Annual Work Day

Annual Work Day

A Day of Song, Community and Shared Work
with Stefan Andre Waligur

Rolling Ridge Community
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
September 7, 2009

We joyfully invite you to come to our Annual Work Day at Rolling Ridge for the last day of our Peace Pilgrimage, where we gathered together in the course of this past month in a daily rhythm of sung prayer, silence, shared meals, common work, conversation, reflection, and play.

Can work together be a retreat?

We think so. That's why we often end this day of shared work with more energy and joy than when we began. As we work through the day, we are restored with good conversations, reconnection with others who love this land, a simple shared meal from the Rolling Ridge garden, singing together in the Retreat House, and the delight of stretching and moving our bodies in new ways.

Shared work can be prayer together and a time that renews our soul. Join us at the Retreat House for this special day. Bring your work gloves and boots, and don't forget a joyful heart. We will provide a retreat house that needs to be cleaned, trails that need to be cleared, fire wood that needs to be cut, and land that needs to be loved.

Invite your friends. Please let us know if you are planning to come. You can call or e-mail us at the address given below.

Stefan Andre Waligur is a contemplative musician/composer, retreat leader, and peace activist connected for many years with the Church of the Saviour in Washington DC. For the past ten years Stefan has been going to Taize, an ecumenical Christian monastic community in France where most weeks during spring and summer between one and six thousand young people descend upon the small community to join them three times a day in smple chants, common meals, reflection on questions of spirituality and social justice, and simple work and play.

Come for as much of the day as you are able. Some may want to register for the Peace Retreat on Sunday, and stay the night. If you are early birds, join us for sung prayer at 8:00 am and breakfast at 9:00 am. If you are late starters, join us for common work at 10:00 am, followed by sung prayer and lunch. If you're able, join us at the end of the day for sung prayer and a closing supper. Please bring something to contribute to our pot luck lunch. We will provide breakfast and a closing dinner.

Please RSVP via e-mail to Bob Sabath at bsabath@rollingridge.net or phone him at 202-531-7572 and let him know when you will plan to arrive, and whether you would like to come the day before and spend the night in the Retreat House.