This year’s retreat was one of my favorites. The guest speaker was MOTHER MELANIA from the HOLY ASSUMPTION MONASTERY in Calistoga, California. The theme was “BE WHO YOU ARE IN THE BODY OF CHRIST”. Mother Melania challenged us to think about how we live our lives. How do we talk to one another, how our thoughts and words of other people hurt them and ourselves. What our actions are like toward family, friends and strangers we encounter daily. Also, how do we treat ourselves and how each of these actions harm our Christian life.
The following is a small example of what we discussed.

ONE CHRISTIAN LIFE, TWO WAYS TO LIVE IT: MARRIAGE AND MONASTICISM

St. John Chrysostom says that the difference between monk and married life is that the married man has a wife. There is one Christian life and monasticism and marriage are two versions of that same life. People need to be accountable to others for their words and deeds. In monastic life the monks and nuns keep one another accountable and in a marriage the husband and wife do the same for each other.

We will look at prayer, chastity, obedience, poverty and stability and show how they apply to a Christian life.

PRAYER - We are all called to prayer. Prayer is so important that if we do not pray we fail to be fully human. This is the highest point of being human. If we don’t pray and develop a relationship of love with God and pray for others in that love, we are not only failing to be good Christians - but failing to be fully human.

THE FOUR MONASTIC VOWS - CHASTITY, OBEDIENCE, POVERTY AND STABILITY

CHASTITY - St. John Climacus says “a chaste man is someone who has driven out bodily love by means of divine love, who has used heavenly fire to quench the fires of the flesh. The truly chaste monk is burning with divine love.”

In a marriage a chaste person goes from fulfilling his own desires (not just sexual) to laying his life down for the spouse.
Pornography is a sin against chastity. It is a sin against one’s spouse, the people featured in the video, and against human nature and God.
Reading romantic novels is a more subtle sin against chastity. These novels are filled with perfect men and women which could make us become unsatisfied with our spouse.

OBEDIENCE - Is the highest expression of love. We are to be obedient to our spouses, spiritual leaders and to God. Obedience is also a restoration of love. It heals the will, bringing it back to its proper love. We have to understand that obedience is a gate to heaven.

POVERTY - We are slaves to our possessions and we love them more than we love God and our brothers and sisters in Christ. Most of us have to work hard on this point. We just don’t need the latest, best or biggest of anything. Think of what you could do for others instead.

STABILITY - We have to stay still long enough to let God into our hearts. We move from job to job, church to church etc., so we don’t have to look at our own sick selves and realize that our only problem is ourselves. If we stop - we will accept God’s healing and become the godly person that HE made us to be.
I will end this portion of Mother Melania’s talk by saying “there is just this one Christian life. The life of love, pouring ourself out to God and each other. Life in the church helps us move in that direction. We cannot serve God without serving mankind.”

This was the 10th anniversary of the retreat. The organizers did a beautiful tribute to their friend and colleague - SHIRLEY DIN - who was one of the founding members. Shirley passed away in January 2010. We laughed, and we cried listening to the memories shared of her. Of course Shirley was not there in the physical form - but she was there!!!

Women come from a multitude of communities across the three western provinces for this retreat. When the weekend is over we can hardly wait till next September.
Judy Pinkerton
St Peter the Aleut Orthodox Church
Calgary Alberta

God willing, the next retreat  will be Sept 16th-18th, 2011

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The ninth annual pan-orthodox women’s retreat was held September 18 – 20 at Entheos Retreat Centre, Calgary, Alberta. Sixty three women attended from three western provinces. The retreat began with a moleben on Friday evening led by Fr. Larry Reinheimer.

After several attempts it was finally “His” timing for us to meet our guest speaker, Khouria Christina Reimann. She had been invited at least twice before, but was unable to come because of the births of her two daughters, now aged 5 and 6. She and her husband, Fr. John, serve at St. Anthony’s in LaJolla, CA. She came to us with a well-rounded background in various ministries, and an education in Education/Theology and Psychology (B.A., M.Ed., M.A.). Her chosen theme was “Carrying the Cross: Living Daily in the Presence of God.” Her presentation style was interactive so we had many question-and-answer periods.

She began her teaching with presenting to us various scriptures and examples of the power of the cross. She reminded us that, as Orthodox Christians, “we should get used to being uncomfortable” as our Western culture sees no value in suffering and the cross. However, in the church, as new born babies, our life begins with baptism. She went on to enumerate to us all the prayers of baptism, and how many times we are covered with the sign and power of the cross. In this way we are set aside for holiness, and the good news is that we have each been given crosses to bear.

In the following sessions she informed us about the history of the cross, the centrality of the cross, and the theology of the cross. She identified for us the difference between external and internal crosses even though they are intrinsically intertwined.

