Presbyterian Pastors Pause for Rest and Renewal

Some 670 Presbyterian Church U.S.A pastors traveled to a mountain resort in Snowbird, Utah, to experience the first ever National Pastors Retreat, on Memorial Day weekend.

The retreat was opened to PC(USA) pastors in need of rest and revival, and was sponsored by the denomination’s six internal agencies, according to the Presbyterian News Service.

“The recent retreat was a welcome confirmation that we will have the support, encouragement and abundant grace we will need as we rise to the many challenges before us,” wrote one pastor and attendee, Nancy Kahaian.

“I enjoyed leisurely lunches and unhurried conversations with friends. I was deeply inspired by the profound insights and enduring devotion of pastors from others places,” she wrote for PNS. “ We were as free as the wind — and the Spirit — blows.”

The keynote speakers for the weekend-long event were Walter Bueggermann, worship leader James Forbes, Barbara Brown Taylor and Tony Campolo.
According to Kahaian, the mood of the pastors gathered at the center is similar to others in post-modern America.

“We are tired and frustrated, depressed and angry, encouraged and energized, grateful and blessed,” wrote Kahaian. “We are also open to the continuing work of trying to discern the meanings of our vocation, and we recognizing the need for a courageous and creative willingness to do what God calls us to do.”