Annual Faculty Retreat

I've just returned from a three days/two nights at Fall Creek Falls. The Seminary faculty gathers every year in August for a time of retreat, which normally consists of a lot of planning and assessment, from morning till night. This year we actually did some retreating! Our time together focused on vocational identity and call. This conversation was stimulated by a viewing of the film "Freedom Writers" (which I highly recommend).

It is our custom to have a time of worship which involves a celebration of the sacraments of communion and footwashing. This year, that aspect of the retreat was planned for Tuesday evening. But it was delayed by the Holy Ghost. Rickie Moore came to share with us and say good-bye, and we had a time of blessing and anointing for him. It was a very moving time for all and especially emotional for me as Rick was used by the Lord in a very direct way to call me to theological study (see my blog for a post on that) in 1983. This worship service was visited by the Holy Spirit in a powerful way and, in true Pentecostal fashion, we changed the liturgy. Communion and footwashing became our final act of worship together this morning.

Fall Creek Falls State Park is a lovely place which I had only visited once, several years ago with Corky and the girls. Jackie and Cheryl Johns and I took a very long walk to the Falls. We were disappointed in that due to drought conditions, the Falls were rather shallow, not at all like the picture, here, of the Falls in Summer. But I always enjoy being in the mountains and considered this entire retreat to be a time well spent with many of the people I'm closest to in all the world.