Our external crosses are those sufferings imposed on us from outside of ourselves i.e. life circumstances (fallen world), our genealogy, our psychosomatic structure, genetic characteristics, and our inherited sins (alcoholism, incest, etc). Our interior crosses are our reactions that occur internally due to our exterior crosses. They are our thoughts, memories, feelings, and our passions that make up who we are. They are the way we deal with the realities into which we were born. In the ensuing sessions we were encouraged with the good news that as we embrace our crosses and carry them, with God’s help, we will be healed. Our crosses always lead to good and salvation. We bear our crosses to be healed so that we can be given more crosses.

She also instructed us that in our loving relationships we are often tempted to relieve others of their crosses. As much as we want to do that, our role is to suffer with them, love them, and help them to embrace their own cross, and thus find healing.

Finally, she shared many scriptures about the blessings of sufferings. She went through a provided book list, and told us the edited story of Schemanum Macaria, the beloved sufferer of Russia.

As Orthodox women we were challenged and blessed. We were blessed by good teaching and great fellowship. We made many new friends during our free time. We were blessed by beautiful scenery, and even the deer came to greet us when we first arrived. We had great meals and service provided by the staff of Entheos Retreat Centre. We would like to thank Khouria Christina Reimann for giving of herself. We want to thank the committee Presbytera Myra Reinheimer, Shirley Din, Ghada Zaideh, Joan Popowich, and Catherine Bull for all their hard work. We were also blessed by the services of the following priests and want to thank them: Fr. Richard Rene, St. Aiden, Cranbrook, BC, Fr. Ibrahim Chahoud, Church of Annunciation, Calgary, AB, Fr. Timothy Chropko, St. Vladimir, Calgary, AB, Fr. Larry Reinheimer, St. Peter the Aleut, Calgary, AB, and Fr. Taras Krochak, St. Vladimir, Calgary, AB.

The 2010 retreat will be Sept 17-19. For more information, please contact Pres Myra Reinheimer – 403-938-4929

Respectively submitted by Helena Glum of St Vincent Orthodox Church, Saskatoon Sask.

We gather for a time of spiritual renewal at the beginning of the Church Year. One main goal of the Retreat Committee is to include as many of the different Orthodox Jurisdictions as possible both in the priests that we have serving as well as the ladies attending.

What a true blessing our 8th Orthodox Women’s Retreat was this year – a gift! Seventy ladies gathered at Entheos Retreat and Conference Centre, just west of Calgary. Again, we are very grateful to the four priests who so beautifully served the various services throughout the weekend, all representing the different church families of Calgary – Fr. Michael Lupu from St. Mary’s Romanian Orthodox Church, Fr. Taras Krochak and Fr. Tim Chrapko from St. Vladimir’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and Fr. Ibrahim Chahoud from the Antiochian Orthodox Church of the Annunciation.

Our faithful coordinators, Shirley Din, Myra Reinheimer, Ghada Ziadeh and Joan Popowich again welcomed us all warmly. Our sisters in Christ arrived from Winnipeg, Abbotsford, Osoyoos, Vernon, Cranbrook, Edmonton, Smoky Lake, Red Deer, Okotoks, Airdrie, Cochrane and Calgary. We were delighted to welcome “first timers!”

Our topic this year was “Faith, Hope and Love”. How truly blessed we were to have Mother Christophora, Abbess of the Holy Transfiguration Monastery and Sister Mary from Ellwood City, Pennsylvania. At the opening session, Ghada introduced Mother Christophora who immediately connected with the women and we, in turn, knew that this would be a very special retreat ahead of us!

Mother Christophora began her talk by introducing us to the lives of St. Sophia and her three daughters, Faith (12 years of age), Hope (10 years of age) and Love (8 years of age), excellent examples of possessing the three virtues, showing us what it means to be a Christian woman – accepting and following Christ amid trials and struggles on our journey through life. By giving birth to these three virtues, our lives become totally meaningful. The best way to learn, to put them into practice is to make friends who are faithful, hopeful and loving! As children of God our whole lives in Christ should be joyful, life giving, and live creating, for He created everything for us. Emphasis was put on the fact that faith, hope and love are descriptions of God himself and therefore, growing in Christ is growing in these virtues. Faith is a gift and must grow. Therefore, faith is a virtue as we start our journey. Faith therefore can grow, can be tested, is rational, and requires that we work with God, to believe and to trust. Mother Christophora quoted St. Nicodemus who said “As a root is to a tree, so faith is to the soul!

Mother Christophora then introduced us to the virtue of hope, sharing with us that hope was certitude of future things and realities, is oriented to the future, is a vision of the heart, and penetrates through time. Hope is the opening of the heart, coincides with the victory of the hope in us and with an escape from our cares and anxieties. Truly, the opposite of hope is despondency and despair. What a joy to have an expressed gratitude for being alive, with the hope we have in Him!

Several verses from Scripture, dealing with love were emphasized, as well as the commandment on love as given by our Lord – to love God with all one’s heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love our neighbour. Love is to be expressed in actions, expressed in every aspect of our lives – in community, home, church, with the people who surround us – to love according to God’s teachings and His commandments. We must try to scatter our love without expecting anything in return.

