Contemplative Outreach, Ltd.

1-Day Centering Prayer Retreat – Sacred Embodiment
2024-05-11 09:00 - 16:00 (America/Chicago) | Church of Conscious Harmony, 7406 Newhall Lane, Austin, TX, 78746, United States
1-Day Centering Prayer Retreat – Sacred Embodiment
May 11th, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm CDT, offered by The Church of Conscious Harmony. Led by Sharon Johnson, this in-person retreat includes times of Centering Prayer with gentle restorative yoga and stretching. It will be held in the fellowship hall. Bring a brown bag lunch. If you have a yoga mat, block, bolster, blankets or evo band, please bring them. Space is limited.
To register or for more information, please select the event website registration link below or contact The Church of Conscious Harmony at 512-347-9673.

I AM That I AM: The Invitation at the Center of Contemplative Prayer
2024-05-05 16:00 - 2024-05-08 12:00 UTC | Mercy by the Sea Retreat and Conference Center, 167 Neck Road, Madison, CT, 06443-0191, United States
Contemplative prayer draws us to the center of our being where Silence opens us to God’s dynamic, spacious, ever-evolving reality — the God Who is, not the God we expect. In this silent retreat, through periods of Centering Prayer; contemplative practices; simple body exercises; contemplative conversation; and quiet time for reflection, reading, and walking the grounds, we will heed the call to meet the God of unsettling mystery and grace, sometimes unfamiliar and unpredictable, sometimes wonderfully surprising and bountiful.
This silent retreat, intended for those with a Centering Prayer or other contemplative prayer practice, will draw on the writings of Thomas Keating, Ilia Delio, Teilhard de Chardin, Meister Eckhart, and others. It will offer the opportunity to explore your experiences with the Sacred and reflect on how and whether your image and relationship with the divine have changed over the years. Where is God calling to you? How are you responding?
Please see the link below to register.

Centering Prayer Intro Workshop
2024-05-04 09:00 - 12:00 UTC | All Saints by the Sea Church, 83 Eucalyptus Lane, Santa Barbara, CA, 93108, United States
This is an in-person event.
Workshop Highlights:
– Introduces participants to the method and background of Centering Prayer
– Offers two opportunities to practice Centering Prayer
– Follow-up meetings offered
Four Topics
1. Prayer as Relationship
2. The Method of Centering Prayer
3. Thoughts and the Us of the Sacred Word
4. Deepening our Relationship with God
Time zone: Pacific Time
To register, please email cliffg4250@gmail.com

The Gospel of Love: Finding Wholeness with Julian of Norwich in Fragmented Times
2024-05-04 08:30 - 16:30 UTC | Holy Family Passionist Retreat Center, 303 Tunxis Road, West Hartford, CT, 6107, United States
Contemplative Enrichment Day with Mark S. Burrows, Ph.D.
At the turn of the 15th century, Julian of Norwich received 16 “showings” as a middle-aged woman and spent the rest of her life “beholding” them. She eventually produced a book at once provocative and accessible, expanding these “visions of love.” What Julian offers is a remarkably complex and compelling vision of the immensity of God’s generosity, and the radical call of compassion this calls us to embody in our lives. Join us to explore ways to discover your life held by God’s healing wholeness.
This program will be offered both in-person and online via Zoom. Information on how to access the program on Zoom will be sent to participants in advance.
This program will include a morning and an afternoon session of Centering Prayer.
Mark S. Burrows, Ph.D., is an in-demand retreat leader in the U.S. and Europe. A leading voice in the work of integrating theology and the arts, he is widely respected for his work on the Christian mystical tradition. He is also well known as a poet, editor, and author. Mark is a member of the Iona Community and an oblate at Glastonbury Abbey. He lives and writes in Camden, ME.
Please use the link below to register.

Arising...a Quiet Day Retreat
2024-04-27 09:00 - 16:00 UTC | Westminster Presbyterian Church (Iowa), 1301 Kimball Ave, Waterloo, IA, 50702, United States
Looking for a quiet time away for reflection and prayer to be connected to the Center of all that is? Join others at Westminster Presbyterian for this day “Arising” in prayerful community with opportunities for
– Centering Prayer in community;
– EarthWhispers to make connections to the Divine Presence in the natural world;
– Walking a Labyrinth…with your feet or fingers;
– Yoga with Journaling (am) and Tai Chi (pm)…to connect body and Spirit;
– Sung Prayer in community;
– Meeting individually with another pilgrim (a leader within the group) to converse about your life’s journey.
Note: Several of the above are free time options. Participants may choose what to attend, or they may choose to not attend structured options.
Register by email to coneiowa@gmail.com, and include name and phone number, on or before Monday, April 22. More info about food, parking, etc. will be shared with those who register.
A free will donation is welcome to defray the day’s costs.
Westminster Presbyterian Church is at 1301 Kimball Ave, Waterloo, IA.

