Retreats » Fall 2009 Retreat
Love on the Maas
European Unitarian Universalist Fall Retreat 2009
Maastricht, Netherlands, 30 Oct-1 Nov
REGISTRATION DEADLINE September 30th!!!
The Netherlands Fellowship Retreat team warmly invite you to join us at the StayOkay Youth Hostel in Maasstricht, Netherlands, a new retreat sites.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
Speaker
Our speaker, the Rev. Kate Braestrup, graduated from Bangor Theological Seminary in 2004, and was ordained the same year by the First Universalist Church of Rockland, Maine. In 2007, she received the prestigious Melcher Award, which recognizes contributions to the cause of liberal religion, for her memoir entitled Here If You Need Me.
Saturday theme talk:
The theme that Kate has selected to talk about is Love.
What Happens at a Retreat?
EUU retreats offer something for all ages. People begin arriving late Friday afternoon, but the first event is dinner that evening. After this, an evening activity helps everyone get to know one another. The theme talk takes place on Saturday morning, and after lunch there is a choice of various workshops and other activities. Saturday evening generally includes a youth presentation and will be followed by a cabaret-theme talent show. On Sunday morning, there is a worship service. The retreat ends in the early afternoon after lunch.
The entire weekend is filled with activities but also opportunities to relax, meet fellow Unitarians from all over Europe, and generally have a good time. EUU retreats have been described as family reunions where newcomers feel at home right from the beginning.
Where?
The retreat will take place at the StayOkay Youth Hostel, Maasboulevard 101, Maastricht, NL.
Every EUU retreat location has something special. Whether it’s the forests that adjoin the site or the presence of a wellness center and sauna, the location always adds to the experience. So let it be with Maastricht.
Our site is in the heart of downtown – only a few minutes stroll from the very center – with ample opportunity to visit the site where fearsome mosasaurus swam free (Cretaceous period 71-65 million years ago), where the Romans set up a town to connect important cities on the northern edge of empire (you can still walk the road they built), the city where D’Artagnan (the 4th of the 3 musketeers) died in battle (1673) and on and on.
We hope that you will join us in the ‘bourgondian’ center of delight (and bring your friends).
Youth Programs
Our UU children and teens are an integral and very important part of the retreat. Youth activities are scheduled to coincide with adult activities so that parents can participate fully while their youngsters are having a great time. Contact the retreat host committee at YouthRE@europeanuu.eu. for details of the program or if you wish to help out.
Child care will be provided for children under 3 and is coordinated separately from the Youth Programs.
Music
Enjoy a variety of musical opportunities, both listening and participation, throughout the weekend. We are fortunate that many of our members and friends are talented musicians. Please bring an instrument if you play one, and volunteer to perform at the Saturday cabaret talent night. All are welcome to join the EUU choir which will sing at the Sunday service. In the evenings after the official program, we gather informally to listen to and sing along with music until the wee hours of the morning!
Workshops
If you would like to offer a workshop on Saturday afternoon, indicate it on your registration and you will be contacted. Workshops in the past have been quite varied, including such topics as journal writing, yoga, UU or local history, poetry, fellowship building, and spiritual practices. One of the workshops will probably be a walk about the town with a local guide.
Registration
The deadline for registering is Wednesday, September 30. If you register after that, we would still like to see you at the retreat, and we will try to give you a room if we can arrange it with the hostel, but room choices will be limited, and you will also have to pay an additional €15 late fee per adult. We strongly encourage you to register as early as possible. Click the link at the top of this page to register.Paper invitations: To keep the budget under control, invitations will be sent by email wherever possible, but we will send a paper invitation to people without email. If you do not have email or your account is not functioning well, please contact Bill Britt +31 (0)15 369 2614 for a paper invitation.
Rooms: People at the HOSTEL retreat site will stay in 4-5-6 bed rooms, with private shower and WC. Contact your friends with whom you would like to share a room! The number of single and double rooms in the HOTELS is limited - be sure to register early if you want to reserve one of these.Prices for the weekend include your room for Friday and Saturday nights, all meals from Friday evening through Sunday lunch, and coffee breaks. EUU members (adult and young adult) receive a €10 discount. Note the really low prices for children! There is no charge for infants under the age of 2.
PRICE TABLE showing cost (in EUROS) per person according to age and selected room type
| Room description
Prices: per person per weekend |
Adult
|
Young adult 19 – 25 yrs
|
Teens 13 – 18
|
Children 2 – 12
|
Infants Under 2
|
| Hostel : 4 – 6 beds with private bathroom (WC & shower) | € 175
|
€ 140
|
€ 90
|
€ 50
|
€ 0
|
| Hotel: two-bed room with private bathroom (WC & shower) | € 200
|
€ 190
|
€ 190
|
€ 50 as 3rd person |
€ 0
|
| Hotel: Single room with private bathroom (WC & shower) | €235
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
Social Action and English Book Exchange We continue to collect used eyeglasses and cases for Burkina Faso, and used corks and used postage stamps for charities in Germany.
We'll have the usual used book exchange at the retreat. Bring those books that are just taking up space on your shelves - crime novels are always popular! Make a small cash contribution for each book you take - we will donate the money to a worthy cause.
EUU Retreat Grants
EUU strongly believes that no one should miss a retreat because of a lack of funds, so we have a grant fund. If you can contribute to this fund, please include your contribution when you register for the retreat. To apply for grant assistance, simply write to EUU Treasurer Peter Jarrett at Treasurer@europeanuu.eu or (+33) 01 30 82 02 80 stating the reasons for your request. All grant applications are handled confidentially.
Questions? Send them to: RetreatCommittee@europeanuu.eu
We really hope to see you in Maastricht. It's going to be a great weekend!
The registration deadline is 30 September !!!