Retreat Recap: Peace On Earth Advent Half-Day Retreat

Aside from Easter and Christmas, two holy days that seemingly most people know about, Advent is perhaps one of the most popular times in the liturgical calendar. A time where study books, devotionals, church on Sunday’s, and even our Christmas cards and social media posts, all remind us of the Hope, Joy, Peace, and Love that comes during this season.

This year, we dove below the shimmering surface of peace and explored the depth of this theme of Advent.

As we arrived to put our final touches on the space, the anticipation was as palpable as the scent of mulled cider and essential oils infusing the air. Kimee and I were excited to welcome 21 women into our new “home” space for the season— St. John’s Lutheran Church in Donelson.

As smiling faces arrived, filled with joy at the time set apart for a time of spiritual formation, you just knew something sweet was about to unfold. They walked down the hallway to the sign that held our verse for the day framed by sparkling Christmas trees, and entered into the space set up with so much love and intention the night before. Each woman claimed her spot in the sacred circle, already set up with all the props she would need, then settled in with journals, cups of coffee that helped support a children’s home in Thailand that houses children who have been, or who have been at risk for, human trafficking, and a quietness that signalled the rest each one was craving.

At Wild Sanctuary Retreats, two of our core values are Connection and Belonging, which means we take the time to ensure everyone has a chance to introduce themselves. Faces lit up as we shared our favourite cheesy Christmas song, and knowing smiles and laughter echoed through the room as we shared moments of delight at hearing our favourite songs echoed by another. From ‘I want a hippopotamus for Christmas’, to ‘Grandma got run over by a reindeer’, and more, the songs had us laughing, letting down our guard, and realizing the safe space we were stepping into in the morning together.

As the laughter gave way to stillness, we opened with prayer and a time of gratitude and acknowledgement for the land we found ourselves on and the original keepers of the lands and waters, a spiritual lineage acknowledgment to honour the practice of yoga all the way from India to our own practices today, and to set the space aside as sacred as we prayer our gathering prayer. These practices are part of every retreat— an expression of our commitment to caring for all of God’s creation and honouring the image of God in each person through all space and time.

Our first session, led by Kimee, was a restorative yoga practice inviting us to remember that peace on earth first begins with peace within. During the session, each restorative shape was supported by an exploration of one of the names in the prophecy in Isaiah: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. The blessing Kimee shared as guests began became a clarion call for the session.

May His wisdom guide you,

His strength support you,

His love anchor you,

and His peace fill every corner of your being.

Each shape and name was paired with a breath prayer, breathing in the peace Jesus has to offer us, and exhaling the opposite that can creep in. From inhaling soft strength and exhaling overwhelm, to inhaling guidance and exhaling confusion, we also released our desire to fill with words what the Spirit already knows deep in our depths as the breath formed our prayers.

But we know that peace isn’t just our own person, inner experience.

Peace is more.

To bridge the gap between the restorative exploration of the inner landscape of peace to the enlivening practice of the heartbeat of peace that makes us active in the world by Aelea, the poem ‘Wage Peace’ by Judyth Hill (often attributed to Mary Oliver) was read.

Wage peace with your breath.
Breathe in firemen and rubble,
breathe out whole buildings and flocks of red wing blackbirds.
Breathe in terrorists and breathe out sleeping children and fresh mown
fields.

Breathe in confusion and breathe out maple trees.
Breathe in the fallen and breathe out lifelong friendships intact.
Wage peace with your listening: hearing sirens, pray loud.
Remember your tools: flower seeds, clothes pins, clean rivers.
Make soup.

Play music, learn the word for thank you in three languages.
Learn to knit, and make a hat.
Think of chaos as dancing raspberries,
imagine grief as the outbreath of beauty or the gesture of fish.
Swim for the other side.
Wage peace.

Never has the world seemed so fresh and precious.
Have a cup of tea and rejoice.
Act as if armistice has already arrived.
Don’t wait another minute/Celebrate Today

Our active practice was a combination of learning, reflection, and movement as we moved through the idea of Jesus as our Price of Peace and us, as humanity, subjects in the kingdom— peacemakers. Being peacemakers is our call to follow in the ‘love in action’ way of Jesus. This idea was explored through the words used in the Hebrew Scriptures of Shalom, the New Testament scriptures of Eirene, and through the Yama of Ahimsa in yoga philosophy. 

As we moved and breathed, we took on heart opening postures that opened us up to how peace is truly love in action. We gathered in close, wrapped our arms around each other, and supported each other as we moved into warrior 3— a balancing posture— while feeling the support of our fellow sisters. Peace isn’t just internal, it’s lived out. 

As we cooled down and came into our final rest, I went around with a frankincense blessing oil. As The Prayer of St.Francis played, each person was anointed as a peacemaker, living from the overflow of Jesus and extending that Peace into the world; To co-create peace with Jesus, serving others. The kingdom of peace is both here and still coming. We catch glimpses of it when compassion triumphs, when generosity multiplies, when communities flourish. And yet, the world aches for restoration. Our calling is to partner with God— to co-create peace on earth, one act of love at a time. 

The smell of a bonfire tingled in our noses as we completed our embodied movement portion of the morning, inviting us to the kinds of sweet conversations and relaxed atmosphere that bonfires do. Mulled apple cider, rosemary truffle popcorn, and ginger crinkle cookies were ready and waiting to give our guests a burst of delight, as they chatted and crafted their peace lantern.

Each peace lantern featured a wooden ornament as a reminder of peace, a spring of juniper, a velvet ribbon bow, and a candle to place inside to be a light of peace in the world. Each woman could choose to paint her wooden ornament colours of peace, or leave it the natural woodgrain. As conversation flowed, cider was sipped, and popcorn and cookies were devoured, the safety of the room gave way to the kind of relaxed conversation you’d expect between close friends.

Crafting led into silence— a time set apart to consider how God might be inviting each of us to be peacemakers. Guiding questions were available for those who needed it, and the women were encouraged to spend this time with God in any way that felt authentic. Some sat around the bonfire with their journals, others went for a walk and connected with the trees, some sat on their mats in moments of prayer solitude. The air felt thick with silence, filled with hopes and dreams and visions for a life lived with peace at the forefront.

As we gathered back into our sacred circle, lanterns lit and glowing atop of each mat, we broke the silence with a vow of non-violence. A communal vow to seal our time together and commit to this practice advent and beyond. As we took time to check in with how we were leaving the retreat, each woman was given the space to have her voice heard and affirmed as she shared one thing that she wanted to remember as she left the retreat. As each woman spoke, different things stood out— a perfect example of the beautiful and unique person each woman is and how the Spirit tends to her heart and soul in unique ways. A closing holding of hands and prayer ended our time together.

As the women chatted away as mats were rolled up, to-go mugs were filled with cider, and hugs were being given, the air lifted. It felt full of delight and wonder at what the day held— a lighter feeling of joy and commissioning, of embodied women leaving with peace in their bones and lighting their way.

*watch the recap video on Instagram here*

Each time an event is held, I, Aelea, am reminded of the impact these retreats have. From a word spoken in a prayer, to a movement on the mat, to a kindness from a stranger-turned-friend, the Spirit is present within us and around us and always moves in ways that evoke a profound sense of gratitude. We truly never know what people are going through and what draws them to the mat and to our retreats— we honour the responsibility and privilege it is to walk with others on their spiritual formation journeys, and seek God’s wisdom as we plan and execute each offering. What a gift to be peacemakers in our own unique way in the world.