So, the idea of a Zoom retreat for several days was rather unappealing. We prayed the daily office, listened to reflections by the Bishop and discussed them in break-out groups. In between the Zoom sessions, we had space for creative activities and silent reflection. Retreat is usually defined by the removal of an individual from their day-to-day environment, away from the busyness and distraction. But a retreat on Zoom is also a retreat at home. While in the past our homes might have been places of retreat from work, in the last six months our homes have become the stage for all aspects of our lives and retreat on Zoom is no escape from that at all. There is no dramatic ?and yet? to my experience. My Zoom retreat did not feel the same as silence in the countryside. But there were moments of new insights and learning. There were times that felt like deep re-connection to God, the reassertion of the truth that God is not just in the silence, the countryside, or the retreat centre, but in all. It is in God, wherever we are, that we live and move and have our being. We also had to be disciplined, to choose not to look at the email or go to the shops (I did not always succeed at not being distracted). We had to accept that we were at home, and not elsewhere, we could not completely ignore our family members for three days. Instead, it was about creating small spaces for encounter, small spaces set aside to be with God.
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