All Church Retreat

October 19-21

Massenetta Springs, VA

 Enjoy time with your TPC family away from the regular routine. The weekend includes games, sports, relaxation, walks, rest, worship, and a wonderful opportunity to meet the rest of TPC and make new friends. 

Click here to register online and bring your payment to the church office.

Questions about the retreat?
Read below for everything you wanted to know about the all church retreat.

What is the Fall Retreat?

The TPC All-Church Retreat is the one weekend each year when you can share a family weekend with your Trinity friends where someone else does the cooking, there are no mandatory events or obligations, and you are surrounded by the crisp, rolling beauty of the foothills of the Shenandoah Mountains. The Massanetta Springs Conference Center is just 2 hours from Trinity via I-66 and I-81 (longer if there is traffic or you take a different route).

What do you do at the retreat?

We can’t say what you will do, but we can recount some of the activities that have been part of previous retreats. The key is that the retreat is self-organizing. What happens depends on who attends and what they want to do. For example, in previous years at the retreat center, people have hiked, canoed, fished, walked the labyrinth, enjoyed an impromptu Zumba class, played assorted team sports (softball, football, soccer, ultimate Frisbee, basketball, shuffleboard), played cards and board games, fallen into the (shallow) lake, been plucked out of the lake, caught crawfish in the creek, drawn or colored, watched the final game of the World Series projected on the common room wall, participated in devotionals and Bible classes, rolled down the hill until they got dizzy, toasted s’mores by the campfire, played a lawn game where you throw sticks at blocks of wood, worshiped and prayed together, navigated Russ Scholl’s devious obstacle courses, solved a puzzle hunt that spanned the grounds, sat on rocking chairs on the porch and visited, ate a lot of snacks, stayed up later than they usually get to, played music together, and enjoyed many late night games of flashlight tag. Family and friend groups and individuals have explored the Harrisonburg area through walking, bicycling, thrifting, antiquing, book fair shopping, and being chased by zombies (JMU charity running event).

Massanetta Springs is also a wonderful place to take some time for yourself, relax for an unstructured hour or afternoon, do nothing at all, and remember what it was like before you got so busy. 

What about the kids?

The kids also self-organize to a large extent. For the older kids, the sports fields and large grassy areas are great for impromptu games of soccer, frisbee, and tag. Younger kids really enjoy the shallow creek and the grassy areas by the lodging. There is also a playground for the younger set and we provide child care for the youngest cherubs. Russ’s obstacle course is a two-person challenge that is particularly popular with children. With some lead time and an idea of the ages of the children, we can arrange specific activities, such as crafts or outdoor games.

What are the accommodations and the food like?

We stay in the New Lodge, which is essentially a Holiday Inn without TVs or a pool. The rooms are not luxurious but are comfortable and convenient to the gathering area (and the common room is within the range limits of most baby monitors). Let’s call the food “high-end institutional”, which means it’s fairly good but its strongest selling point is that you didn’t have to prepare it yourself. (Also, the salad bar is extensive and the kitchen staff will work hard to accommodate dietary restrictions if they know ahead of time.) We gather for each of the meals at a scheduled time in a large rustic dining hall.

Check out the website for Massenetta Springs for more information.

What else should I know?The retreat is very flexible. If you can’t stay for the entire weekend, you’ll only pay for the meals and/or room nights that you use. We just need to know in advance. The All-Church Retreat is a wonderful opportunity to get to know your Trinity family in a different environment, make new friends, and enjoy the beauty of nature. 

Additional questions?