I could almost read their minds: "Oh, oh, she has that ‘wild-eyed’ look. It would be better not to inquire about her retreat unless you have an hour to spend hearing ALL about it."

    My friends all knew that I tend to be a compulsive note taker. Keenly aware of my poor memory for details, I have honed my skills at note taking. And, as much as I enjoyed the retreats and workshops I attended, especially those where I found new insights, new ideas or new skills, the experience always seemed somehow incomplete unless I could find a friend or group with whom to share my notes and learning.

    With this background you can perhaps appreciate my dilemma. I had just experienced the incredible God At 2000 conference ... a two day symposium featuring a stellar cast of religious thinkers from the worlds of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, telling their own experiences of God from their diverse traditions and telling the stories of their own personal faiths. It was a feast for the mind and heart, and I had taken frantic notes to try to get down on paper some small part of the wisdom, spirit and humor spoken those days.

    Then came the same frustration, "Where was the forum to de-brief, to re-visit these notes, and to talk with others who did or did not have the opportunity to attend this event?"

    The next week, at our regular ecumenical Bible study, the question was asked, "Did you enjoy God at 2000?" The ensuing discussion lasted the whole hour and revealed that four of us had attended at the site or at a downlink and "just happened" to have our notes with us.

    My friend, Skip Jackson, pastor at the First Methodist Church in Lebanon, had the most incredibly complete notes, including direct quotes from several speakers. We begged him to organize and print out for us those notes. Intrigued, I think, with our interest, he admitted that most of his notes from conferences and workshops never get looked at again once he is home from the experience. At our continued insistence, he reluctantly agreed to make time to print copies for each member of the group and he gave these to us at our meeting the next week.

    Skip’s ability at note taking was enhanced by his computer skills and the result was six pages of wonderful notes and quotes from the seven conference participants. Then, following his format, I got busy and put my notes together and printed them out for the same Bible study group members. Now I felt like I had closure and a kind of completeness to this wonderful group of lectures.

It is like the icing on the cake for me to share with interested others my "learning" from a good workshop or retreat.

Helen is deacon of St. Martin, Lebanon. She is also a member of the diocesan Department of Christian Education. Find her at hrichard@proaxis.com