How to use a Retreat Guide in a group setting

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Retreat Guides can be used alone – as a springboard for personal meditation – or with a group.  Here are some ways you can use a Retreat Guide in a group setting:

• Gather together, start with prayer, and then watch the Intro and First Meditation together.  At the end of the First Meditation, spend 5 – 10 minutes in silent mediation/prayer with the reflection questions.  Then watch the Second Meditation and have 5 – 10 minutes of silent time.  Lastly, watch the Conference and use the meditation questions as the springboard for personal prayer or group discussion.
• You can use this format to gather in person, or virtually. If virtual, someone could run the videos (sharing their screen e.g. using zoom or any other video conference platform), pausing for silent reflection.
• The Conferences (last video of each Retreat Guide) are designed to be more of a stand-alone video offering practical applications for living out the Retreat Guide theme.  They always work well with the Meditations, but you could use the Conference separately for a shorter gathering to kick off a topic for discussion.
• Seasonally, you may want to use a Retreat Guide at home or with a closer group of friends.  For Advent or Lent, you could select one Retreat Guide a week and watch one video each night and discuss it as a family.

These are just some suggestions. Feel free to experiment with a format that works best for your group. With almost 60 Retreat Guides, you have a great library of retreats to pick from. Enjoy!