Retreat Confirmation

Possible outline

1. The retreatants are gathered facing the potter's wheel.
   The song Abba father is sung as a pot is made on the potter's wheel. Ray tells the story of Jeremiah and how God talks to him through the working of a potter.
2. Getting the wobbles out.
   How do we center?
3. Inviting someone up to make a pot.
   This is an opening to the idea of storytelling our past and why we must listen to God's voice. Ray's story of listening to God's voice.
4. What keeps us from listening to God?
   The making of a large pot and writing the words that represent when and/or why we do not listen to God. This exercise becomes a prayer service. This leads to a dialogue of scars and memories. Scars trap us in the past and memories are transforming for ourselves and others.
5. Break
6. Playing with clay.
   Handing out clay to the retreatants and letting them work with it to open a dialogue of short term and long term goals.
7. The goblet: Making a goblet that represents us.
   The goblet doesn't know fully what it is and what it will become. The goblet is joined at it's most vulnerable point which then becomes its strongest point. The goblet receives the mark of the potter, is transformed and goes into use.
8. Close with the Our Father or a song

Possible Themes

• God is the way the truth and the light.
• Being centered on God.
• Listening to His voice.
• We are the body of Christ and this gives us an awesome responsibility and awesome possibilities.
• Do not limit yourself in Christ.
• Friendship; where we expose our vulnerabilities is where we create the strongest bonds.

These themes will be experienced in a full-bodied way through the use of song, dialogue and the making of pottery.