Facilitate:
to make easier, to help bring about, to facilitate growth.
The facilitated retreat held at St. Peter’s, a Benedictine monastery tucked away in a quiet corner of central Saskatchewan, was an ideal working model for the ten writers pictured here.
I had the honour of facilitating the growth I witnessed over a long weekend in November. I gave a ‘craft talk’ on the first night. My message about the essential art of deep listening is one that facilitates the close attention required to pull ideas out of the air.
It’s never easy to find quiet time in our busy lives but everyone took full advantage of the peaceful rooms in the abbey. Silence was broken only for our private daytime conversations. I met with each writer to chat about their work, address questions, explore themes, and discuss books. Come evening, many of us relaxed in the common area with a glass of wine or a cup of tea. We traded stories, laughed. Friendships popped up.
In truth, it was the writers who facilitated the deep changes I read and heard in their poems and stories. I was on hand to help bring about growth, just as Merriam-Webster defines the verb that framed our time together.
The bi-annual retreats organized by the Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild occur every November and April. The Guild has developed a winning formula. My thanks to everyone.