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Seabeck Annual Church Retreat

September 23 - 25 in 2011

Alicia at Seabeck
Alicia at Seabeck

Register now!

Please fill out a registration form and submit it to the office with your payment.

Saturday discussion program

A Better World is Possible: from sustainability to resiliency and beyond

“A successful response to peak oil and climate change will look more like a party than a protest march.”  Richard Heinberg

What better place than EUUC’s fall retreat to contemplate humanity’s niche in the natural world, to revel in Earth’s beauty, and to engage in reflection and conversation about our relationship with our home planet and our responsibility toward it and one another.

Extending this past year’s theme of sustainability and the carbon diet which was all about cutting back, reducing, consuming less, doing without, our explorations at Seabeck will delve into the concept of resiliency—an idea that has captured the interest and action of communities around the world. 

We’ll examine what people are doing today to transition from the twilight of the Age of Cheap Oil to engage whole communities in a transformative process that accepts the crucial need to reverse course and develop new, viable, ecologically sustainable urban and rural systems. We’ll explore a vision that encompasses a materially leaner but inwardly richer human experience.

Join us as EUUC continues the process of transitioning, as individuals and as a community, from professions of belief to belief in action.
Recommended readings

  • for the family – “Common Ground: The Water, Earth and Air We Share” by Molly Bang
  • for a fun, quick and spiritually challenging read – “No impact man: the adventures of a guilty liberal who attempts to save the planet, and the discoveries he makes about himself and our way of life in the process” by Colin Beavan
  • for learning the nuts and bolts of the transition movement – “The Transition Handbook—from oil dependency to local resilience” by Rob Hopkins

Why you should go on the Seabeck retreat

The annual church retreat is at the Seabeck Conference Center‍ on beautiful Hood Canal. The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Whidbey Island and the Woodinville Unitarian Universalist Church join us there for the weekend. We promise a weekend of relaxation, fellowship, programs, and fun. For more information, contact Vicky Curry.

Grassy hills and trees at Seabeck
Beach and trees at Seabeck

Accommodations

We spend two nights in rooms of the Inn, old houses, and newer buildings. You can request a room for your family, or you can share a room with others from the congregation. Sheets, blankets, and towels are provided. The Seabeck staff prepare five delicious meals which are served family-style around tables for eight. This is an excellent time to chat with members and friends from church.

Activities

Come spend time relaxing, having fun and connecting with new and old friends. Friday evening we check in and visit with each other.

On Saturday morning we have separate programs for adults and children but with a shared theme. In the afternoon, people play games, row on the lagoon, stroll through the woods, hike to the old cemetery, or simply sit in a rocking chair on the porch and soak up the conversation and sun—we hope. Don't forget to bring your bathing suit for the annual Polar Bear Swim on Saturday afternoon! Saturday evening we gather for the popular variety show.

Sunday morning the congregation gathers at the Chapel in the Woods for a service. Then, it's time to pack up the cars and enjoy lunch at the Inn before heading home.