The Unhurried Retreat – Registration required, please scroll down.
Step out of the rush and into a slower rhythm.
What if you gave yourself three hours with nowhere else to be?
The Unhurried Retreat is a spacious morning at First Pres designed to help you recenter, rest, play, create, reflect, and renew.
Choose from a variety of experiences offered throughout the morning—from gentle yoga and guided labyrinth meditation to art, mindful pottery, singing, visual journaling, and more. You don’t need to be good at anything, know anything, or accomplish anything. This is not about being productive, this is about simply being. Just come as you are.
We’ll begin and end together, with plenty of space in between to move slowly, listen inward, try something new, or simply be.
Saturday, Oct. 24 | 9:00 AM–12:00 PM
First Presbyterian Church of Bend
Registration required (see below).
Retreat Format:
Our morning will include three 45-minute sessions with short breaks in between. The first two sessions will offer a choice of experiences, while the third will be a group singing experience for everyone, led by community songleader, Kira Seto of Voices Rising.
Please read through the offerings below and select your top three preferences in the registration form, ranking them from 1 (your first choice) to 3 (your third choice). We’ll arrange groups as thoughtfully as we can so that everyone can attend their first or second choice whenever possible. Depending on group size and space, you may be placed in your third choice.
Offering Descriptions:
Be. Receive. Give Thanks: A Meditation in Clay
Come as you are. In this practice, you’ll shape a small bowl or cup from clay using a slow pinching motion timed with your breath. You’re invited to meet yourself with gentleness, rest and receive in the present moment, and offer thanks. No experience or excellence needed.
Facilitated by Mariah Weigel of Soft Animal Ceramics
Mariah is a potter, life coach and owner of Soft Animal Ceramics. You can learn more about her here: www.softanimalceramics.com
—
Guided Labyrinth Walk
Step into a peaceful, meditative journey with a guided labyrinth walk designed to quiet the mind and encourage reflection. Labyrinth is outside and down the outdoor stairs.
Slow down and reconnect with your body through a mindful and accessible yoga practice. Gentle movement, mindful breathing and restorative poses will help release tension and leave you feeling grounded and calm.
Facilitated by Rev. Sharon Edwards
—
Gentle Yoga
A slow, accessible practice with simple movement, stretching, and breathwork to help you settle in, release tension, and reconnect with your body.
Facilitated by Rev. Sharon Edwards
—
Art Offering
Through gentle creative prompts, and intuitive art-making, you’ll have space to quiet the mind and explore your creativity through meditative art practices. No art experience necessary, all creative and “non-creative” types welcome.
Facilitated by Jenni Whelan, artist, community builder, lover of all things creative and delightful.
—
Visual Journaling
Slow down and explore what happens when you give your thoughts, feelings, and attention a visual place to land. Using simple prompts and a variety of art materials, you’ll be invited to play, notice, and create without needing to make anything “good” or even know what it means.
Facilitated by Becca Breed, a poet, writer, filmmaker, and photographer whose creative work explores attention, story, embodiment, and the ordinary moments that shape our lives.
We’ll close our time together with a special communal singing experience, facilitated by Kira Seto of Voices Rising Community Choir. All voices are welcome and encouraged to join as we revel in the profound yet simple act of singing together! Let go of “sounding good” and lean into celebrating the natural voice and the beauty that emerges when we make music in community. From silly to soulful, you’ll learn easy-to-pick-up songs through call-and-echo. Mistakes are welcome—connection over perfection! Come as you are, try it out, and be delighted by the sound we can make together.
Facilitated by Kira Seto (she/her) is a community songleader, songwriter, and choir director with a passion for weaving rich tapestries of sound through oral-tradition singing that is accessible to all. She brings a joyful, soulful presence to group singing, and believes deeply in its transformative power as a tool for empowerment, connection, and healing.
Registration:
Please fill out a new registration form for each individual attending.
All ages welcome, parents must accompany children in each offering if under 13.
