Metropolitan United Church

Hello all - here I am, finally checking in after i dropped off the face of the planet about a month ago - a month that has passed in slow motion, in the blink of an eye  Am I in Narnia?  Almost.  I'm in Costa Rica, at Hacienda del Sol (really want to put a link in there but am not able to for some reason..if you'd like to get an idea of where I am, cut and past this link http://www.sunvacation.org/school/index.html into your browser), a retreat centre near the small pueblo of San Juanillo, Costa Rica.  It's really quite in the middle of nowhere.  A half hour walk to the phone (and the beach, and a soda called Mundo Feliz where they have awesome fresh squeezed lemonade.)  Through the modern miracle of satellite, however, we have internet!  It's pretty touch and go though.I am working with a very inspiring group of 5 other Rebalancing Bodyworkers, and 10 lovely and encouraging students, teaching and practising bodywork, anatomy, Marshall Rosenberg's non-violent communication (again, wanted a link but...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonviolent_communication).  I feel blessed and fortunate to be part of such an amazing group in such a beautiful location!
We have a really "go-with-the-flow" style to organizing the days and lessons, which to my mathematician brain is a bit of a challenge!  Not to mention that I have to always be both prepared to give an anatomy lesson, and also let it go if we run out of time.

I recently received an email from Rev. Dr. Anne Simmonds, Honorary Pastoral
Minister at Met, who is offering a 4th annual Workshop and Retreat for Women in Belize this winter.

The program is designed for women who want time apart from their busy lives to  restore body, mind, heart and spirit. The fully integrated week in the beautiful sunny warmth of Belize has three main components:

When I was in Burkina Faso with my sister this summer, I learned the saying "Doni doni kono nita niama" which means, in Jula (the language of the Jula people who live in Bobo Dioulasso), "Slowly, slowly the little bird builds its nest." This had become a bit of a motto for me as I work on launching the website, and passing responsibility over to the organization, one twig at a time.