Bi-monthly Tech Circle ONLINE
2024-04-26 20:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | Internet – Online
A space where we connect, explore questions and co-learn with a view to building our capacity to serve others in our community and beyond.
We’ve added dates for the year every couple of months. We met most recently on a Saturday at 1pm ET but not everyone was able to attend and so we’ve also added an alternating Friday night event too.
The remaining dates for the year are:
April 26th 8pm ET
You can register for our April circle NOW
June 22nd 1pm ET
August 30th 8pm ET
October 26th 1pm ET
December 7th 8pm ET
If you are interested in attending these circles but have a question please email: matt@coutreach.org

Centering Prayer Retreat
2024-04-26 16:00 - 2024-04-28 16:00 UTC | Bethany Retreat Center, 1031 Germania Rd, Frenchville, PA, 16836, United States
God — the source of true joy and lasting peace — is not outside, at a distance from ourselves. God is the very origin of ourselves. Contemplatives of all traditions know that, as the author of The Cloud of Unknowing writes, “God is your being.” Contemplative practice is a means of sinking into the deeper parts of ourselves and waking up to our rootedness in God as the Ground of Being.
But it can be a struggle to sit still and “just be.” The capacity to be is the mystical way of deep prayer & contemplation: resting in God beyond the activity of our mind, body & email — resting in God as the Beingness of our being, the Source of our self.
Weaving teachings from Fr. Thomas Keating, Cynthia Bourgeault, Rupert Spira, and The Cloud of Unknowing, this retreat explores how Centering Prayer opens us to God’s Being within us and the Becoming of God expressed in our daily lives.
Join this Centering Prayer retreat to explore:
· God as the universal Ground of Being
· Why oneness with God is so practical
· Contemplation as a way of opening to our natural state of mind
· The role of attention & “Objectless awareness” in Centering Prayer
· Finding God as closer that breath
God’s peace and presence of God are at the source of our very selves.
Join this retreat to explore in theory and practice! Please see the link below to register.

Contemplative Outreach South Africa National Conference
2024-04-26 - 2024-04-30 | Padre Pio Retreat Center, 25 Kort Street, Pretoria, Rietvalleirand, 0181, South Africa
All are welcome!
VENUE: PADRE PIO RETREAT CENTRE, PRETORIA
DATE: 26 APRIL – 30 APRIL 2024
with Mary Dwyer
Registration fee options:
1. Entire conference, full board, single room including banquet: R3000.00
2. Entire conference, full board, shared room including banquet: R2600.00
3. Entire conference, non-residential, meals and banquet included: R1500.00
4. Day Visitors, 09:00 – 17.00, tea/coffee included, bring own lunch: R450 per day
5. Day visitors, 09.00 – 17.00, tea/coffee included and banquet included: R700
NON- REFUNDABLE DEPOSIT WITH REGISTRATION REQUIRED: 50% OF INDICATED FEE, EXCLUDING DAY VISITORS.
For enquiries: Wendy Maree 012 993 3525/0823399969/ wndmaree@gmail.com
Please send the following information:
NAME:
Email address:
Contact number:
Dietary preferences
Option 1 2 3 4 5 Total: R ___ Deposit: R____
Payment method: EFT Payable to:
CONTEMPLATIVE OUTREACH PRETORIA
NEDBANK, MENLYN
ACCOUNT NUMBER: 1697057969
BRANCH CODE: 169745
POP TO: Wendy Maree, email: wndmaree@gmail.com

A Weekend Retreat: “Deepening the Contemplative Path And the Gift of Emotional Healing”
2024-04-26 - 2024-04-28 | St. Emma Monastery, 1001 Harvey Avenue, Greensburg, PA, 15601, United States
April 26 – 28, 2024
St. Emma’s Monastery
Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Sponsored by Contemplative Outreach of Pittsburgh
Our spring retreat will be led by Jim McElroy. Jim is on the governing board for Contemplative Outreach, and has been on the leadership team of 12-Step Outreach since its formation in 2005. He is the former coordinator of CO St. Louis, is on the Welcoming Prayer Service Team, and is a member of the Living Flame teaching team. Retreat will include presentations with dialogue on the Human Condition, Divine Therapy the Welcoming Prayer. There will be private time for Centering Prayer. silence, and soul-friending,
Preregister by emailing victoriae4copcenteringprayer@gmail.com

After the Resurrection with Fr. Carl Arico - in person or via Zoom
2024-04-20 09:00 - 15:00 UTC | The Center at Mariandale, 299 North HIghland Ave, Ossining, NY, 10562, United States
“Each feast of the liturgical year is both an event to be celebrated and a grace to be received.”
– Fr. Thomas Keating OCSO, The Mystery of Christ: The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience
Join us for a day of Centering Prayer, recollection and celebration as Fr. Carl Arico explores with us the graces to be received in the grand liturgical feast of Pentecost. What unfolds for us in the time between the Resurrection and Pentecost? How does the feast of Pentecost touch our hearts? Let us linger together and ponder that “The Spirit…is not given only once… it is an ongoing promise, an endless promise…always, fulfilled and always being fulfilled.”(Fr. Keating, The Mystery of Christ)
This day of recollection offers TWO ways to participate: attend in-person at The Center at Mariandale, or join in on Zoom. Time listed is Eastern Time.
Fee: $50.00 with lunch in person; $30.00 ZOOM. Fr. Carl’s presentation will be recorded and available to all who register. Please see the link below.

Practices for Contemplative Living: Lectio Divina
2024-04-20 09:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York) | St. Walburga Monastery, 851 N. Broad Street, NJ, 7649, United States
Join a group of Centering Prayer practitioners to support each other on the contemplative path. Modeled after what was formerly known as the 9-month course, the program will be based on Julie Saad’s book, “Contemplative Life: Discovering Our Path to the Heart of God“. All are welcome. We meet the 3rd Saturdays of October 2023 through April 2024. Overnight accommodations are available. The April session will focus on Lectio Divina.
Explore a different contemplative practice each month:
• October 22 – Fundamentals of Centering Prayer and Holy Listening
• November 18 – Guided Meditation (Stepping Stones)
• December 16 – Advent Day of Prayer with Fr. Carl Arico
• January 20 – Logging
• February 17 – Spiritual Reading
• March 16 – Going Deeper in Daily Life
• April 20 – Lectio Divina
Further information and registration are available at: https://centeringprayernj.com/events/, or contact Eileen McCaffrey Schuman at coordinator@centeringprayernj.com.

Contemplating Christ With Fr Pizzuto - in person and Zoom options
2024-04-19 - 2024-04-21 | Canterbury Retreat & Conference Center, 1601 Alafaya Trail, Oviedo, FL, 32765, United States
In this retreat, Father Vincent Pizzuto will explore what it means to contemplate Christ not only in all people but in all things. Through conversations, group discussions and other activities, we will be looking at how the Incarnation has made mystics of us all and address this fundamental question: What if we read the Gospel as if that were true?
Registration options and fees:

$292 per person for shared rooms (2 per room).
$357 for private rooms (limited availability).
$167 commuter rate (includes meals).
$ 82 for Zoom attendance.
In-person Space is limited. Please register early.
Fr. Pizzuto’s book, Contemplating Christ is included free with paid registration and will be available for pickup at the retreat. Zoom participants will receive the Kindle version.

Please see the link below to register (which includes a link to the registration form above, if needed).

6-Day Silent Centering Prayer Retreat w/Father Bill Sheehan at Holy Cross Abbey VA
2024-04-15 - 2024-04-21 | Holy Cross Abbey, 901 Cool Spring Ln, VA, 22611, United States
Holy Simplicity of Life & Faith
Centering Prayer 6-Day Silent Retreat with
Father Bill Sheehan
Monday, April 15 – Sunday, April 21, 2024
* 5 full days & 2 half days of silence and solitude in a peaceful rural setting
* 3 plus hours per day of group Centering Prayer
* Daily morning Centering Prayer sit begins at 5:30am
* Sunday morning Centering Prayer sit begins at 6:30am
* Comfortable single room with private bathroom/shower
* Opportunity to attend any or all of the daily Liturgy of the Hour prayers with the Trappist monks
* Eucharist celebrated with the Monks in the Abbey Monastery Chapel weekdays and Saturday morning immediately following 7:00am Lauds
* Sunday morning Eucharist celebrated with Father Sheehan in the Retreat House
* Chapel daily group conference Tuesday – Saturday offered by Father Sheehan
* Opportunity for two private individual conferences with Father Sheehan
To access the retreat flyer and the retreat application form, please click on the Event Website link below.

Communion to Community: "That We May Be One"
2024-04-13 09:00 - 12:00 (Asia/Dubai) | The Cathedral of St Matthew the Apostle, 1725 Rhode Island Ave, NW, Washington, DC, 20007, United States
Reflecting on the teachings of Fr. Thomas Keating and Beatrice Bruteau, Colleen Thomas will lead us in exploring the heart of Jesus’ teaching in the Gospel of John 17. In this Gospel, Jesus’ final prayer can be summed up as “that they may be one, as we are one.” As we commune with God through Centering Prayer, we become one with God.
Yet like the prayer itself, becoming one with others is not always so easy. Together we will reflect on the contemplative path as a movement beyond personal healing and transformation towards a prophetic and collective healing.
“Community is how being, even Absolute Being, and therefore all being fundamentally is.” -Beatrice Bruteau
See the link below to register.

Weaving a Nest for Stillness: A Silent Contemplative Retreat
2024-04-12 16:00 - 2024-04-14 16:00 UTC | Holy Family Passionist Retreat Center, 303 Tunxis Road, West Hartford, CT, 6107, United States
This silent, contemplative weekend retreat invites you to engage with the Sacred in nature. Anchored in three Centering Prayer gatherings, the weekend will offer lectio and terra divina (sacred earth), body sensing-awareness practice, and evening prayer on Saturday. There will also be unstructured time for personal reflection, exploring the grounds, walking the labyrinth, reading, journaling, and rest. No experience with Centering Prayer is required.
The retreat will be facilitated by Claire Rusowicz and Anne Simpkinson. Claire is a spiritual director, retreat director, and spiritual director supervisor, with over 25 years of experience working with groups and individuals in Connecticut, New York, and Massachusetts. A former staff associate and Program Director at Mercy by the Sea Retreat Center, she helps develop and facilitate its with Anne. Based in CT and MA, she works in private practice and serves as a guest retreat director in both states.
Anne has practiced Centering Prayer (CP) since 1996. While living in New York City, she served as co-coordinator of the Contemplative Outreach Chapter for three years and as a Centering Prayer facilitator at St. Bartholomew’s and St. Ignatius Loyola churches. A Commissioned Introductory CP workshop leader, she currently facilitates Centering Prayer groups and retreats, contemplative prayer, and contemplative writing retreats in Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Please see the link below to register.

Centering Prayer Intensive Retreat
2024-04-08 18:00 - 2024-04-14 13:30 UTC | Monastery of St. Gertrude, 465 Keuterville Road, Cottonwood, ID, 83522, United States
This 7 days / 6 night Centering Prayer retreat provides an opportunity to deepen one’s established Centering Prayer practice by building to 4 1/2 hours of prayer time at mid week. During the retreat , one is held in prayer by the sisters of St. Gertrude’s Center for Benedictine Life community located on the Camas Prairie in Central Idaho. The Spirit Center offers a quiet setting to support your retreat; including private rooms with baths, meals, daily prayer with the sisters and / or Eucharist, hiking trails, museum and gift shop.
Please see the link below.

Introduction to Centering Prayer In-Person Workshop
2024-03-27 16:00 - 17:15 (America/New_York), 2024-03-20 16:00 - 17:15 UTC, 2024-03-13 16:00 - 17:15 UTC | Grace Lutheran Church – PA, 205 South Garner Street, State College, PA, 16801, United States
Centering Prayer Introductory Program
Do you seek the still, quiet voice of God? The Centering Prayer Introductory Program will help us to understand the Indwelling Presence of God within each of us, and offer prayer periods to experience this Presence. We will explore our intimate relationship with God through Christian contemplative prayer, which has been a part of our Christian heritage for centuries. We will explore the benefits of Centering Prayer in ordinary life. Time will be
allowed for practice of the prayer and discussion of the practice each Wednesday afternoon from 4-5:15 p.m. throughout Lent 2024.
The program will be presented starting on Ash Wednesday at 4 p.m., February 14, 2024 for the seven weeks of Lent at Grace Lutheran Church 205 South Garner St, State College, PA 16801. A donation of $20 per person is requested, which includes a book. Please note that no one seeking to experience this form of prayer is ever turned away due to any financial constraints.
The program will be presented through the local chapter of Contemplative Outreach by Mary Kay and Doug Laplante, experienced practitioners of Centering Prayer. For more information email Mary Kay at mklaplante11@gmail.com or to sign up, please call or e-mail Sherri Rider at (814) 238-2478 or srider@glcpa.org

Centering Prayer Lenten Series - via Zoom
2024-03-27 11:00 - 12:00, 2024-03-20 11:00 - 12:00, 2024-03-13 11:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York) | Internet – Online
Catholic Prison Ministries Coalition is offering a weekly Centering Prayer opportunity during Lent to introduce how Centering Prayer can support ones’ ministry and about the profound effect of Centering Prayer on those living ‘Inside.’ Each week a formerly incarcerated person with a CP practice will co-present with Rev. Hampton Deck a member of Contemplative Outreach Prison Outreach Service Team and facilitator of Centering Prayer groups in prison.
Please see the link below to register.

The Very Rev. Michael Battle, Ph.D. - ​Contemplative Prayer and African Christian Mysticism
2024-03-23 09:00 - 15:00 (America/Denver) | Internet – Online
The essence of African Christian mysticism (founded in the desert tradition of monasticism) is not taught but caught. Such mysticism is a whole way of life. It is not an esoteric doctrine or a predetermined plan of ascetic practice. It is important to understand this, because there really is no way of talking about the way of prayer, or the spiritual teaching of God’s life. African Christian mystics did not try to systematize the way to God; instead, they relied upon the experience of a lifetime of striving to re-direct every aspect of body, mind, and soul to God. There was no Protestant or Catholic dichotomy of salvation based upon grace or work because salvation was caught up in how the community is so much more than the sum of individuals striving for heaven. And yet, personal prayer and personal salvation could be better understood through interpersonal prayer and interpersonal salvation. This is summed up today through the contemporary lens of African Christian mysticism known as Ubuntu: I in You and You in Me. In short, African contemplative prayer is not only an activity undertaken each day, but also a life continually turned towards God.
This event will include session of Centering Prayer.
About Michael Battle:
The Very Rev. Michael Battle, Ph.D. has an undergraduate degree from Duke University, received his master’s of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, a master’s of Sacred Theology from Yale University and a PhD in theology and ethics, also from Duke University. He was ordained a priest by Archbishop Desmond Tutu in 1993. Battle’s clergy experience, in addition to his current church work, includes serving as vicar at St. Titus Episcopal Church in Durham, NC, rector at Church of Our Saviour, in San Gabriel, California; rector at St. Ambrose Episcopal Church, Raleigh, N.C.; and interim rector or associate priest with other churches in North Carolina and in Cape Town, South Africa.
In his Peace Battle Institute he works on subjects of diversity, spirituality, prayer, race and reconciliation. Almost since its inception, he has served as pastor and spiritual director to hundreds of clergy and laity for CREDO for the Episcopal Church. He has also served as chaplain to Archbishop Tutu, Congressman John Lewis, the House of Bishops and, in 2008, was chaplain to the Lambeth Conference of Anglican Bishops. He is a featured keynote speaker and has led numerous clergy and lay retreats, including the bishops’ retreat of the Province of the West Indies. In addition, Battle has served as vice president to the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, Arun Gandhi’s Institute for Nonviolence. Battle and his wife, Raquel, were married by Archbishop Tutu and are parents to two daughters, Sage and Bliss, and a son, Zion. All of whom were baptized by Archbishop Tutu as well.
Recording Note: All registrants will receive a copy of the Zoom recording link for a period of 30 days. This recording will be available within 2 weeks of the event. A professionally edited audio or video recording will be available for permanent purchase from Broadlands Media beginning May 1, 2024. More information will be provided when available.
This is a hybrid presentation being conducted both in person at The Center for Contemplative Living in Denver, CO and online via Zoom videoconference.
Time listed is Mountain Time. (Denver, Colorado)
Click the website link below to register. Scholarships are available.

Jesus is the way and shows the path to his Father through his own contemplative practices - via Zoom
2024-03-19 15:30 - 17:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Internet – Online
The contemplative prayer ministry of Sts. Simon and Jude parish invites you to join us as Fr. Bill Sheehan OMI shares his own spiritual journey and the teachings of Fr. Thomas Keating to help guide us on our journey to our heavenly Father. We will see that Jesus shows us the way to his God through his own contemplative practices. From Jesus’ actions, we can learn to let go of the obstacles that keep us from being who God created us to be.
March 19 from 3:30 – 5:00pm Pacific Time via Zoom. There is no charge for this event but we will gratefully accept your free will donation to support our Centering Prayer ministry. Checks may be made payable to Saints Simon and Jude Church Centering Prayer Ministry and sent to this address: Sts. Simon and Jude Church, 20444 Magnolia Street, Huntington Beach, CA 92646.
RSVP to Jack Gerken by emailing Jack@gerken.org by March 13.

Practices for Contemplative Living: Going Deeper
2024-03-16 09:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York) | St. Walburga Monastery, 851 N. Broad Street, NJ, 7649, United States
Join a group of Centering Prayer practitioners to support each other on the contemplative path. Modeled after what was formerly known as the 9-month course, the program will be based on Julie Saad’s book, “Contemplative Life: Discovering Our Path to the Heart of God“. All are welcome. We meet the 3rd Saturdays of October 2023 through April 2024. Overnight accommodations are available. In March, we will review how we are doing with incorporating contemplative practices in daily life.
Explore a different contemplative practice each month:
• October 22 – Fundamentals of Centering Prayer and Holy Listening
• November 18 – Guided Meditation (Stepping Stones)
• December 16 – Advent Day of Prayer with Fr. Carl Arico
• January 20 – Logging
• February 17 – Spiritual Reading
• March 16 – Going Deeper in Daily Life
• April 20 – Lectio Divina
Further information and registration are available at: https://centeringprayernj.com/events/, or contact Eileen McCaffrey Schuman at coordinator@centeringprayernj.com.

Lent Silent Saturday
2024-03-16 09:00 - 12:00 UTC | Holy Spirit Retreat Center, 4316 Lanai Road, Encino, CA, 91436, United States
During Lent, this quiet morning, free from daily activities, gives participants time for a communal gathering in silence and Centering Prayer. Along with scheduled prayers and contemplative walks is unstructured time for private journaling or reflection, and enjoyment of the beautiful grounds of Holy Spirit Retreat Center.
The day is open to beginners as well as those experienced in contemplative prayer or silent meditation. All are welcome. A brief introduction to Centering Prayer will be offered for those new to the practice.
Registration online at hsrcenter.com is appreciated, but not required.
A free will offering is gratefully appreciated.
For more information contact Marilyn Nobori at centeringprayer@hsrcenter.com or 818-815-4480

Becoming An Everyday Contemplative
2024-03-16 08:30 - 16:30 (America/New_York) | Holy Family Passionist Retreat Center, 303 Tunxis Road, West Hartford, CT, 6107, United States
Contemplative Enrichment Day with Judith Valente
“Stillness is … opening up an emotionally clutter-free space and allowing ourselves to feel and think and dream and question,” author Brene Brown says. This is an extraordinary time when there is much chaos in our country and the world, many demands on our time, and personal pressures. This day explores simple, concrete practices we can adopt to maintain a contemplative calm, learn to embrace the current moment, and create enough space to become “everyday contemplatives.”
This program will be offered both in-person and online via Zoom. Information on how to access the program on Zoom will be sent to participants in advance.
This program will include a morning and an afternoon session of Centering Prayer.
Judith Valente is an award-winning journalist and poet and a lay Benedictine Oblate who guides frequent contemplative retreats. She has written several spirituality books including most recently, How to Be: A Monk and A Journalist Reflect on Living & Dying, Purpose & Prayer, Forgiveness & Friendship, co-authored with Trappist Brother Paul Quenon. Judith is also author of The Art of Pausing and a contemporary guide on The Rule of St. Benedict titled, How to Live.
Please use the link below to register.

