Thank you for your past support of the women’s retreat.
I want to update you regarding the retreat planning process. There are two considerations I want to share with you.
The first is the retreat planning team. Between 2019 and 2020, there were eleven members on our team. In recent months, I’ve been communicating with those past members. Of those eleven, only two are available to continue serving. Additionally, I invited new team members to join us through a post in our Facebook group and an announcement in the eblast and Sunday bulletin. One response was received. That means that, thus far, only three lay volunteers have expressed a willingness to serve on the planning team.
The second concern is our host site. We’ve utilized Kanuga as our retreat location thirteen out of fourteen seasons. There were concerns about their rate increases prior to the pandemic. (Between 2013 and 2020, those rates increased by 1/3. This meant an additional $64 per retreatant willing to share a room, or over $2,000 for a group of thirty.) Their 2020 rates were already at the top of what our budget could accommodate without significantly cutting programming or raising rates above what is reasonable for a majority of our participants.
Based on these concerns and following conversation with the remaining members of our planning team and Father Mike, the difficult decision was made to request Kanuga refund the deposit for our 2020 retreat. Because a new site is needed, if a retreat is to happen offsite in the Fall of 2022, the planning process will need to begin soon. Roles which need to be filled include (co-)chair, registration chair, and chair of a site search subgroup. I invite you to prayerfully consider whether or not you are called to participate as a member of this special planning team.
Realistically, in order to host an offsite retreat in 2022, this team will need to be in place by October 1.
Sincerely,
Rev. Erin+
Update 09/22/21: A registration coordinator has stepped forward. Volunteers to serve as site search coordinator and retreat (co-) chair are still needed. Our refund is en route from Kanuga.
