Hello Friends,

Fr. Kenny and I are back from a week long conference/retreat called CREDO.  CREDO began in the mid 1990s as a program for clergy that was to focus on the overall well being of clergy in the Episcopal Church.  The word CREDO is Latin, and can be translated as “I believe,” but more literally means “I give my heart.”  According to the CREDO website:

CREDO encourages participants to rediscover the passionate essence of their life and ministry in the context of their faith, their relationships, and community. Through the strength of a holistic approach to wellness, participants are invited to examine their minds, bodies, spirits, and hearts by examining four significant areas of their lives—spiritual, vocational, health, and financial.

CREDO is…

• An intentional Christ-centered community;
• A work of the heart, mind, body and spirit;
• A living stream with a sustainable spirit;
• A four-step life cycle process of identity, discernment, practice, and transformation.        (credo.org/history)

We had a great time, learned a lot, and had some much needed retreat time.  We will be going back in one year’s time to see how we all have changed and grown over the year and how we have applied all we learned to our ministry.

The conference was at the Roslyn Conference Center near Richmond, VA.  It is a beautiful place:

The dining hall

The Bishop’s Chapel

Ready to learn!

Fr. Kenny confers with some colleagues.

Turn around Dewitt

Hammock Break!

We spent some quality worship time in the Bishop’s Chapel, which is dedicated to Bishop Peter Lee, someone I know from seminary, where he was our interim Dean for a while.  He is a great man!

That’s just a photo Fr. Kenny!

Behind the altar is the beauty of nature.

Getting some holy water……

A lovely altar.

We had a lot of fun and made new friends.  We were broken down into small groups for discussion, and our group was assigned to “The Pit,” a super groovy, 1970s throw back filled with pillows, and centipedes as we discovered later…..

Betsy wanted to pose with FK.

Fr. Kenny practices “active listening.”

Group meeting in “The Pit”

We also had a lot of fun, here are some pictures of Game night!

It’s CREDO! (not that other game)

FK won a kazoo, then we all played “St. Patrick’s Breastplate” (not kidding)

Glow Stick collars!

FK and his stuffed penguin Napoleon enjoyed sleeping in.

I also got some hammock time, never fear!

Reflecting on the beauty of this place.

We had a great time, and are looking forward to next year!  I hope you like our photos, and I’ll be back Monday with a sermon about the stilling of the storm in Mark.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mo. Lauren