The Fourth Annual Retreat of St. Archangel Michael Serbian Orthodox Church of Huntsville, Alabama, took place this year from May 31 through June 3, 2018, at the Monte Sano State Park campground, located just outside the city of Huntsville. Monte Sano is part of the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and has an elevation of 1,621 feet above sealevel at its highest point. It’s a beautiful setting, with forests, waterfalls, streams, and stunning views of the surrounding Tennessee Valley area. Easy access to the surrounding Huntsville area makes it an ideal location for the St. Michael’s retreat.

In the midst of the campground area, there is a large, secluded picnic pavilion which provides a perfect space to set up our outdoor chapel, lecture hall and dining area. Many parishioners and families from St. Michael’s camped in tents, RVs or cabins, forming a small Orthodox village around the outdoor chapel during the time of the retreat.

On Thursday evening, May 31, we began with a Vespers service at 6:00 pm. There’s something very special about praying outdoors at that time, when the sun is beginning to set and the lampadas are glowing as we sing the hymn “O Gladsome Light.” Feeling the gentle breeze in the midst of the forest makes us feel as though we are enveloped by the Holy Spirit! Then we had a simple meal and some fellowship.

Our guest speaker this year was Fr. Damascene (Christensen), Abbot of the St. Herman of Alaska Monastery, who came together with one of the monastery’s senior monks, Fr. Ignaty (Allen). St. Michael’s felt very blessed to welcome them to our small missionary parish. Fr. Damascene would provide five lectures in all over the four-day period. The theme was Creation, Salvation and Deification: an Orthodox view from the standpoint of the Holy Fathers. Fr. Damascene spoke about how Fr. Seraphim Rose used to emphasize the importance of developing an Orthodox worldview. The Orthodox teaching on God’s Creation of the earth, the universe, and mankind is a vitally important component of this Orthodox worldview, and is inextricably tied with the teaching on our redemption by Christ, and on the future age, beyond the General Resurrection.

The Holy Fathers of the Orthodox faith have articulated with crystal clarity how God created the universe in a miraculous and mysterious way. Fr. Damascene reminded us how our modern-day science, even with all its technology and advances, is simply unable to comprehend the Creation of the Universe by God. In fact, all the historical evidence we have available, such as the fossil record, is really a history of decay and corruption which took place after the Fall of Adam and Eve from Paradise. Originally, God created man, Paradise, and the whole universe in an incorrupt state. Mankind had the possibility of achieving immortality, according to the Holy Fathers. Attempting to study and measure the incorrupt world (as it was before the Fall), using various scientific instruments and techniques, is simply impossible. Yet the great Holy Fathers and Saints of our Church were granted the higher, mystical knowledge of that state of incorruption, and have preserved this for us in their writings over the centuries. Our whole life on earth is a journey in which we are preparing for the next life. The Holy Fathers dedicated their lives to blazing a trail for us to follow, and for these few days at the retreat, Fr. Damascene was our guide.

On Friday morning, we began with Matins at 7:00am. There are 300 species of birds in Alabama and evidently, many of them were singing and praising God in the early morning hours: a virtual avian symphony! After a simple breakfast, Fr. Damascene presented a second lecture followed by a short break, after which the third lecture was delivered. The afternoon was a time for rest and recreation. It was so good for the children to have the time to just be kids! You could hear the sounds of them playing hide and seek, tag and other games all around the campground. Vespers was served again Friday evening at 6:00pm, followed by another meal and the fourth lecture.

Saturday morning, Matins (Orthros) began at 8:45 followed by the Divine Liturgy at 10:00am. St. Michael’s was blessed to have many new visitors and inquirers in attendance, and the outdoor service was truly inspirational. This was followed by our traditional BBQ picnic meal. One of the great assets of St. Michael’s Church is our current church council president, Sub-Deacon Moses (aka Bob) Zarzaur. Bob is an award-winning BBQ chef, and anyone who has travelled through Alabama knows that BBQ is one of our most cherished state traditions. The ribs that Bob cooked for us provided a culinary experience that goes beyond words: it must be tasted first-hand to be fully appreciated! Just as the Orthodox missionaries sanctified local cultures, so too, southern BBQ is surely destined to become part of the culture of American Orthodoxy just as pirozhki are for the Russians or sarma is for the Serbs!

We broke camp Saturday afternoon and hauled all the equipment and outdoor chapel supplies back down the mountain. Then on Sunday, June 4, Fr. Damascene concelebrated the Divine Liturgy at St. Michael’s with Fr. Gregory Schultz. After coffee hour, he presented a fifth lecture about spiritual transformation.

It is challenging to put into words what this year’s retreat meant for everyone who attended. Some people have described it as “life-changing”! It was deeply inspiring to learn what the Holy Fathers have been trying to tell us through their writings about our origin from God’s Almighty Power. Everyone learned a great deal and will be processing all that they heard for some time to come. We all need to be reminded that the race of mankind started out in Paradise, in other words, we came from incorruption and that’s where we are meant to return.

Hosting an annual retreat like this takes a lot of work, planning and expense. However, the experience of working together to put this on and the effort it took was well worth it! Getting away for a few days out in nature to focus on our spiritual life has enormous benefit in today’s overly busy world. Some psychologists are now prescribing “forest immersion therapy” for stressed-out urban-dwellers. While taking a hike in the forest and getting some exercise and fresh air is good for us; combining that with prayer, fellowship and spiritual instruction is a winning combination that refreshes body, mind, soul and heart! If any of our sister churches might be interested in organizing a retreat for their parishioners, please contact St. Michael’s if we can be of any assistance (www.stmichaelshsv.org).

—Fr. Gregory Schultz
St. Michael’s Church, Hunstville