Living Waters
No one who drinks the water that I shall give will ever be thirsty again (John 4: 14)
Aims:
- To provide teachers with a profound source of refreshment and revitalisation in a profession
- with high rates of burn-out and “rust-out.”
- To invest in the personal growth of teachers over a shared journey of six two-night retreats, allowing them to connect with their passion for teaching and also to articulate what is good and supportive within the Catholic
- Tradition
- To enable teachers to share a journey of companionship, faith and exploration with a group of like-minded staff from similar schools.
Description:
Under the gentle and wise guidance of experienced retreat leaders, Dr Michael Downey and Sister Rita Carroll,
a group of about 8 staff, from usually four different schools, under take a shared journey of six retreats over a period of six terms. The principles and practices developed by Parker Palmer for American teachers are applied to our context, allowing individuals to focus on and grow in their own inner motivation for teaching. The other main outcome is that teachers are much better able to articulate how their role takes on a particular emphasis within a Catholic and Augustinian context. All the retreats currently take place within the beautiful, friendly and relaxing surrounds of Santa Teresa Spirituality Centre at Ormiston. Each retreat begins with dinner at 6pm on the
Wednesday of a given week and concludes after lunch on the Friday. Probably the best insight into this program is gained by asking the six current members of staff who are or who have participated.