A very interesting and informative short video of the life of Mother Alexander, the founder of the present monastery was shown, a woman who exhibited the three virtues of faith, hope and love. Some of the women in the Bible, who possessed these virtues, were Mary Magdalene, Mary and Martha and the Samaritan woman, who was told that she could have “living water forever”. Mother Christophora encouraged us to be living water for others, a way of living Christ in its fullness!

Sister Mary concluded the sessions with a most compelling description of life in their monastery. The monastery is founded in prayer, spiritual council and hospitality, to be an icon to the families of the world. Sister Mary explained monasticism clearly, delicately, and lovingly.

We left this inspiring weekend with a deeper sense of the virtues of faith, hope and love as we make our lives a gift to the Lord. Everything can be complimentary to spiritual life, everything unified in Christ, as we embrace our world in prayer and in love. Two paramount thoughts we should have each day, and many times a day are “Thank you, Lord for your many blessings” and “We worship you!”

It was such a blessing to hear the positive thoughts of our sisters in Christ at this Retreat. We are forever grateful to have the opportunity to grow in Christ by being guided by saintly speakers such as Mother Christophora and Sister Mary. Already we are looking forward to the 2009 retreat with prayer and thanksgiving!

Respectively submitted,

Marina Mantle
St Peter the Aleut Parish
Calgary AB

The 2009 Women’s Retreat is Sept 18th-20th. For further information, please contact: Myra Reinheimer 403-938-4929

Yet another blessing was our 7th Orthodox Woman’s Retreat held at the Entheos Retreat and Conference Centre, 18 km west of Calgary city limits. We were thankful for the priests representing the different church families of Calgary who served throughout the weekend - Fr. Michael Lupu from St. Mary’s Romanian Orthodox Church, Fr. Taras Krochak from St. Vladimir’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Fr. Ibrahim Chahoud from the Antiochian Orthodox Church of the Annunciation and by Fr. Richard Rene from Holy Martyr Peter the Aleut Orthodox Church.

Once again we were all warmly welcomed by Shirley Din, one of the four coordinators. The other coordinators Myra Reinheimer, Ghada Ziadeh, and Joan Popowich also, in their own personable ways made all the ladies feel very much at home! Ladies came from as far west as British Columbia, right across the Prairie Provinces, to as far east as Ontario. There were 80 women who attended the Retreat this year!

Our speaker this year was Kh. Maggie Hock from St. Mary’s Orthodox Parish in Omaha, Nebraska, USA, who arrived with excellent credentials. She is the Director of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese Department of Marriage and Parish Family Ministries, specializing in crisis and trauma therapy, individual, marital, parenting group and corporate dynamics, Kh. Maggie counsels from an Orthodox Christian perspective. She is the mother of five, married to the Very Reverend Don Hock. Kh. Maggie spoke to us on the Importance of Forgiveness in Spiritual Growth - Spiritual Healing through Forgiveness.

Kh Maggie began the retreat with sharing with us, how crucial understanding the practice of forgiveness was, as shown in Biblical Text and the Church Fathers. We reflected on what forgiveness actually was, then on the steps of forgiveness, leading to the four stages of forgiveness. The four stages are 1)hurt 2)hate 3) healing 4) harmony. These stages were dealt with in depth leading to the key to complete forgiveness which is abolishing moral hindrances.

This was followed by Kh Maggie giving us practical steps on how to practice forgiveness with specific exercises which focused on the awareness about forgiveness. The sessions ended with us all realizing without any doubt that forgiveness is truly the gate to the path of salvation. We need only to think on The Lord’s Prayer to realize how conditional "forgiveness" is. Both receiving forgiveness from God and forgiving others leads to the path of salvation. Forgiveness opens the door to healing. It is love’s anecdote to pain.......

During this entire retreat, it was most evident that we were not "going to a retreat" but that we were "going to retreat", which was just what we did, as we were given a number of quiet times to reflect, to meditate on the material that was presented to us. Forgiveness does have many faces. As Kh Maggie so clearly emphasized, it is clear that forgiveness is not easily cultivated, especially where we have been deeply wounded by another person and our human dignity has been affronted. Forgiveness is not a simple feat. To begin, we need to confront and affirm our anger, our pain, our sense of betrayal. Ultimately though, it is the act of choosing to forgive that allows us to enjoy the present.

Once more we leave this Retreat counting our blessings - that we are able to come together as a community of sisters each year. We are already looking forward to our Retreat next year where we will not be going to a retreat but that we will retreat once more! May our beloved Lord watch over us, protecting and guiding us as we look forward to Retreat 2008!

"Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." Ephesians 4:32

Written By Marina Mantle of St Peter (the Aleut) Orthodox Church, Calgary Alberta

The 2008 Women’s Retreat is Sept 19th-21st

Contact Myra Reinheimer for details 403-938-4929