Fall Retreat Energizes The King’s College Community

After two years without a school-wide Fall Retreat, students rallied together in 2013 at a Fall Retreat weekend that revitalized the college community. During the weekend of September 7 and 8, over 400 students, professors, and staff members piled onto busses and drove from New York City to beautiful Iroquois Springs in Upstate New York.

The student-led worship group REFUGE infused the weekend with a spiritual boost. First Lady Kimberly Thornbury kicked off the weekend with a spirited talk on the importance of “showing up” and asking questions for the health of a dynamic community.

Saturday afternoon, students chose to attend various breakout sessions delivered by faculty and staff on topics such as fasting, worship, friendship and healthy relationships.

Dr. Dru Johnson lectured on the importance of ritual and physical participation in spiritual life. Dr. Anthony Bradley initiated a convicting conversation on the importance of uplifting words over gossip and slander in a community. On Sunday morning, Eric Bennett, our Vice President for Student Development, delivered an emotional talk on vulnerability.

The breakout sessions and time of fellowship that each house shared contributed to the success of the weekend. “Fall Retreat is essential to the King’s experience. This trip to Iroquois Springs really brought the House of Bonhoeffer together, not to mention the school-wide community growth,” said King’s junior Christopher Hanson.

The inter-house Drama Competition took place during Fall Retreat this year, bringing back an old tradition of combining the two events. The performances brought the retreat to a climax with 10 skits on the topic of mercy, this year’s Interregnum theme. The House of Lewis claimed first place with a jazz performance, the House of Bonheoffer placed second with an original, Mad Men-esque drama, and the House of Churchill took third place with a spinoff of Disney’s “Pocahontas.” See all the skits in our YouTube playlist:

Faculty and staff surprised the student body with a Kingsian take on “The Wizard of Oz,” drawing a standing ovation:

Saturday night after the skits, the King’s community gathered around a giant bonfire and to warmly welcome President and Dr. Thornbury to our community over s’mores.

Dr. Kimberly Thornbury said, “We were so thankful to be a part of the retreat, and to feel so welcomed by this community. The retreat continued to show us the high caliber of King’s students, the strong sense of Christ-centered community here, and the brilliance of the students as reflected by the drama performances. The retreat was truly a high water mark moment for us this semester!” For a complete photo album from the weekend, click here.

In the heart of New York City, The King’s College is an accredited, Christian liberal arts college. Using a biblical worldview and great works in politics, philosophy, and economics, we are educating the next generation of leaders for America and the world.