Dates/Time:
“What is the focus of this retreat?”
– resuscitate our innocence
– hone our generative ridiculousness capacities
– and explore “Angelic Troublemaking!”
“Why come to this retreat?”
In a world of taking our lives oh-so-seriously, you’re invited to “return to square one and start over like children.” (Matthew 18:3) Consider this a permission slip to explore innocence and ruckus as pathways that support or shatter life. It’s time to shed self-defeating behaviors or beliefs that straight-jacket us from our glorious spontaneity, from abundant life (John 10:10), and keep us playing too small. -Matthew Lyda
“We need, in every community, a group of angelic troublemakers.”
― Bayard Rustin
What to expect:
In a land of climate change, chronic stress, breakneck pace, explosions, and dead of winter, write yourself a permission slip to recall your potent resources and engage in essential tasks in masculine maturity. The rustic cabins at Circle Pines include 4 beds per cabin. Each of the 4 bed frames sit on the floor; there are no bunk beds. View the cabins at this link: circlepinescenter.org
Collaborate with other intrepid men in:
- Experiments with child-likeness
- Invitations to play and Holy Foolery
- Essential conversations around compulsions
- Opportunities for joy
- Antidotes to burnout
- Balm for the stress men carry
- Laughter
- Drumming
- Nature Wanders
- Ritual
- Practices of presence
- Council
- Embodiment experiments
- Silence and song
Related Quotes and Recommended Reading
Recovering the Wild by Matthew Lyda
The child-likeness we decline to cultivate morphs into childishness. The sacred foolery we fail to activate descends into foolishness.
And only two letters separate an unholy ruckus from a holy ruckus.
-Matthew Lyda
The retreat leader:
Matthew Ray Lyda –
Matthew Ray Lyda is, first and foremost, a goofy goober who drives a 2012 Honda minivan sporting a unicorn license plate. Secondly, an inhabitant of the foothills of South Carolina, the former hunting grounds of the Cherokee people, and thirdly, a fan of many Kevin Costner films (esp. Robin Hood & Dances with Wolves). He’s served overseas in Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, and Kolkata.
You can learn more about the Holy Ruckus retreat Matthew has created here: Holy Ruckus
Married to his best friend and college sweetheart, he fathers three gloriously exuberant children who could not care less about his certifications/training/qualifications, including:
• Co-founder of Recover The Wild
• Authorship of Recover The Wild & more poetry found HERE.
• Spiritual Director (Oasis Ministries)
• Eco-psychology Certificate (Pacifica Graduate Institute)
• PSAP (Pastoral Sex Addiction Professional)
• RAE (Rainbow Advocate Educator)
• MATS (Masters in Theological Studies)
• Membership with IITAP (Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals)
• Formation in CIT (Center for Intercultural Training)
“This is the fruit of my dismantled “prayer filter.” These prayers were birthed in the trenches of a loved one’s suicide, mass shootings in America, and my own inconsistencies. Other wild writings were scribbled by a quiet river with family, born in solitude at state parks, or from a longing to be a more generative husband and father. 100% of the profits go to support the recovery of men and their families. Partner with Recover the Wild at patreon.com/recoverthewild.”
