INVITATION TO THE ST. LOUIS FORMATION WEEKEND

The St. Louis Retrouvaille Community extends an invitation to you for the Formation Weekend being held on April 28-30, 2006.

WHAT ARE THE GOALS OF THE FORMATION WEEKEND?

 Promote personal and couple healing

 Provide an environment for spiritual growth

 Create an empowering environment

 Teach the technique of dialogue      

 Teach writing skills and develop the ability of couples and priests to write and present their story

 Affirm the couples and priests, and help build their confidence     Help couples and priests to incorporate the values of Retrouvaille into their lives

WHO SHOULD ATTEND THE FORMATION WEEKEND?

The Formation Weekend is for:

      Couples ready to move their relationship to a deeper level.  

      Persons already involved in this ministry 

      Couples and priests who wish to discern how they may help the Retrouvaille ministry by  their involvement

      Couples and priests who are currently preparing to work in this ministry in existing and     new communities and communities wishing to start Retrouvaille

THE FORMATION WEEKEND IS:

 A community gift to couples and priests the community cares about.

A program that provides insight into the Retrouvaille program that will enable participants to be more fully prepared to help the ministry in any capacity. The Formation Weekend is beneficial in that it provides an opportunity that calls participants to share deeply with each other and with other couples and priests as well.

A powerful vehicle for God's love and healing to enter our lives. For each couple, the focus of the Formation Weekend is to enable them to enrich their relationship, to further their healing process, to build trust and respect in their relationship. It's the continuing process of becoming whole that began on their Retrouvaille Weekend.

A time for couples and priests to look deeply into themselves, their relationship with each other and with God, and to discern the level of commitment they choose to offer a hurting world as peer ministers in the Retrouvaille program.

The Formation Weekend is about the further formation of each attending couple and priest as peer ministers, not talk writers. The Formation Weekend is dedicated to helping couples and priests understand the full scope of our ministry. It is about being inspired and inspiring others. It is about saying yes to reaching for deeper intimacy in relationship, saying yes to reaching for the courage it takes to make a difference in our society, saying yes to going beyond ourselves and making use of our God-given gifts.

The talks we write are a direct by product of our relationships. Only a deep and intimate relationship can lead to the presentations that hurting couples need and deserve. Relationship, then, is the focus of the Formation Weekend.

The most critical need of any organization is the development of effective leadership. The most important component of Retrouvaille leadership is the ability to provide direction and vision to the Retrouvaille community.

We believe you will benefit from the Formation Weekend, and that your Retrouvaille community will benefit as well. As a result, the entire Retrouvaille ministry will benefit. So, while relationship is the focus of the Formation Weekend, the future leaders of Retrouvaille are a major product of fulfilling the goals of the Formation Weekend.

For your sake, your Retrouvaille Community's sake, and for the sake of couples who need the Retrouvaille ministry, we invite you to join us.

WHERE:  

Lasalette Spirituality Center, 4650 South Broadway, St. Louis, MO 63111

WHEN:  

April 28-30, 2006

PRESENTERS: 

Vince and Judi Sweat 

Priest: TBA

WHAT TO BRING: 

Casual clothes and a snack

COST:  

$150/Couple - $100/Priest (Includes cost of facility, meals and material)

Directions will be included with confirmation letters upon receipt of registration. Please complete the form included with this invitation, and mail your check, payable to St. Louis Retrouvaille, to: Ed and Ann Imgrund, 10 N Lang Dr, O’Fallon, MO 63366. Or you may email Ed and Ann at imgrundstl@juno.com with the registration form and complete credit card information (Type, number, expiration date, name as it appears.) For questions or more information, call Ed and Ann at 636.978.1620 or imgrundstl@juno.com.

 Please register early to facilitate planning; registration deadline is April 7, 2006.

 

COMMUNITY DISCERNMENT June 3, 2006 12 PM IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CHURCH See below for more information.   Subject: Discernment Gathering June 3rd– ACTION NEEDED   Please take a look at the above document.  It will help us all to prepare for the upcoming Discernment gathering next weekend.  Even if you are not attending, we still need your input, so it is important for you to review and respond.  If, after reviewing the document, you think of someone that would be perfect for a particular task or role, please indicate that and we will ask them if they are open to serve the community.   The discernment process allows for the community to positively challenge members.  If there is an obstacle to leadership, perhaps the community can help overcome that obstacle.  Each couple who has been nominated will be given time to dialogue and answer the question “Are we open to the call from our community to serve as leaders?” Remember, you are not being asked if you want to be leaders, but rather, will you serve if called.   Please bring the document with you to the gathering .  All the logistical information is included in the document.  If you are unable to open the document, please contact us for a different format.   We look forward to seeing you in June!  Please keep our community and its people in your prayers.   With hope and love, Nick and Shirley Ambrose   * # * # * # * # * # * # * # * # * # * # * # * # * # * # * #

COMMUNITY NEEDS Our community needs you!  Your ideas, your faith, your struggles, your happiness.  If we all help out, then the load will not be too heavy for one or two to bear.  Please contact Ed and Ann Imgrund or Nick and Shirley Ambrose to see if there is anything that you can help with.  We have many needs, from simply praying for another couple to helping with the big stuff.  Please, anything that you can give is a beautiful gift to us all!   There will be a Community Discernment on Saturday, June 3, 2006.  We will start the meeting at 12:00 pm.  We will have a pot luck lunch and possibly have child care available. ·         Our Community seriously needs your input.  You will not be required to volunteer or commit to a particular role.  What we truly need are couples that were touched by their Retrouvaille experience to attend and contribute to a sharing of ideas and prayer for the day. ·         We will start the day with lunch and our meeting at 12.  We may  have child care available. More details for this to follow.    Most importantly, between now and June 3rd, please pray that we will all be open to God’s will for Retrouvaille in St. Louis.  Please pray for insights, wisdom, guidance, strength, courage, and patience for all of us blessed by this ministry. ·         We need to hear from you!  Please RSVP to Nick and Shirley Ambrose at 314-647-4771 or 3891conn@sbcglobal.net no later than May 15th..  A post card will be sent to you as a reminder of the date.   Please look at the following document to see if there is any insight that you can give to our community regarding these roles and the tasks associated with them.  If you think you may be interested in helping out with a particular role, please pray about it.  If you think you may know someone else that would be perfect for a role, please pray for them to be open to the call of God.   Then, attend the discernment and help the community to brainstorm, pray, connect with each other, and strengthen.   Jobs and descriptions will be posted on this web page by the end of April, 2006.