Did you know that there’s such a thing as National Day of Unplugging? It was started by a Jewish organization with the goal of reimagining and reinforcing Jewish thought and traditions. First, they created The Sabbath Manifesto which was designed to slow down lives in an increasingly hectic world, asking for such commitments as avoiding technology, getting outside, avoiding commerce, lighting candles, and finding silence, to name a few.
We missed this years’ National Day of Unplugging (it was last March), BUT we have a perfect opportunity coming up November 8 & 9 – Chapel Hill’s Spiritual Renewal Retreat. You will be asked to turn off your phone (emergency contacts will be implemented). We’ll be in a beautiful setting at St. Francis of the Wood, perfect for communing with nature. Located 45 minutes from Chapel Hill, on a substantial acreage, we’ll not be distracted by commerce. There will be candles, and campfires! We’ll learn to listen to, and appreciate, silence. While not aligned with the exact timing of an actual Sabbath (well, we are Methodists after all), the retreat will be 4:00 Friday evening to 4:30 Saturday evening. Close enough.
Ben Williams will lead us through a study of his book “Forty Days in the Sierra Wilderness” where he experienced greater than 24-hour time periods without his phone and without any other human interaction, in addition to being exclusively outside (only a few motel nights) – all this giving him the opportunity to experience true peace and quality time alone with God.
We actually do not have to go on a 40-day wilderness adventure to experience this. We can do a test-run with this retreat experience where we’ll all have a comfy bed, indoor bathrooms/showers, wonderful meals together and S’mores by the campfire, as Ben, a retired United Methodist Pastor, encourages us to find a means to our own wilderness experience by learning how to achieve, and then putting into practice, intentional time alone with God.
I’m in. How about you?
For details and to register for the Retreat please click HERE.
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