Retreats at St. Thomas
Throughout the year, St. Thomas hosts retreats that make space for members and others to explore questions of faith in greater depth. This fall, we look forward to welcoming a range of guest speakers from across the Episcopal Church and worldwide Anglican Communion. Please join us!​
Fall 2024 Retreat Opportunities
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September 13-15: Annual Women’s Retreat: Open the Door - Keys to a Closer life with God.
Women, join your St. Thomas sisters at beautiful St. Andrews House on Hood Canal as we grow our relationship with God and each other. You’ll come home refreshed and renewed in spirit and body. Registration is now open and it fills up fast! Complete information and registration forms in the Ebsworth Life Center.
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Saturday, October 19 from 9am-1pm: All-Parish Retreat: The Elusive Quest: Reconciliation in a World of Conflict with David Porter.
Cost is $45, which includes lunch.
Join us for this retreat at St. Thomas Church from 9:00 am-1:00 pm. We will reflect together on our Christian calling to be reconciled reconcilers. What this means as we work to understand our differences, redeem our relationships and transform our communities, will be explored. We will also spend time looking at several different approaches to the practice of reconciliation in our ministry.
Alongside biblical and theological reflection we will draw on the experience of working for reconciliation in the different contexts of Northern Ireland, post war Coventry Cathedral and the challenges facing the Anglican Communion.
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About David Porter
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David was Chief of Staff & Strategy to the Archbishop of Canterbury from 2016 to 2022. He has experience in several Christian organisations at senior staff, CEO & board level and long engagement in peacebuilding and reconciliation.
He joined the Lambeth Palace team in 2013 as Director for Reconciliation having previously held the post of Canon Director for Reconciliation Ministry at Coventry Cathedral. He was co-founder and Director of ECONI (Evangelical Contribution on Northern Ireland) working in faith-based conflict transformation and mediation.
David has been an honorary Research Fellow in Peace Studies at Coventry University and a visiting Practitioner Fellow at the Centre for Reconciliation, Duke University Divinity School. He has held public roles as a member of the Northern Ireland Community Relations Council and served on the Northern Ireland Civic Forum, chairing its working group on peace building & reconciliation. He was appointed by the British government to the independent Consultative Group on the Past which set out proposals for how to deal with the legacy of the conflict in Northern Ireland.
Saturday, November 2, 9am-1pm: All Parish Retreat: Keeping Hope When the World Seems Hopeless with the Rev. Scott Gunn
Sometimes our world seems to be spinning out of control. Division and violence abound. Greed runs amok. Wisdom is rare. How are we to respond as people of faith? How can we keep hope when the world seems hopeless? In a day of reflection and prayer, the Rev’d Scott Gunn will remind us that our hope is best place in God’s kingdom not in earthly kingdoms. We’ll look at some scriptures that can help us, and we’ll also learn from the example of some saints who lived in tough times and who kept their hope in Christ, witnessing to the world in powerful and enduring ways. Join us for the half-day retreat from 9am-noon at St. Thomas. Suggested donation is $25.
About the Rev. Scott Gunn
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The Rev. Scott Gunn is executive director of Forward Movement. He travels widely as preacher, speaker, and retreat leader. On Sundays he is not traveling, he serves as priest associate at Christ Church in Glendale, OH. Author of several books, his most recent book is Easter Triumph, Easter Joy: Meditations for the Fifty Days of Eastertide. Prior to serving at Forward Movement, Scott was a parish priest in the Diocese of Rhode Island. Before that, he had a career in information technology. Scott was educated at Yale Divinity School, Brown University, and Luther College. He lives in Cincinnati with his spouse, the Rev. Sherilyn Pearce.
