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You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures for evermore. ~Psalm 16:11 Saturday, October 20 (9 am to 12 pm).  This year’s theme: “What Brings You Joy…” This year’s fall retreat to Blowing Rock is falling three weeks before the November elections. In this topsy-turvy political, social world the past few years have brought us much anxiety and unrest. At our retreat this year, we ask participants to share with us “what brings you joy in these unsettling times.” Using the book The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, our Associate Pastor David Mateo, Youth and Young Adult Minister Ian McPherson and Rinnie Orr ask participants to bring their “joy” with them to the mountains. We will gather and share what brings us joy in these unsettling times. About The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu have survived more than fifty years of exile and the soul-crushing violence of oppression. Despite their hardships—or, as they would say, because of them—they are two of the most joyful people on the planet. In April 2015, Archbishop Tutu traveled to the Dalai Lama's home in Dharamsala, India, to celebrate His Holiness's eightieth birthday and to create what they hoped would be a gift for others. They looked back on their long lives to answer a single burning question: How do we find joy in the face of life's inevitable suffering? They traded intimate stories, teased each other continually, and shared their spiritual practices. By the end of a week filled with laughter and punctuated with tears, these two global heroes had stared into the abyss and despair of our time and revealed how to live a life brimming with joy. They share their daily Joy Practices that anchor their own emotional and spiritual lives. (Retreat participants will receive a copy of The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World as part of the retreat costs.) See 2018 Fall Retreat application form for more information and details.