August 29 - September 1
NOTE: The Labor Day Retreat is full. Please call to be placed on the waiting list.
Rowe's Labor Day Event has become one of the largest and oldest gay retreats in the country, an amazing and gorgeous gathering of gay, bisexual, and transgender men. Many gay, bi and trans men are seeking a fuller sense of community and family. We hunger for the support, acceptance, and connection that we need to thrive as human beings. The experience of Rowe provides us with just such a sense of healing community. For repeat participants, Rowe means coming home to old friends, to a place of emotional and spiritual connection. For new participants, Rowe is many things: a major step in coming out, a bridge to gay community, a contemplative retreat, a place to make new friends.
The reason for our enthusiasm about the Labor Day retreat is the happiness and love that we see in the faces of men year after year. Rowe is a place of transformation, which has brought healing and newness into the lives of many gay men. Perhaps it is knowing that we can hold hands, hug, share our stories and feelings, and be sure that we are safe. This safety, so taken for granted by heterosexuals, is relaxing, healing, and liberating. It invites our free gay selves to come out and play.
Come join us. Bring your own gifts, struggles, visions of gay loving, creativity and spirituality. You are welcome here. The work in progress that is your life will be enriched and will enrich the lives of others. Rowe is, for many, a spiritual retreat. It is a place where we can meet our sacred, intimate selves through walks in the woods, quiet talks with new and old friends, group ritual, or private prayer. This process is supported by a wide range of workshops by highly skilled facilitators on subjects such as sexuality and spirituality, yoga, body mind awareness, HIV and AIDS in our lives, the search for intimacy, meditation, and bodywork. This retreat encourages participants to reflect upon the life choices we have made, and to envision the steps we can take to come closer to our dreams.
As gifted, colorful, sensitive, deep, tender, outrageous, and shy gay men, we have been trained to hide our magic. The choice to risk the fears that come up during the weekend is part of the reason Rowe is such a heightened experience. Once we leap, we find that the water is warmer than we had expected.
Two highlights of the retreat are the delicious meals and the talent show. The cooks go all out for us because we respond so enthusiastically to their creations and their embracing hospitality. The talent show gives the chance to risk standing in the spotlight to anyone who wishes it. We know how much courage it takes to trust, to be open, and to share our spirit with others. That's why each performer is showered by applause and support. It is this spirit of acceptance that makes Rowe such a sacred and amazing community. This program is a day longer and costs $75 more than our regular weekend conference fee.
Joe Fitzgerald, LCSW, is a psychotherapist who has been leading groups and workshops for gay men since 1978. He combines his training in bodywork, gestalt therapy, psychology, and social work to develop approaches to healing that address the needs of the mind, body, and spirit. He is particularly committed to helping gay men grow in their personal relationships and community.
Ken Page, CSW, is a psychotherapist in New York City and Long Island and is a workshop leader and consultant. He believes that gay and bisexual men hold unique gifts and that healing involves rediscovering and embracing these gifts, which have often been shunned in our families and by our culture. He also offers groups and trainings on the search for intimacy and its relationship to spirituality and recovery. Ken is also the delighted adoptive father of David Sok Sovann Page.