Receiving Sabbath

A Retreat for Clergy of SWRC

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Tuesday, September 16, 2025, starting at 4 p.m.

to Thursday, September 18, 2024, ending at 1 p.m.

at Five Oaks Retreat Centre

Join Us!

Ministry personnel from Shining Waters Regional Council are invited to gather in-person for a clergy retreat at Five Oaks Retreat Centre, located near Paris, Ontario. It is an opportunity to come together and build a collegial relationship with peers from around our region. There will also be down time, with opportunities to socialize with each other.

This event is subsidized by Shining Waters Regional Council through our Flourish program so this clergy retreat will only cost you $300 to attend.

Space is limited so see below and register early. Deadline for registration is September 1 by 12 Noon. We hope you can join us!

Receiving Sabbath

What happens when we think about Sabbath, not as an ignored commandment or irrelevant social practice, but as a gift that we can choose to receive? The gift of Sabbath renews us with creative rest, reminds us that we are and have enough, and connects us with God, ourselves, and creation.

On this retreat, you are invited into a Sabbath space. We will have time for discussion, solitude, connection, eco-spirituality, and spiritual practices, including walking the labyrinth. We will renew ourselves for our ministry, and explore how the gift of Sabbath can be embodied in our daily lives and engaged in our ministry contexts.

Our Facilitator: Rev. Emily Gordon

Rev. Emily Gordon (BA, MA, MDiv) has lived and studied in different parts of the country before returning to Toronto, where she has been in ministry for the past decade. Emily has increasingly felt called to explore how Communities of Faith can engage spiritually and emotionally with the present climate crisis, drawing on the depths of our faith stories and spiritual practices. Recently, Emily has been one of the participants selected for Moderator Carmen’s (Re)Generate leadership program, and has also been part of the Eco-preacher program from the BTS (Bangor Theological Seminary) Center and Creation Justice Ministries. She lives in Toronto with her spouse and two children and loves reading, tea, and spending time outside.

Location: Five Oaks Retreat Centre

Five Oaks is located off Highway 403 between Brantford and Paris on the Grand River. The Centre sits on 116 acres at the confluence of two water ways – a sacred place in indigenous traditions; for others, a “thin place” where the physical and spiritual are closely and deeply experienced.

For more information on Five Oaks please see their website: https://fiveoaks.on.ca/

ADDRESS
Five Oaks Retreat Centre (MAP)
1 Bethel Road,
Paris, Ontario

Directions to Five Oaks Retreat Centre

Registration

This event is subsidized by Shining Waters Regional Council through our Flourish program so this retreat will only cost you $300 to attend, $250 if you are working part-time or are a retired minister. If you are working less than half time and would like to attend, please contact Eun-Joo Park at epark@united-church.ca

Deadline for registration is Monday September 1, 2025. We hope you can join us!

Staff Support for this event: