Congregational retreat fall 2026

This Year’s Retreat 18-19 September at Le Domaine de Monteret

Each year our congregation holds a fall retreat, a time for connecting and re-connecting after the summer. This year we returned to Le Domaine de Monteret, a retreat center near St-Cergue where we’ve met many times before.

Altar arrangement above, and photos below by Elisabeth Benn.

Last year’s Congregational Retreat on Saturday 20 September 2025

Our congregation has the tradition of holding an annual retreat in the fall–a chance to reconnect, worship, and enjoy one another’s company. This year we visited the Oujon ruins–remains of a 12th century monastery located between St-Cergue and Arzier. (Some may remember visiting this spot on a retreat some years ago.)

What did we do?
We based ourselves at a picnic ground near the ruins–time for conversation, singing, lunch, worship, and of course a visit to the ruins. There is a loop from the picnic grounds to visit the ruins–very flat and about 1.5km in total. For those who don’t want to make the entire loop, it’s also possible to simply walk to the ruins and back, which is a considerably shorter distance.

Where?
The picnic ground is called Creux des Abériaux. It’s located between St-Cergue and Arzier.

How did we get there?
There are at least three options:You can drive to the picnic ground and park there.You can take the train to either St-Cergue or Arzier and walk to the picnic ground (around 40 minutes).You can take the train to Arzier and request a ride (you can indicate if you need a ride on the registration form below). We’ll try to arrange cars for those who need a lift from this station to the retreat.

When did the retreat take place?
Saturday 20 September. Between 10h30, and 16h.

All ages were welcome! There’s lots of space at the picnic ground for games and activities for kids, and a time for teenagers to connect with one another as part of the day as well.
Our previous retreat at this location in 2021 — page of images, sample below on this page.
This short article has also some lovely photos of the area–take a look!

And from September 2024 in Romainmôtier — video montage by Dorine van Teeseling