Lenten Silent Saturday with Fr. Bill Sheehan, OMI: In-Person or Zoom
2024-03-16 08:30 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Shepherd of the Hills United Methodist Church, 26001 Muirlands Blvd, Mission Viejo, CA, 92691, United States
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work
with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
– Matthew 11:28-30 (The Message)
Shepherd of the Hills UMC Centering Prayer Ministry is blessed to have Fr. Bill with us giving three conferences with Q&A following each.
In-Person: Shepherd of the Hills UMC – 26001 Muirlands Bl., Mission Viejo, CA. 25.00 each, Breakfast will be provided upon your arrival.
Zoom: $10.00 each.
Registration is Required. Scholarships available. Questions or help registering, please notify Jill Yamada: jillprays@aol.com
Lenten Silent Saturday with Fr. Bill Sheehan, OMI

11th-Step Retreat
2024-03-15 15:00 - 2024-03-17 15:00 UTC | Bethany Retreat Center, 1031 Germania Rd, Frenchville, PA, 16836, United States
This retreat is for people who participate in any 12-step recovery program to introduce or expand and deepen the experience of contemplative prayer as part of a daily 11th-Step practice ourselves, in silence, saying nothing, asking for nothing, just being and allowing our Higher Power to be with us.
The retreat will offer an environment of solitude and silence in community with time for reflection, fellowship, and a 12-step meeting. for those new to contemplative prayer, the retreat is an introductory Workshop on Centering Prayer in the context of 12-step recover.
Please see the link below to register.

Wisdom School Retreat: Invitation to a Wisdom Way of Knowing
2024-03-11 - 2024-03-16 | All Souls Interfaith Gathering, 291 Bostwick Farm Road, Shelburne, VT, 05482, United States
Join us for a rhythm of practice, learning, and integration in togetherness and solitude.
The Wisdom stream is at the contemplative headwaters of every religious tradition including Christianity. Wisdom takes many shapes and forms and is more concerned with the transformation of the human being than on a set of right beliefs. The Christian Wisdom lineage is about learning to listen to the Divine within and see that we are deeply interconnected in a larger whole of which we are meant to responsibly take part in. This kind of listening and seeing requires that we include our three centers of knowing—mind, feeling, and body—in the spiritual organ of the heart which sees from wholeness and oneness.
Join us for a Wisdom School for beginners on the path and experienced practitioners, designed to bring a rhythm of practice, learning, and integration in togetherness and solitude in order to invite a ‘wisdom way of knowing.’ With periods of teaching, Centering Prayer, chanting, embodiment practices, lectio divina, contemplative sharing and free time, this Wisdom School will explore the core tenets of the Christian Wisdom Tradition through the lineage of Cynthia Bourgeault. We will focus on the Wisdom tradition as the Way of the Heart, the organ of spiritual perceptivity, and dive deeply into the three centers of intelligence (mind/intellectual, feeling/emotional, body/sensation-al) which comprise it. Wisdom Schools prepare us to live more consciously and to show up in the world holding our post as planetary servants.
Retreat Schedule (please note that schedule is subject to change)
First evening:
7:00-8:30 pm Opening Evening
Daily schedule:
* Breakfast on your own
9:00 am Chanting and Centering Prayer
9:30 am Break
9:45 am Morning Session
11:15 am Break
11:30 am Embodiment Practice/Movement, or Conscious Work
12:00 pm Lunch (talking optional) followed by contemplative free time
2:00 pm Chanting and Centering Prayer
2:30 pm Break
2:45 pm Afternoon Session
4:15 pm Break
4:30 pm Contemplative Practice
5:45 pm Dinner (talking optional)
7:00-8:30 pm Evening session – reflection, discussion, synthesis of day’s work, ending with chanting and centering prayer
Last day:
* Breakfast on your own
9:00 am Chanting and Centering Prayer
9:45 am Final Teaching
11:00 Closing Circle
12:00 End & Departure
Retreat Facilitator: Heather Ruce

Heather facilitates Wisdom practice circles, groups, retreats, and Wisdom schools. She offers teaching and guidance in various embodied Wisdom, contemplative and mindfulness practices including Centering Prayer, Christian meditation, sacred chanting, lectio divina, conscious work, and sacred gestures. She has had many companions, guides, and teachers along the way, all of whom have contributed to who she is and the work that she does. Her work is especially informed by her Masters education in family systems therapy and depth psychology and the teachings of Cynthia Bourgeault in the Christian Wisdom Tradition, and Steve Hoskinson in the integration of trauma healing and complexity science through his model Organic Intelligence.
