Tuesdays, February 23, March 2, 9, 16, 23
10:00 A.M. ~ 12:00 P.M.
Presented by: Maureen Connors, Ph.D.
“Superficiality is the curse of our age…. The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people.” -Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline
February 23: Exploring Our Spiritual Path to God: Six Ways to Follow Christ
Richard J. Foster, author of Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home, identifies six dimensions of faith and practice that are at the core of the Christian tradition: contemplative, holiness, charismatic, social justice, evangelical, and incarnational. These six streams of living water all grow out of Jesus’ ministry. If we overemphasize one over the rest, it can lead to lopsidedness in our prayer life.
Register for February 23 here.
March 2: Getting Lost as a Spiritual Practice: The Journey of Lent as a Lesson in Life Transitions.
In her book, An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith, Barbara Brown Taylor, identified getting lost as a spiritual practice. In our lives, change or “life quakes” often challenge us to “get lost” for some time until our spirits and our psyches catch up with the change. Explore how to embrace these times with grace and courage.
March 9: Forgiveness Is A Lovely Idea Until We Have Something to Forgive
Often the hardest person to forgive is ourselves. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said it well: “Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a permanent attitude.” Henri Nouwen sees forgiveness as “the cement of community life.” As we deepen our Lenten practices, we will explore forgiveness and its key role in our personal and community lives.
March 16: Journaling as a Spiritual Practice
Journaling allows us to record personal insights, feelings, or important remembrances that show up during meditation. . however we use journaling, “it is designed to facilitate what is occurring at a deeper, reflective level in the wider domain of one’s mind, heart, and spirit.” Phillip Cover and Donna Mollenkopf, Inner Work for Lent.
March 23: Using Our Creativity as a Spiritual Practice: Let’s Explore New Ways to Pray.
. . . making art is possible for all, a joy to most, and is for many a “way in” to God’s healing, loving presence. . . . Claiming this way in as part of an ordinary prayer life can allow a new awareness of God’s expansive, creative, Holy Presence. –Lynn Penny, “Praying in Color”, Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction, Volume 13, Number 4.
Materials Needed for March 16 and 23: Plan to have pencils, crayons or colored pens, and paper available for these programs.
Suggested fee $10.00 per retreat or pay what you can afford. All proceeds go to support the work of the Franciscan Center (no refunds)
Maureen Connors, Ph.D., serves as a spiritual companion, retreat leader, meeting facilitator, and lover of stories with several assisted living clients. Maureen is the former Co-Director of Programs at the Center where she has offered numerous programs over the years. As an octogenarian, she is facing the challenge of the last third of life issues and trying to do it with grace and courage!
Recent Comments