“You can’t pour from an empty cup" - A Social Justice Retreat Recap
- justlovegsv
- May 6
- 4 min read
Throughout the year, as GSV’s, we step away from our day to day to attend weekend retreats. These retreats help us recenter and refocus on our tenets. Each retreat is focused on one of our four tenets. Our most recent retreat was focused on social justice. Kat, T and I began the weekend at the main office of Good Shepherd Services where we participated in a workshop on self-care and training around vicarious trauma. Vicarious Trauma is a type of secondhand trauma that can occur when you are exposed to the trauma of others. When trauma is consistently absorbed without adequate processing it can quickly lead to burnout. It is important to understand that taking care of yourself and your mental health is just as important as helping participants at our placement sites. “You can’t pour from an empty cup.” This group discussion was a great way to kick off the retreat and I have used some of the practices we learned in the weeks since. I have learned to be intentional with my time in the present. For example, if I am at my placement site, I try to be present and intentional with my energy and then when my workday is over, I have learned I need to mentally clock out: turn off my work phone and computer and really end the day. I think setting and staying true to this boundary has helped me both in and outside of work.
Following the workshop we headed to Collier Youth Services, another GSV placement site and home to several Sisters of the Good Shepherd, and got settled in. Every time I visit Collier, I feel an immense sense of peace. The Sisters are always so welcoming and the property itself is so beautiful and calming! Our community always looks forward to getting to spend a weekend there. After settling in, we all shared a meal together and discussed being at the halfway point of the year. It’s very bittersweet to think we are just over halfway through with our year. We talked about our placements, our everyday lives in the city and our community. We also did some storytelling about how our placements have helped shape or changed our view on social justice. Before our year of service, my community had a passion for social justice and the issues that surround it but working with participants has humanized the issues, exposed systemic problems, and challenged preconceived ideas. Our placements are vastly different in their day to day but overlap in so many ways. Conversating about the same issue from three different perspectives always reinforces that sense of personal responsibility to social justice.
The second day of our retreat was led by Sister Judy, who took us through some eye-opening social justice activities. We had several deep discussions on which social issues were closest to our heart and why. On the contrary, we also discussed issues that are not front of mind and talked about why this may be. Are there issues we don’t think about due to not knowing enough about them? Or because we haven’t been personally exposed? Are there social issues we believe are justified? Are these issues subconsciously in our hearts more than we may know? Sister Judy always provides a safe space to expand our thinking by thoughtfully challenging our reflections. I always leave these group discussions with a deeper understanding of the tenets as well as a profound appreciation for Sister Judy and the time she spends with us. We also discussed what social justice issues are most important to the Sisters of Good Shepherd. The Sisters of Good Shepherd have position papers that highlight the key issues they are focused on. Our community read them at orientation and reviewed them again as a group this weekend. We also used this time to pick out any phrases from the different position papers that may have spoken to us more than at the beginning of the year. Following our day of group discussions, we were prompted to take action! We spent some time reaching out to our local congress members via phone and email to highlight some of the key issues we are facing currently in our communities.
Our day was wrapped up in the most special way as we all cooked dinner together and were able to enjoy it with the Sisters. We love hearing their stories of Sisterhood. Our retreat sadly came to an end Sunday, and we finished the retreat by taking some time after breakfast to make affirmation jars. We used popsicle sticks to write down bible verses, positive affirmations, and quotes. We put them in mason jars and decorated them! Since leaving the retreat, I have used this constantly, whether for my own personal use or for the youth at my placement site! I am already looking forward to our next retreat!
Written by:
Cat MacDonald
Washington Heights Community,
2024-2025
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