July 16, 2018
I am just back from spending four nights at the World Fellowship Center/ Peace and Justice Camp just outside of Conway, NH "where social justice meets nature". This is a very low-key retreat center with multiple lodging options that also include full access to all programs and three delicious homemade healthy meals daily (mostly vegetarian and even if there is some meat, there are always primary non-meat options). We stayed in the main lodge, but there is also camping, small cabins, etc.
Here are some of the things I enjoyed over these four days:
A session led by two trans people that was sort of an "ask us anything" tutorial
A session on intersectionality
A terrific session about protest music throughout history
A session on aging and how this place can help support older guests more completely
A before breakfast easy bike ride (they provide bikes or you can bring your own)
An after breakfast moderate bike ride with a stop at Echo Pond for a swim
An afternoon 3 mile hike with astonishing views of the White Mountains
A one mile canoe ride to a big rock the brave among us dove off of
Blueberry picking always throughout each excursion
My son did a longer hike with a swim at the end while two of us did one of the bike rides
Swinging on a huge swing
A 1/2 mile walk to a gorgeous pond with canoes, kayaks, rowboats, two rafts and the best swimming ever
A contra dance with live music!
An open-mike show where my son and I presented math puzzles and my sister sang a Patsy Cline song
Lots of board games on the screened in porch with family and with other guests
My son did a 1,000 piece puzzle with three others while we were off on our bike ride
A wine and cheese event before dinner on Saturday night
Ice cream after the talent show
A bon fire each night for the youth group, although generally this is an open thing with singing
The world cup was shown on a TV in the library but everyone was sworn to not disclose the winner
The only place you can use technology is inside of your rooms, so no screens distracting anyone - and all the music I heard was live music except during the presentation on protest songs (during the meal after this session, a group of people came into the dining hall singing one of the protest songs)
Usually there's someone offering yoga before breakfast each day but she couldn't come, so someone stepped up and offered some Qi Gong instead
Art on the porch every afternoon
There are also themes each week - our week was a trans week so the sessions were mostly connected with this group, but as we were leaving, the ukulele group was coming in so they will play each morning and afternoon and then do a performance next Friday at the talent show. There was a woman there all week discussing photography with anyone who was interested. They went on a few field trips two of the mornings and it sounds like they talked a lot about light and color and shadow and seeing.
Take a look at this place (http://worldfellowship.org/) - you'll see there is body movement most mornings and afternoons for all levels, art on the porch for all levels, a bike and a hike. If you explore the brochure, you'll see a wide variety of themed weeks related to love, justice, art, peacemaking, etc. And the thing is, you can just take a vacation and time it during a week that seems interesting - someone will describe the sessions each morning and you can decide on-the-spot if you feel like participating. You can also just go do your own solitary thing, depending on how you feel. I spent a summer sitting under a tree doing Crossword puzzles one year while a woman near my knitted.
When my family was there (6 of us) there were photography enthusiasts, several people from the Boston Workman's Circle (circleboston.org), in addition to about a dozen trans persons. There was a youth group doing a leadership training off by themselves each morning and afternoon.
It is super friendly and everyone there is justice-seeking. It's considered a place to take a break from it all with like-minded people. (Don't let the name of the place "NH World Fellowship Center" distract you - there is nothing religious about this place, although the Qi Gong guy did say a few things about connecting with the spirit as a way to center oneself.)
It is my understanding that you can volunteer to work for 6 hours a day in exchange for food and lodging.
The lodging is rustic. Nobody has a private bathroom. But it just works. Everyone is friendly and there's a shared fridge you can use for your own stuff if you want. My room was above the dining hall so it was a little noisy, but I enjoyed hearing people coming in for early-morning coffee and one night someone was playing a flute as I slid off to sleep. My room had three enormous screened in windows, two overlooking mount Chocoura so the view was truly spectacular. Bedding and towels are included but everyone pitches in (I stripped my bed, scooped ice cream, helped clear dishes). read more
