Save the date for Montana Gathering of Friends 2025
Summer Gathering August 15-17, 2025 and pre-session Retreat August 14-15th
Hello Friends,
Once again Montana Friends will gather at beautiful Luccock Park for our summer gathering for a time of fellowship and spiritual deepening Our Friend in Residence will be Jesssica Walker-Keleher, who was raised in the Missoula Friends Meeting. She has an extensive career in mediation and conflict resolution, nationally and internationally.
We are pleased to announce that we are planning a 24 hour pre-MGOF retreat as we have done in years past. Participants will arrive at Luccock Park Thursday late afternoon and conclude the retreat mid-day Friday (August 14-15,2025) We are fortunate to have Mary Litch, of the Missoula Friends Meeting, to lead us in "Developing your Personal Spiritual Practice". Mary is a retired philosophy professor and a life -long Quaker.
Mary will lead us in this exploration using the guidance of Patricia Loring's book Listening Spirituality. Interested Friends are asked to read selections from the book before the retreat. (See below). We will gather Thursday evening through Friday morning (August 14 and15) before MGOF. Details will be available in the summer newsletter. If you have questions beyond this description and/or if you want to register to attend please email Judy Visscher ([email protected])
There are two main learning objectives:
- Participants will gain an understanding of a variety of spiritual practices used by Quakers and develop a vocabulary for describing those practices
- Participants will think critically about their current spiritual practices in light of their spiritual goals and consider the ways they might augment their current spiritual practice to further their own spiritual journey
Textbook: Listening Spirituality, Volume 1: Personal Spiritual Practices Among Friends by
Patricia Loring, Openings Press, 1997. (While technically out of print, this volume is available
new online through Pendle Hill Press and used from a variety of online used book sellers.)
Please read the following pages from Listening Spirituality before the retreat.
1-16, 23-27, 31-36, 47-53, 58-68, 78-89, 93-98, 111-117, 124-132, 159-176. Or if you have time,
read the whole thing.
We look forward to seeing you at our annual gathering at Luccock Park.
Jo Ann Kidder, MGOF Clerk [email protected]
Judy Visscher, Retreat Facilitator [email protected]