Lenten Border Retreat

LENTEN BORDER RETREAT details:

• • When: Tues – Thurs, March 25-28 (the fourth day, March 28, is an optional day of service/immersion at the border)
  • Where: Episcopal Church of the Apostles, Oro Valley, AZ (north of Tucson) and the U.S./Mexico Border

• Who: Episcopal Migration Caucus, Episcopal Migration Response Network, and friends
• Cost: Registration –  $100/person (includes 3 lunches) + your own lodging, transportation, and other meals. Please DO NOT make travel and lodging arrangements until we confirm that we have reached the minimum group size. If we do, participants will be able to make arrangements with each other via Zoom and email to reduce costs by sharing lodging and rental cars. The group will meet via Zoom the week of Feb. 24 to plan logistics.

In the Lenten season of reorientation and transformation, immerse your heart and spirit in stories of forced migration from a child’s perspective. The 3-day “Leaving Home: Immigration Through the Eyes of Children” retreat, held at an Episcopal parish north of Tucson, includes deep reflection on the human realities of migration and activities that build empathy for migrating families. The fourth day (optional) will include humanitarian service or spiritual immersion at the U.S./Mexico border, options to be determined. 

By exploring the art and stories of migrating children, and through immersive activities, the participant is able to look past the rhetoric surrounding “immigration” and better understand why families leave their homes to start a new life in the U.S. and what sacrifices they make on their treacherous journey. The goal is for retreat participants, equipped with this awareness, to return home with ideas how to engage in positive action in their own communities. For additional details, view the brochure here.

NOTE: The retreat will be videotaped to create educational materials for Episcopalians as well as other denominations and faith traditions. We will be videotaping retreat activities and also some participants’ reflections of why they do this work, how they do this work, what they have learned. All participants are required to sign a release form in advance of the retreat. (The service component will not be recorded.) 

To enable full participation of each person, the group size is capped at 20. For the security of all involved and the host parish, retreat participation is by invitation only so please do not promote publicly (church newsletter, social media, etc.). If you know of someone who might like to attend but has not received an invitation, please share their contact information with a retreat organizer.

RETREAT FORM BELOW

Leaving Home Retreat Registration Form

Retreat Dates: March 25, 26, 27 2025

Thank you for registering for this retreat that will bring us together to reflect and draw strength from each other. This special retreat experience will be used to create resources to be used by the Episcopal Church and beyond through storytelling and videography to  live compassion for our neighbor. Please complete this form and send with your check to the address below.

First name:__________________________ Last Name: ________________________

Street Address:_________________________________________________________

City: _____________________________  State: ________________ Zip: __________

Email: ________________________________________________________________

Preferred Phone:________________________________

Emergency Contact Name:________________________________________________

Emergency Contact Phone and relationship to you:_____________________________

Affiliation:______________________________________________________________

If you have any dietary restriction, please list them here. Otherwise, write “None.”

_____________________________________________________________________

Payment: The special cost for this retreat is $100/person. That covers lunch and snacks for 3 days and materials for the retreat.

Please pay by check. Make your check payable to “Church of the Apostles” and in the memo line write “Leaving Home Retreat.” Mail to:

Church of the Apostles

ATTN: Leaving Home Retreat

PO Box 68435

Oro Valley, Arizona 85737-8435