Fannin opens the book on retreats

By: Kyle Christiansen
News Editor

The Rev. Dr. B. Kathleen Fannin, Monmouth College chaplain, is the proud author of her latest book, “Wonder and Other Life Skills: Spiritual Life Retreats for Young Adults Using the Creative Arts.”  Fannin has had her work in print before (in the forms of poetry, daily devotions and even children’s sermons), but this is Fannin’s first published account of what she terms “the nuts and bolts of doing a retreat.” The subject matter is one which Fannin holds particularly near and dear to her heart, as she has been the leader of 16 retreats in the past 10 years.

“Retreats take on a life of their own, [and] no one is the same as any other,” Fannin stated.

According to Fannin, the book was written over a two and a half year period, combining her research in religious theology with personal reflections on her involvement in past retreats. Prior to its publication, the book served as Fannin’s dissertation toward concluding her education at the Wesleyan Theological Seminary.

In the abstract to her full study, Fannin summarized the central themes in the book as an exploration of “the human need for community, ways to create community in multi-faith environment, the implications of humans being created in the image of God, connections among the constitutive events of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and the use of creative arts as tools to open the minds of young adults to ingenuity, innovation and imagination to help them connect with the Divine.”

“Wonder and Other Life Skills” is now a required reading text at the Wesleyan Theological Seminary, much to Fannin’s immense joy. Fannin even contributed to the design of the book’s front cover, which features a painting of a “mandala” (a geometric figure used to represent the universe and the cosmos) created by Fannin during a fall 2002 spiritual life retreat.

Fannin’s philosophy on retreats is to not overplan, and to “leave room for the Spirit to work,” and she believes these trips have a certain “magical” power to unite an entire group of people for that moment in time and instill a bond ever so sacred to that experience. “You connect with other students and faculty and staff in ways that you just don’t any other place,” Fannin remarked.

Aside from the sense of revitalization and fulfillment a retreat attendee could find in such an opportunity, Fannin also insists, “The focus is spiritual life, but it’s a heck of a lot of fun!”

The fall 2007 spiritual life retreat is scheduled for Oct. 5 through Oct. 7 and will be hosted at Camp Abe Lincoln in Muscatine, Iowa. Students interested in reserving a spot on the trip should contact Fannin as soon as possible before Sept. 26. Fannin may be reached via e-mail at kfannin@monm.edu, and her office is located at 1002 E. Broadway (across the street from Wells Theater).