Waiting focus of upcoming women's retreat

On April 18-20, women of the Albany Diocese will have the opportunity to join their peers for a weekend of rest, prayer and renewal.

"Come to me...and I will give you rest" is the theme of the upcoming retreat for women, to be led by Patricia Raup, the pastoral associate for faith formation at St. Marie's and St. Agnes'/St. Patrick's parishes in Cohoes.

Co-sponsored by St. Mary's parish in Oneonta and Sacred Heart parish in Sidney, the retreat "will be spending a great deal of time exploring the holiness of waiting as it applies to women," explained Mrs. Raup, a graduate of St. Bernard's Institute, the Albany Diocese's graduate school of theology.

Women, she reflected, "spend so much of their lives waiting -- waiting for marriage, waiting to give birth, waiting for the kids to start school, waiting for teenagers to come home at night, waiting for menopause. Far too often, these times of waiting can seem empty. But if we are willing to use them well, God can help us fill them up."

Drawing upon her wealth of personal experience as a wife, mother and grandmother, Mrs. Raup hopes to help retreat participants find ways to prevent their spiritual wells from running dry.

A special challenge facing many women, she observed, is simply giving themselves "the gift of time to speak heart to heart with God."

This is unfortunate, she noted, since there is a positive ripple effect when women keep their spiritual reservoirs filled: the more abundant their reserves, the more they can give to others.

Mrs. Raup hopes women from across the Diocese will accept Christ's invitation in Matthew 11:28 to "Come to me all of you who are tired from carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."

Martie Meadows, a parishioner at St. Mary's and one of the retreat organizers, said that having a layperson such as Mrs. Raup lead the weekend event is "a real step forward" for everyone involved.

In addition to Mrs. Raup's other credentials, Mrs. Meadows noted that the retreat facilitator is married to a diocesan deacon, and has been through that intensive training process. Conrad Raup serves as deacon at St. Patrick's parish in Ravena.

Mrs. Raup, stated Mrs. Meadows, is "an incredibly knowledgable individual concerning spiritual/faith formation issues, has a real down-to-earth manner, is sensitive, compassionate and has a delightful sense of humor."

(The women's retreat will be held April 18-20 at the Dominican Spiritual Life Center, Schenectady. For reservations or info., call Martie Meadows at 607-432-2852, Paula Ciborowski at 607-563-3928 or Ellen Reuter at 607-336-7476.)

(04-10-97) [[In-content Ad]]