Menucha Retreat

Menucha: Fall 2023 Kejiwaan Gathering

Registration for our Fall Kejiwaan Gathering at the Menucha Retreat and conference center is now open.

You have 60 days to register, but don’t delay as we’re expecting bookings to go fast. Due to requirements from the conference center, we must close registrations on October 8, so Act Now!

Need financial aid, wait to register and see section below.

Here’s changed due to Menucha’s price and policy changes:

  • Buildings available to us: Wright, Ballard, The Barn (for 2 or 3 nights) and Boyd (Boyd for 2 nights only)
  • This year we’ll have five “deluxe” couples-oriented rooms
  • All plans must include meals. And, no cooking will be allowed in The Barn. 
  • Only 8 commuter spots allowed for only Friday and Saturday. These spots must include meals.  
  • After the 8 commuter spots are filled, for only $75 more we’re providing 15 “commuter plus” spots – stay Friday and Saturday only, and including an upper bunk if you want to stay over Friday night.
  • All rooms rates include bedding.
  • There will be no Gift Shop. 

What’s not changed? 

  • The great group latihans 
  • Insightful testing 
  • Inspiring conversations 
  • The breathtaking view above the Columbia Gorge. 
  • The grounds in and around the Menucha Conference and Retreat Center  
  • And, fabulous entertainment, reflective solitude, and a welcome opportunity to take a break from the rigors of everyday life. 
  • The joy of spending relaxed time with your PNW Subud community and neighbors
  • There will be the Portland Susila Dharma Silent Auction 

We hope you will join us for this extraordinary weekend. You’ll be glad you did!   

Help those that need financial aid to attend – Donations Please!

As in past years events, we are anticipating that there will be some needing assistance. In order to help these members, we’ve created an opportunity for you to contribute to this fund. When you register, please consider making a donation to the Assistance Fund so that those who need assistance can share this wonderful weekend with us.

If you prefer to donate to the Assistance Fund via check, please send your check to:

Morris McClellan, 3127 NE 103rd Pl, Apt. B, Portland, OR 97220-2866 

Needing Financial Aid?

If you’re needing financial aid, please wait to register. We encourage those who need financial assistance to fill out a request form here. All requests for financial must be completed by 9/24. Requests will be tested by the Regional Helpers and those requesting aid will be notified by 10/1.

NOTES:  

  • We are opening registration on August 8th to allow those wishing to attend 60 days to register. All registrations (including day passes) must be purchased by October 8th and be paid in full at the time of registration.  
  • All prices listed are per-person. No rooms are charged by room, although these are intended for couples. You may register up to 4 people at one time.  

Cancellation Policy:  Registrations may be cancelled until October 15 with a full refund less a $50 administrative fee. After October 15, no refunds will be made unless your room/day pass is resold to another registrant, in which case a refund will be issued minus a $50 administrative fee. ($40 for day pass refunds)  

Questions about the event and financial aid inquiries can be sent to: menucharegistrar<AT>gmail.com

Why I Go to Menucha

by Benedict Herrman

Every year, with only a couple of misses due to business conflicts, I have gone to Menucha. I lost count around 25 years, though I know it’s more… What is it that draws me back, year after year, to this meeting of Subud folk in the Columbia Gorge a few miles outside of Portland?

I could talk about the beautiful setting – an inviting 1920’s former governor’s mansion nestled in the wooded hills above the Columbia Gorge… but that’s not why I go.

I could talk about seeing old friends and doing latihan together in an intimate setting, surrounded by the natural beauty of the area… but I go to lots of congresses, so that’s not why I go, either.

What I have found about the Menucha experience is that, if you allow it, you will get exactly what you need. If you bring your broken heart there, it will be soothed. If you bring your loneliness and solitude there, you will find it lifted. And if you bring your weariness of living in a world at war with itself, egos rampant, nafsus clashing, minds overworking… you can feel a few days of how life in this world can, and perhaps should, be. Perhaps – dare I say it – even feel alive again.

Menucha is a place to bring your heart, in whatever shape it’s in, to feel safe and nurtured by those around you. It’s a place to take workshops and explore those voices inside us which demand our attention, but so often go unheeded, drowned out by the daily cacophony of the world. It’s a place to rest, reflect, and reconnect with two very simple, but very important words… “I am.”

So, come to Menucha… and come as you are.

 

Menucha is Coming!

The Pacific Northwest Regional Helpers invite you to the annual PNW Kedjiwaan retreat at the Menucha conference center, near Portland, Oregon, on November 9-12, 2017. For event details and registration information, please click here.

 

Support the Silent Auction
For the last few years, Subud Portland has sponsored a women’s clothing exchange at Menucha. This year, instead of a clothing exchange, they are offering a Silent Auction. As always, this event will help raise the seed money for next year’s Portland Matching Fund for Susila Dharma USA. Everyone is invited to donate treasures for this auction.

Items donated must be in new or good condition. Please save clothing items for another year!

If you are coming to Menucha, please bring your items with you.  If not, please coordinate with others who are coming. If you have questions, please contact Leana McClellan, leanamcc@gmail.com; 503-515-5191. Or, make a cash donation to Susila Dharma here.

Thank you on behalf of Susila Dharma and the PNW Region!

The Menucha Experience

By Halimah Collingwood

For the past 17 years, I have driven the 400 mile/7 ½ hour excursion from Arcata, CA to the small town of Corbett along the Columbia Gorge east of Portland, Oregon. On the second weekend in November, the fall foliage is enticing to someone from Redwood Country. The cool and sometimes rainy climate feels like home to a Northern Californian, but that is not what draws me and other members of Subud California.

Wright Hall, Menucha Retreat Center
Wright Hall, Menucha Retreat Center

There is something magical in the atmosphere of the Menucha Retreat Center starting with Wright Hall, the original structure, built in the 1920’s “Northwestern architectural style.” The dark wooden beams and railings are imbued with spiritual resin, creating a presence that draws out the most intimate expressions from those of us sharing during the morning circle and experiencing the liberation of the latihan.

Last year the organizers realized that some changes needed to be made because the retreat did not break even financially. Meetings were held during the year and the team decided not to rent several of the buildings, including the Barn, which had been used by mostly youth and those who wanted to prepare their own meals.

Among the many workshops held at this year’s retreat was the well-attended, “Menucha: Where Do We Go From Here?”  Some of the discussion revolved around these topics:

  • Financial Assistance: year-round fundraising to provide scholarships for those in need by promoting donation on the website, regular solicitation and several annual fund-raising events.
  • Affordability and  Housing: change bunk beds to singles in dorm rooms; price by the room as hotels do; offer Early Bird discount to those registering at end of the Menucha weekend; do more event marketing.
  • Age Related Issues: older folks may have difficulty with walking far, climbing stairs, using top bunks; rent golf carts to shuttle people from one building to the next; have a buddy system so able-bodied people help those in need of assistance with luggage, etc.
  • Menucha – What Makes You So Special: over 25 years of history; powerful latihans; the Circle in a Sacred Space; a safe, loving, intimate atmosphere that strips away our boundaries; making new friends and building community; an indescribable presence that changes you forever!!

In California, we have tried to replicate the Menucha experience. But the experience is tied to the buildings, the space and the environment. I encourage you to come to Menucha next November and see what it’s all about.