June, 2003 Calendar In This Issue: St. A's Goes to the Mountains October 3-5, 2003 The Sisterhood of the Naked Turtles A Women's Retreat Reflection Growing the Women's Retreat Scholarship Fund End of the Year Celebration Grand Party - Everyone is Invited! And You Call Yourselves Christian? Join Me Gift from the Soul

by Melissa Cook

The turtles from St. Augustine arrived timidly at the Mary and Joseph Retreat Center on the night of April 25th (the women's retreat weekend). As the turtles arrived, everyone could see that they were all very different from one another. Some of the turtles had seen more than 80 years pass, while one turtle was celebrating her 24th birthday. The turtles were from different environments and had different styles of communicating. Each one carried a unique shell that she had been building around herself for most of her life. The turtles were frightened to learn that they would be climbing out of their shells that weekend. Some weren't sure they would be able to do it, but Laurie Hutzler, the retreat leader, gently helped all of the turtles to trust each other enough to climb out of the shells they thought they needed to protect themselves. In the end, each and every turtle shed her shell and saw her sister turtles do the same, and none of them will soon forget it.

Copyright © 2003 St. Augustine by-the-Sea