Would your group like to go on retreat, but don’t know who you could get to put one together, much less find someone to lead it? Deacon Scott Gilfillan has wide-ranging experience leading, promoting, and structuring impactful retreats for churches, non-profits, businesses, and religious entities. He will work with you to tailor the theme to address your desired goals and create a format that perfectly blends the time desired for presentations, reflection, group discussion, and social interaction. As the former director of a large retreat center, he can also help with nuts and bolts, navigating the essential details needed for a successful retreat: promotion, registration, payments, and follow-up.
Retreats for Spiritual Enrichment
Recent Retreats and Workshops
Life in the Eucharist Retreat.
Explore the profound significance of the four verbs Jesus used both in the multiplication of the bread to the Last Supper – take, bless, break, and share. “Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is my body.” (Mk 14:22)
More importantly, find out how you live this Eucharistic action in your life as one who is taken, blessed, broken, and meant to be shared with the world.
Advent with Saint Ignatius
What does Saint Ignatius have to teach you about Advent? You’d be surprised! As the master of spiritual direction, he can guide you during Advent. Two techniques in particular with bring life to your Advent, imagination, and colloquy. Using the rich Advent scriptural passages, you’ll be invited to place yourself in each scene and see how the infant Jesus may be speaking to you. You’ll also be introduced to colloquy, and have a simple prayerful conversation with the leading Advent figures.
Spiritual Exercises for the New Year
The retreat will distill the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius and other spiritual fathers and mothers into a routine you can put into your everyday life. With an engaging presentation style and hands-on examples, you’ll be guided by several spiritual exercises which you’ll practice during the retreat and carry with you throughout the New Year.
Retreat into the Passion of Jesus
Each year, the Palm Sunday and Good Friday liturgies feature a reading of the Passion of Jesus Christ. It’s a powerful and richly textured telling of the final hours of Jesus. It is also the core of the Gospel message and the foundation of the Christian faith. This retreat is for those who want to make the most of these sacred liturgies by understanding the historical context and reflecting upon the application to their own life. There will be a balanced blend of scriptural background, topics for reflection, and prayer. It’s a great way to prepare for Holy Week.
Living the Beatitudes
Jesus climbed a mountain, looked at the multitude following him, and uttered one word that completely changed their lives: Blessed. Known as the “Beatitudes” or blessings, Jesus spelled out the secret to true and everlasting happiness with eight simple yet paradoxical promises of hope. Contrary to the message of the world, the secret to true happiness can be found in hungering, thirsting, being persecuted, living meekly, mourning, and being merciful. This retreat is an invitation to ponder this paradox in your own life and experience how you can immerse your life in God’s blessing and become a blessing to the world.
Sample of Retreats and Workshops Presented to Various Groups
The Little Flower’s Message for Seniors. Even though Saint Therese died young, she shares wisdom for all ages in her “Story of a Soul.” What words of hope and encouragement does she have you and in your stage of life?
How to make angels a bigger part of your spiritual life. Angels are everywhere. They are God’s messengers, given to us to light, guard, rule, and guide us on our spiritual journey. Learn more about angels, and how they can deepen your spiritual life.
Lord, teach us [a new way] to pray. In a prayer life, it is sometimes easy to experience dryness. Maybe it’s time to revisit ancient prayer practices and see if they might jump-start your prayer life and open the fire hose again.
How to live with spiritual consolations and desolations. Topics might be what are spiritual desolations and consolations, where they come from, what to do when spiritual desolation strikes, and how to grow in spiritual consolations.
How to grow in the spiritual life. This could be a general topic, and add elements that would help seniors grow spiritually
A new look at Catholic spirituality. A survey of the rich history of Catholic Spirituality, and how this understanding would deepen our spiritual life.
How to bear fruit even when life is in the rearview mirror. Many people have gone from a very active ministry to something much less. How can a mature Christian continue to bear spiritual fruit, and what does ‘flourishing’ look like in various stages of life?
How to find interior freedom. Jacques Phillippe’s book “Interior Freedom” is a modern classic. Using his concepts will explore what keeps us from discovering our own ‘interior freedom’
The Spirituality of Mother Teresa. Mother Teresa, now Saint Teresa of Calcutta, had a beautiful, multifaceted spiritual life, some of which was only discovered after her death. She has much to teach us about being “God’s little pencil” in service to the world.
Retreats for Planning, Bonding, and Visioning
- Non-profits. Retreats for non-profits vary depending upon the needs of the organization. A non-profit just starting could benefit from a retreat to solidify responsibilities and unite the collective vision. A mature non-profit may find its next opportunity by spending a day away dreaming and envisioning that next step.
- Businesses. Deacon Scott’s first career was as a top manager for several Fortune 100 companies. As such, he facilitated numerous goal-setting and annual planning retreats and workshops, complete with follow-up action plans.
- Groups. A planning retreat might be just what your group needs to find a common purpose, bond as co-laborers, or tighten up the organization’s role and purpose.