RECOMMEND A LEADER
IRL needs to find more wonderful retreat leaders. If you know someone who might be one of the women or men that we are looking for, please let us know!
The hard question is what kind of person does IRL need to lead retreats for the “lost sheep”? There was a story on the “West Wing” TV show that is a little helpful in this effort.
This guy's walking down the street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep he can't get out. A doctor passes by and the guy shouts up, 'Hey you. Can you help me out?' The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts up, 'Father, I'm down in this hole can you help me out?' The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a friend walks by, 'Hey, Joe, it's me can you help me out?' And the friend jumps in the hole. Our guy says, 'Are you stupid? Now we're both down here.' The friend says, 'Yeah, but I've been down here before and I know the way out.'
IRL really does need men and women who can say to retreatants that they know something about the way out of the ‘hole’ they have found their life to be in. This does not mean that all of the IRL retreat leaders have lived with the same type of problems as the retreatants. However, it does mean that they understand these problems and have been ministering men and women who have suffered with these types of challenges and had success in guiding them toward spiritual health.
Please let us know if you can recommend anyone as a possible leader for the IRL retreat programs. Contact Patrick Cleary-Burns, IRL Executive Director, by phone at 216.288.1687 or email.