Thrive Update
8.31.26
Our Thrive participants spent their first full week together. It was a very full week!
Our 5 Thrivers - Hope, Aydan, Marissa, Q, and Geo -
experienced new ways of praying
We began creating a “toolbox” of spiritual practices with Centering Prayer and Breath Prayer
developed a Community Covenant for their life together;
We explored the group’s values and discussed how those might be reflected in our communal life; a covenant of practices, behaviors, and attitudes was crafted by the group
met with their therapist and Spiritual Directors;
each participant will have the opportunity to meet twice a month with a therapist and once a month with a Spiritual Director. This team will help the Thrivers develop and maintain their mental and spiritual health and gain tools for thriving in the next chapter of their lives. Our therapist is trained in Ecopsychology and our Spiritual Directors all have a deep commitment to Ecotheology, making them a great fit for this program centered in God’s creation.
cleaned the Retreat Center while moose grazed right outside the windows;
check out the amazing photos of these huge creatures just steps from the Retreat Center. The group did a great job keeping their focus on the tasks of their internship, even with these enormous distractions!
explored baptismal identity from paddle boats;
after a little rain delay, we enjoyed a sunny day on the pond, reflecting on how we are all floating on God’s love
learned about life in Christian community from Henri Nouwen and Diedrich Bonhoeffer through Guest Guides, Rev. Chris Brown and Rev. Eric Sunderland;
Chris and Eric really should take their show on the road. The Thrivers were enthralled with their biographical and theological knowledge of these important figures and decided they should have done the reading Amy assigned after all
got lost on a hike in the rain;
Amy promised to hike all the trails before she leads them astray again, but the views might have almost been worth the extra mile and a half
journaled about what they treasure at the mouth of an old gold mine;
object lessons abound in the mountains, and no one fell in the giant hole in the ground - for the win
created Vision Boards with Guest Guide, Jessica Lesko;
the Thrivers learned what a magazine is and enjoyed cutting them to shreds. They were so proud of their creations that they made a display of them in the cabin
created a visual expression of their life/faith journey;
sitting by a river journaling about how your life is like a river? Yes, please!
learned about living safely with wildlife from Highlands staff;
just in time, because that evening, they…
had their first bear encounter;
got ServeSafe certified for kitchen work
just in time, because they…
did a lot of kitchen work!
attended worship at First Presbyterian Church of Ft. Collins where they heard Amy preach, got voluntold to help move furniture, enjoyed some delicious coffee beverages, and shared about their experience so far
Thank you all for your continued prayers and support of the Thrive Pilot Program. We still have a small gap in funding, so if you feel called to contribute financially to this life-giving program, please send a check to the Presbytery of Plains and Peaks at 531 S College Ave, Fort Collins, CO 80524 and put THRIVE in the memo line. Any amount is helpful and appreciated! We’re also looking for some comfy porch chairs for the Thriver cabin if you have some patio furnishings you no longer need.
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