JHYM Retreat Staff Notes

JHYM Retreats provide a safe and trusting community in which we seek to find that of God in ourselves and in each other. There are so many developmental, social, and spiritual aspects of life changing between 6^th and 9^th grade. Giving young people a place to be able to be present to those lightening speed changes within themselves, and one to another -- while still having fun – and learning that they can build their own beautiful, loving community of peers is incredibly rare and powerful. Our charge, as ministers of the Spirit, is to help our young people create a sanctuary in grace and joy.

WE ARE: Anne Anderson, Marion Athearn, Buddy Baker-Smith, Dave Baxter, Jim Campbell, Brian Colby, Betsy Kantt (our Serene Queen of the Hearth), Adam Kohrman, Doug Lippincott, and moi. A special welcome to Doug who is joining us on staff for the first time. As a professional drummer, he is generally on the road and unavailable, so this is a unique gift for all of us! Betsy, our Serene Queen, has to leave early Sunday morning to dash back and clerk her meeting’s Monthly Meeting for Business. It took awhile for me to believe that she was serious when she offered to be our cook up until that point – such generosity. Buddy and Anne will competently fill in as her substitutes for Sunday morning. Thank you, all!

JOINING US are about 30 JH’ers (13 girls and 17 boys), 4 of who are brand new to JHYM.

Timelines

PLEASE NOTE! WE WILL BE PROVIDING A SIMPLE SUPPER FRIDAY EVENING at 7:15. Last year’s experiment with not providing supper was great on time lines but hardest on staff – so we’ll try doing this and see how it goes! J I do hope we can still begin our evening program by 8:15.

Arrival: I will be arriving at 4:30 with 2 JH’ers. Registration is at 7pm. Please let me know your e.t.a. – anytime between 5 and 7 will be fine!

Wrap-up: Sunday Morning Worship is at 10:30, followed by lunch, cleanup and goodbyes. If everyone on staff can stay until 1:00, we will all be able to get on the road before 1:30. If you need to leave earlier than this for any reason, please let me know.

1 CD player, 2 MP3 players/connectors, 2 sets of IPOD speakers and docking stations.

This is our 8^th annual JHYM Music Retreat. We’ve tweaked the structure and flow, but the essence of it has remained the same – because it “works.” Music is an incredibly accessible, universal route between the hearts and souls of all of us and God. The format, particularly Saturday morning’s small group -- a major piece of the weekend’s program -- continues to be one of our most successful ways of helping young people to spiritually share in community. It has been a true collaboration, and I am deeply grateful to JHYM staffers and to the Spirit for all we’ve learned and grown here over the years.

Eric Bibb’s song Connected is the inspiration for this particular theme. You can find the full lyrics to it in the Quotes on the Theme sheet I’ve created. The gist, that we are simultaneously each unique individuals while all interconnected with all of life feels like such an important paradox for all of us to mindfully consider, especially at this time in history.

Middle Schoolers are ‘all about’ figuring out who they are, and in that struggle many of them feel disconnected from the rest of the world. They long for places where they can ‘be themselves.’ In fact, we all do. But from my vantage point, it seems to me that in order to feel “ourselves,” we need to be recognized for being so – and then accepted and ultimately loved for being so -- by a community of people around us. That community, in turn, is enriched by every person’s uniqueness – their gifts, leadings, quirks, and struggles, too. JHYM strives to create and nurture a place for that, and we will pay attention and celebrate our community, particularly through all of the music we’ll hear and create together.

But I want us to go beyond our beloved community’s connections, too, and be open to the connections we have with all of life and with God, however each of us understands and experiences. Woolman Hill is a wonderful place for this to happen, and I hope we’ll have opportunities for a bit of Silence outside, whether while on a walking meditation, sitting with a cup of tea or cocoa on the back patio, or quietly hanging out up in a tree. (No, Dave, I’m not suggesting you have to climb the big oak tree.) I pray that our worship will be covered, and that our JH’ers will feel the grace, the Spirit, the Light, and the Love that ties us together. Can we, in the midst of so much joy, energy and friendship, also provide space for wonder, and openings for those grace-given moments when we feel, even for just a fleeting instant, that we are one with every bit of nature and every human being on the planet? Tall order (and a bit of a paradox, too) – but I say, “Let’s go for it.” Thank you, dear Friends, for all you give, do, and are.

