Contemplative Scripture Retreats are rooted in the lessons learned from my own father. For more than fifty years, he joined his friend and mentor, Paul Byer, and companions from InterVarsity and Fuller Seminary each summer to study Scripture on the small island of Catalina and in the forested mountains of San Bernadino, California. Using a way of reading called, “Manuscript Bible Study,” (MBS) they dove into the Gospel of Mark. Through careful listening to one another and to the Word, they learned what it meant to participate in life-giving practices of retreat, rest, and renewal, leaving plenty of time for hikes and swims in the sea.

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As I grew up, I saw this way of reading Scripture shape both my parents and those around them. I learned:

• that the questions we carry are often more important than the conclusions we arrive at.

• that at the heart of the Gospel is an invitation and a sense of wonder.

This curiosity led me from Minnesota to the Coast, and across the sea to East Africa, where today, “original students” of Paul continue facilitating studies, inspiring a new generation of facilitators to come. 

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MBS continues to form a way of seeing the Gospel with a fresh curiosity and wonder. Combined with reflective practices and community, retreats today focus on bringing together mind, heart, soul, and body into a holistic understanding of the Word and each other.  

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