This September, SURJ turns 10! To mark this anniversary, the Coordinating Committee of SURJ San Francisco (CoorComm) cordially invites you to a one-day community- and vision-building retreat.

Our relationships with one another are our most powerful asset in the fight against white supremacy. Whether we are showing up in solidarity with our accountability partners or calling our folks into community with all those dedicated to collective liberation, we are most effective when we are able to build on a solid foundation of strong, human connections with each other.

To this end, we are organizing this one-day in-city retreat with the aim of creating and bolstering relationships — and, through these connections, forging a vision of the work to come. Please join us from 10 am to 6 pm on September 21, 2019, at Bethany United Methodist Church in Noe Valley for a day of work and play. In addition to spending time building a shared vision of our collaboration in the coming year, we believe a top priority for the day should be to create space to cultivate a deeper interpersonal understanding of why we show up and what we need to make this work sustainable.

The schedule for the day will be finalized at the beginning of the day with the input and consent of all those who attend, with plenty of flexibility for breaks. The agenda will include community-oriented discussions, an overview of the history and future of SURJ, a facilitated "pod mapping" exercise, and a long lunch picnic with games and unstructured time. All of this will culminate in creating a strategic roadmap for the chapter's work in the coming year and beyond

The church is wheelchair accessible, mostly lit by natural light. PLEASE BE AS SCENT FREE AS POSSIBLE to increase accessibility (no perfume/cologne, avoid scented hairsprays and scented soaps leading up to the retreat).

Children are welcome at the retreat and parents will huddle to figure out how to make sure we all have what we need. Kids are welcome to stay with parents and there will be some books and toys (please bring things to add to the mix). There is also a separate space kids can be in if needed, and we can take turns keeping an eye on them in separate space if that's helpful. If this doesn't meet your needs, please make a note and we'll follow up with you on solutions.

We want to balance the needs of the pet lovers and the allergic folks. If you are more able to come if you bring your (well-behaved) pet, then bring them and make a note in the RSVP. If you have pet allergies, please not that too. If we have any issues there, we can navigate them together.

If you have other food, access needs or questions, please note them in your RSVP.

Lunch will be provided, and donations to cover costs will be gratefully accepted.