The Women
The Heart Behind Women as Witness
Aside from Christmas, Easter is one of the most beloved celebrations in the liturgical calendar. Gatherings with friends and family are full of delicious food and sweet treats, the hope of spring feels tangible, and celebrating the risen Christ makes everything feel hopeful. The familiarity of the Easter story— beginning with Palm Sunday and ending with Easter Sunday— is one that we often enjoy the rhythm of purely because of resurrection Sunday. “He Is Risen!” we exclaim! And we celebrate all that the Great Mystery means to us.
As Kimee and I were considering ideas for the Easter half-day retreat, possibilities were endless. Truly, something as beautiful as the resurrection, paired with its arrival during spring, is blossoming with themes just waiting to be nurtured. As we considered all it could be, we looked to the heart of Wild Sanctuary Retreats— Christ-centered, intentional retreats for women who are longing to slow down, listen deeply, and reconnect with what matters most— themselves, the earth, and God. The theme was right in front of us: the women.
As we sat on a coffee shop patio on a windy yet warm day, we began dreaming. As it always does, one idea spurs on another, and another, and soon the theme was in place: Women as Witness.
Women as Witness
Women have been present through the entire biblical narrative and through the entire life of Jesus. From His birth of a woman, to his life and miracles, to his death, the women are always present. An integral part of the story, the women both witness and participate in all of Jesus’s life. In His resurrection, Mary Magdalene is the first to witness, and she was the first to exclaim the good news to the disciples. She was not only witness, but sacred storyteller, sharing of what she experienced, and letting it be a light and encouragement to others of the truth of who Jesus is.
As our ideas grew bigger than a half-day retreat could hold, we scaled back to focusing in on the story of Mary and Jesus at the tomb. The story we’ve heard time after time, but maybe haven’t really experienced before. Have we imagined ourselves in the place of Mary to consider how we would experience Jesus speaking our name? How do we imagine we would share the story of what we’ve seen? Where do we long to hear Jesus speak our name in the narratives of our own life? What truth of resurrection do we want to hear Jesus proclaim over us? How can we bear witness to the cycles of birth, life, death, and resurrection in our own lives, the way women did during Jesus’s life?
It’s these questions and more that we’ll be inviting you into exploration at Women as Witness, the Easter Half-Day Yoga and Contemplation Retreat. Here, we will explore the sacred role of women as witnesses and storytellers— to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and to the living presence of Christ unfolding in our own lives today.
Women as Storytellers
Not only will we explore women as witness then, but we’ll also explore how women have long carried the sacred work of storytelling. Around tables, beside beds, in whispered prayers and shared memories, women have remembered what matters and passed it on. Stories are how faith travels, how hope survives, and how love moves from one generation to the next. Through embodied practice, contemplative prayer, nature reflection, and shared presence, we will step into the garden story ourselves— listening for the voice that still calls us by name.
While the day has a beautiful itinerary, a few practices we are most excited about offering are:
- Imaginative Prayer with the story of Mary Magdalene and Jesus at the tomb. A classic Ignatian practice, Imaginative Prayer invites us to imagine in our mind the sights, sounds, smells, and full experience of the story unfolding. During your time, curious questions will prompt you to imagine yourself in the scene, having moments with Jesus at his resurrection.
- The creation of the Resurrection Garden. Collecting stones from the shoreline as tangible reminders of the stories you carry and the places where you long to hear God speak., you’ll nestle them into a beautiful garden to place in your own home or garden, at an altar or space of prayer, to remind you of the sacred stories unfolding in your life.
- Two yoga practices to bookend our day together. Full of energy and vitality to mirror the beauty of the resurrection, these practices will invite us into practice of presence so we can fully bear witness, and will invite us to be storytellers to share what we witness into the world.
Jesus and Women
Jesus cared for women, championed women, lifted up women, honored women, and trusted women with the truth of who he was. Not one to talk down to women or cheapen their lives based on cultural standards, Jesus embraced women as leaders, as participants in his ministry, and ultimately to be the ones to first carry the good news. In a world where women are still fighting for their rights as humans with agency around the world, taking time to pause with Jesus is a gift that can energize us to move forward as storytellers and truth-tellers in the world.
You’re Invited
This Easter, experience the resurrection in a new way. Come and discover witnessing as more: As presence and devotion. As listening and remembering. As the sacred courage to share the stories we carry. Like Mary in the garden, we are invited to hear our name spoken— and to bear witness to resurrection in the world.
