About 30 women gathered at Epiphany Church in Socorro on
March 5 for the Mysterious Lent retreat. Attendees came from Farmington and
Gallup, as well as Socorro, Alamogordo and Albuquerque. This is the fourth year
that the Women of the Diocese ministry has hosted a Lent retreat. In a change
from past retreats, the leader this year was the Rev. Canon Carole McGowan. The
ladies of Epiphany Church offered a warm welcome, punctuated by delicious food
and gracious hospitality.
After Cindy Davis welcomed everyone, Carole introduced herself
as Canon for Formation in the Diocese and Dean of the School of Ministry. She shared
a quote by John Locke, before delving into the idea that books in general, and
mystery novels in particular can have theological components, whether or not
the author overtly puts them there.
Attendees shared their favorite authors as a way of getting
to know each other a little bit. While nearly all those present were avid
readers, the favorite genres were quite varied. Throughout the day, Carole
interspersed her presentation with time for small groups to discuss the
theology found in the Louise Penny novel, A
Trick of the Light.
Before the first discussion, Carole handed out a list of
some theological themes that are found in literature. These included the
obvious ones like grace and forgiveness, as well as others like greed, anger,
and love. Carole challenged each group to identify a couple of theological
themes in A Trick of the Light. These
were shared and participants were given quiet time to consider how one of the
themes applied to their life. After a delicious soup and salad lunch, further
discussion and quiet time enriched those at the retreat. The day ended with An Order of Worship for the Evening, and
all were on their way home by 3:00 pm.
Feedback from this event was positive, with the request to
have future book-based events. Retreats and other events, like the upcoming
Spirited Summer Weekend in Farmington (June 10-11) and the Puzzle Pieces Bosque
Center Gathering (November 18-19), are wonderful ways to get to know other
women from across the diocese, and to explore new locations in the diocese. For
this reason, the Women’s Council is exploring the idea of next year’s Lent
retreat being a weekend in the Big Bend area of the Diocese.
If you have ideas for event themes or speakers, please
contact Cindy Davis, Coordinator of Women’s Ministries for the Diocese.
