Summer is over. Maybe your vacation was not so relaxing or perhaps it was wonderful and you hated to leave that tropical paradise. Perhaps you are a mother or grandmother who needs a retreat to decompress from a summer spent in caring for children. Or you could be a woman who is struggling with your identity and the norms and expectations of society, which can sometimes be both unrealistic and impossible to live up to.
Center for Faith & the Art’s theatre company, St. Thomas Players, recently produced Pride & Prejudice. This led CFA to consider continuing Jane Austen’s message. Austen, using gentle humor, challenged her society’s perceptions about what people should be and looked at who they truly were. Women in her day were restricted by rules that dictated beauty standards, marriage rules, and limited opportunities to pursue their own desires. Today, women face similar challenges in a society that still has idealized standards of beauty and success. The Be-YOU-tiful retreat is CFA’s attempt to explore those false standards and explore true beauty. Come join us for two and a half days of film, celebration, and workshops.
The Center for Faith and the Arts welcomes you to participate in our retreat, Be-YOU-tiful, which will take place on September 15-17. The retreat kicks off with a film presented by the Catawba College Community Forum film series, on the evening of Friday, September 15th at 6:30 pm in the Tom Smith Auditorium in the Ketner Hall on campus. Our Cinema CFA film, Embrace, explores the issue of body image and celebrates the beauty and diversity of all women from the perspective the body, mind, and spirit. The film is sponsored by Dr. Gayle Yatawara, a local physician. Dr. Yatawara and Catawba professor Dr. Erin Wood have played a pivotal role in the design and planning of this weekend retreat. The film will be followed by a panel discussion organized by Dr. Wood. As a part of our collaboration with Catawba College, students will also be participating in the retreat at no charge.
On Saturday, September 16th, a variety of workshops will be held at the Center for Faith & the Arts. Participants will be able to self-select the workshops that are in their area of interest. Some of the workshops include journaling, yoga, creative movement, aromatherapy, nutrition, writing & painting, and more! Saturday evening will consist of a program to celebrate our beauty, which will include a performance by the ladies from Queens of D’Nile, after which we will open the floor for impromptu dancing and drumming. The retreat ends with a meditative retrospective on Sunday afternoon to process the weekend and plan strategies for inner peace and recognition of our beauty and strength, going forward. The registration fee for the entire weekend is $50.00, which includes lunch on Saturday. Scholarships are available, contact the Center at 704-647-0999 to inquire. The Center is located at 207 West Harrison Street in Salisbury. The space for the center is provided through the generosity of Haven Lutheran Church and is located in the education building in the rear of the church. More details can be found on CFA’s website at www.faithart.org and on our Facebook page.
