Sixty gather at Lake Geneva for 2026 Ministerial Association Retreat
Pastors, ministry staff and spouses from the Northwest Conference gathered Nov. 1-3 at the Lake Geneva Camp and Conference Center in Alexandria, MN, for the annual Ministerial Association Retreat. We had 60 in attendance—a significant increase from recent years.
This year the planning team moved the retreat to a more central location, set it later in the fall and started it on a Sunday evening, hoping to make it possible for more people to come. Among those present, 11 attended for their first time, including a handful of first-time spouses. It was meaningful to see new faces folded into our circle.
The retreat was guided by the Ignatian practice of the Examen, a form of prayer with four movements: invitation and gratitude, consolation, desolation and looking forward. Each of the four main sessions was led by our own pastors. John Lassen opened the retreat Sunday night by guiding us into God’s presence with gratitude and a poem. Amy Long invited us to consider God’s gifts and consolations to us Monday morning with some mapping exercises and personal reflection space. Michele Arndt shared a personal story of how we experience desolation in our work as pastors, and Steve Wong finished Tuesday morning by holding out fresh manna from Exodus 16 as we look toward fresh hope and provision for each day. Meghan Bruggeman did a beautiful job wrapping all four sessions in soulfully led worship.
We experienced torrential downpours of rain, which felt almost divinely supplied for our “Come Thirsty, Drink Deeply” theme. The rain also supplied ample time indoors for intentional conversations and for pastors to take advantage of spiritual direction appointments with Bryce Johnson.
We are grateful for another incredible time of gathering, connecting, receiving and resting. A special thank you to the Ministerial Care and Development team for their work in planning this important time of retreat for our pastors and their spouses.
Rev. Michele Arndt, Pastor of Worship and Discipleship, Roseville Covenant Church
