Discovering Your Own Path to God was the topic of a retreat led by Paul Kirbas held at our church on February 9, 2008.  The one-day retreat was sponsored by the First Presbyterian Church of Wheaton Single Adult Fellowship and was open to the community, not just to singles.

Presentations were given on various styles of meditation, scriptural study, prayer life, and contemplative discernment.  Each participant had the opportunity to do a brief personality assessment to assist in discovering what kind of Bible study or prayer life likely would be most effective individually.

All were encouraged to recognize that God reaches out to each of us in a way that we are able to receive, and that there are many ways God expresses Himself.  A lunch was served and breakout groups allowed time for further small group development of the concepts presented.

A worship service was held at the end of the retreat to celebrate the ways God can reach us and bring us together.

Pastor Paul Kirbas utilized a mixture of slide presentation, personality survey, and group discussion to present the retreat theme "You Are Unique, and God Knows It!  Discovering Your Own Path to God."

There were several breakout times to discuss points raised in the presentations.

A large group discussion was held following the initial presentation by Paul Kirbas.  There were also smaller discussion groups of two to four persons which delved deeper into the ways God reaches them. Often these were in smaller settings.

The retreat leader was Rev. Dr. Paul J. Kirbas, Pastor/Head of Staff, First Presbyterian Church, Wheaton, IL.

Paul received his BA degree from Mercer University in Atlanta, GA, and both a Master of Divinity degree and Doctor of Ministry degree from Columbia Theological Seminary.  Paul has recently finished his PhD in Biotech Ethics through the Graduate Theological Foundation and Oxford University in England.