A Quiet Threshold: A 5-Movement Guide to Hosting Online Spiritual Retreats
When I was asked to write about my experience of running online retreats, I sat with God (as all good Spiritual Directors do) and briefly reviewed the last few years ‘Examen- style’.
Firstly, I am deeply thankful to God for that invitation six years ago to provide a space for my weary, beaten up, over busy directees to come aside and experience in a fresh way God's startling love for them. I was in the process of organising an on-site retreat when COVID hit, and we were all forced online. And I was forced back to my favourite prayer, oh God, oh God, oh God - help! I was way out of my comfort zone - I had never led a retreat before and wasn't sure an online format would work. Wouldn’t people be too distracted by the ‘busyness’ of their everyday environments, and no one wants to sit in front of a screen for hours…
But as I sat and meditated, a thought quietly dropped into my mind, an outline structure, a framework to shape my retreat around. A framework which allowed me to ‘hold the space’ for others, not preaching or teaching but allowing them to connect with God directly (this is our charism as Spiritual Directors, and one of the joys of leading retreats). I've been using this outline structure for the last six years running several online retreats, and (more recently) on-site retreats, and surprisingly it works. This format is what I want to share with those of you who are feeling that gentle invitation to run some form of retreat, and don't quite know where to start. Who also feel, as I did, a bit overwhelmed by the prospect, and the haunting sense that there are people far better qualified than you to do this.
There are five ‘movements’ to all my retreats:
1.Entering In
A time of ‘stilling and centering’, of letting go and coming fully into the space. This can be a breath prayer, or a Lectio Divina, or some form of meditation around laying down what we are carrying and taking up what God wants to give us.
2.Encounter
A form of ‘imaginative contemplation’ where I lead people through a guided meditation to have their own encounter with God. This is the ‘heart and core’ of the retreat, the first thing I write in preparation, the theme everything else centres around. I ask ‘What aspect of God am I longing for people to encounter. What is He revealing to me at the moment - what is His invitation?’ One of the first retreats I ran was titled ‘The Welcoming Father’, and the meditation was based on the parable of the prodigal son. At that time God was re-symbolising my image of Him - from a distant retreating figure to a warm father running towards me with open arms. I longed for my retreatants to come into this space too.
3.Time Alone with God
I ask people to step away from their screens for two hours to meditate further on what He is giving them. To facilitate this, I send out a brief guide a few days beforehand with suggested exercises base on the guided meditation. There are further questions about the meditation, but also other ways of connecting – visual journalling, taking a slow meditative walk, doing a Visio Divina. My concern that being in an ‘everyday’ environment would prove to be a distraction was unfounded; the consistent feedback was that permission to ignore the everyday tasks became a powerful life-giving choice.
4.Connecting with Each Other
On gathering back, I assign people in pairs to ‘breakout rooms’ where they can share and pray together, and then as a whole group to feedback what God has been doing in the retreat. I always give people permission to skip this section if they want, and rejoin us for the final session.
5.Examen and Closing Blessing
I always end with some form of Examen (there are so many ways this can be done) which gives an opportunity for retreatants to ‘gather the graces’ from the previous few hours. I conclude with a blessing/prayer/piece of poetry (an excerpt from St Patrick’s prayer or George Herbert’s ‘Love (III)’ are favourites) and a piece of worship music which fits with the theme.
The whole retreat can be done in 4 hours – an hour for entering in and encounter, two hours for time alone with God, an hour for connecting with each other and the concluding Examen and Blessing. Though the structure remains the same, every retreat is as different as the theme which is chosen – like a vase which can hold many different bouquets of flowers…
I hope this has been of practical help to you. I have included links below to my website for further resources and details of my next retreat. For those of you sensing that desire to lead a retreat, I want to leave you with a few questions, to ask both yourself and God:
A few questions to ask both yourself and God:
What aspect of God am I longing for people to encounter?
What is He revealing to me at the moment?
What creative ways is He giving me to communicate that aspect of Himself?
Who do I want to communicate this to?
What is the next practical step I can take (however small) to respond to that desire to host a retreat?
Katy Dusting
Katy is a trained coach, Spiritual Director, counsellor, and NLP Practitioner with over 20 years of experience across IT project management and personal development. She helps everyone from young professionals to mature leaders explore their ‘inner landscape’ - identifying core values, deepening faith, and navigating life transitions. Her approach is fun, creative, and stretching, designed to foster deep self-awareness and growth.
On a personal note, she lives in SW London with her husband and two teenage daughters, and loves good food, great wine, and glamping in the sun.
You can find out more about Katy’s next on-line retreat here and download resources from her retreat here.