SMALL GROUPS

Small Groups will meet 3 times over the course of the weekend: Friday evening, Saturday morning, and Saturday evening. The Friday and Saturday night small groups will be pretty much ready to roll and in your staff notebooks. However, please read the following on the Saturday morning small group, as it is a major piece of the retreat.

For many of us, the kind of music we like is a statement of who we are. This is especially true for young people. What we are trying to do in this small group is ask JH’ers to hear beyond the identity, and to try to experience the music as a tool into a deeper place-- precisely because the chosen music has been exactly that for someone else. Thus, it is essential that each person feel safe and honored to share in a way that is heard via hearts rather than opinions or critique.

Start with a round of check-ins, not only to see how each person is, but to also make sure you don’t have stumbling blocks to worshiping together. Take whatever time you need.

Explain the format: Each person (JH’er and staffer) has about 8 minutes to play their piece of music and to share something about why they chose the selection they did – why it qualifies as their “soul music.” This is an extended worship sharing, with everyone in the group working together to maintain a centered space. Begin with some Silence and use the Silence between for savoring and re-centering. Allow and/or encourage time for reflections and/or questions between pieces of music, though make sure it never turns towards a critique in any way. It may be helpful for a staffer to serve as timekeeper so that everyone is assured of time. I will provide clay for tactile listeners. If this isn’t sufficient to keep them centered enough to not be disruptive of the rest of the group, I must ask that one staffer accompany the struggling JH’er out of the group so that the rest are able to continue with the experience. We have never had to do this before, but we might this year.

Snacks will be delivered to each group to share during this time. (You’ll have to come to agreement on the noise/format, etc for this – good Quaker group process)! J

At the end, I would ask that you have a bit of Silence in gratitude for what was shared, affirming the group’s presence one to another. This small group always runs close to an hour and a half. Take whatever time you need. The next thing on our schedule is just before lunch.

Free Time Jamming Sessions

I will be looking to Doug to facilitate this activity, but feel completely encouraged to help keep it going, too. Other years we have kept the Meeting House as the ‘jamming’ room, and since that is where Doug’s drumming workshop will be, I think that makes sense. HOWEVER, this will only work if we have enough staffers stopping in and out so that there is pretty much always someone there.

Saturday Afternoon Workshops

JH’ers have the opportunity to attend two 45-minute workshops on Saturday afternoon. Over the years there has been a wide variety of topics including round singing, peace songs, songwriting, improvisation, painting to music, dance, jazz, hip-hop, Bob Dylan, Orianthi, beginning guitar, and Stomp. We have had Shape Note Singers, folk singers, songwriters, and a healer using Tibetan gongs come. The workshops are lots of fun and great for deepening our community and joy. Those staffers who aren’t leading one get to be assistants in others. Here is this year’s lineup:

Jesse Ball (YES! 8^th GRADER!!) Undecided, but he’s doing it with Adam (maybe guitar?)

Coffeehouse Saturday Night

After our 3^rd small group we’ll hold a Coffeehouse and share music, stories, skits, dance routines and more! It is really fabulous, and a time for staffers to share their talents, too. (Major hint!)

Other info on the rhythm of JHYM Retreats can be found in a separate note written especially for First-Time Staffers available in your staff notebooks and on our website.

“FREE TIME”

Junior Highers want free time, but most of them want it with structure so that they can be in community. This is my mantra: “free time” is not staff free time. All of us on staff need to initiate group games (Apples to Apples, Egyptian War, JYM Ball, Graveyard Tag), inspire craft projects, encourage the creation of new Who’s Who Book pages, and engage stragglers into the mix in any ways we feel led – or the young people themselves lead. With JH’ers, it can be especially important to gently, continually nurture inclusivity. Please consider your gifts and leadings – and go for it!

Staff Assignments

Retreat Nurse: Adam (don’t panic – you’ll have an assistant for surgeries!)

Do know, dear Friends, my gratitude and love for each of you. Get lots of sleep between now and then.♥