School of Prayer

This year's School of Prayer will be grounded in the Beatitudes. Participants will have opportunities to explore various methodologies of praying through presentations and meditations, small prayer groups, involvement in the Holy Routine at Adelynrood, individual reading and writing assignments, and daily periods of silence for individual prayer and contemplation. Our hope is for participants to gain a deeper understanding of methods of prayer, to develop their personal prayer skills, and to be empowered to share their learning and experience with their own worship communities after they return home. Preparatory study materials will be sent to enrollees prior to the session.

Program check-in 4:00-6:00 pm Thursday

Program Fee:	$120.00
Room & Board:	$300.00
Total Cost:	$420.00

You Shall Be My Witnesses

In this overnight conference, we will explore ways in which to bear faithful witness to the Gospel, especially in times of conflict, uncertainty and controversy. The passage, Acts 1:8, where Jesus shifts the emphasis from longing for the past and speculation about the future to demonstration in the present, will serve as a backdrop. Through brief meditations and open conversation, we will look at areas such as how we can revision the church as movement versus institution and what might be gained or lost in the faith community. Participants may share new insights with regard to the concept that it is more important to be loving than to be right.

Program check-in 4:00-6:00 pm Tuesday

Program Fee:	$75.00
Room & Board:	$100.00
Total Cost:	$175.00

Sing Your Song

“A bird’s song is its ‘I AM’ statement,” wrote poet Linda Crane. It has been said that our true self, our essential self, is a continuation of God's ‘I AM’ in us. Our own song rises from that Holy Source of authenticity. “I shall keep on singing!” wrote Emily Dickinson. In this workshop we will creatively engage with our journals as a place to become aware of how our song changes. Through guided exercises, reflection, sharing and silence, participants, beginners or seasoned journal writers, will honor the ways that we have expressed our selves over time. We will observe ways that we have blocked our true selves, deepen our ability to listen to our ‘I AM’ singing within and open ourselves to ways that we may share our authentic song in our daily lives. Participants, please bring your journals.

Program check-in 4:00-6:00 pm Friday

Program Fee:	$120.00
Room & Board:	$200.00
Total Cost:	$320.00

Songs of the Spirit

Seeking the voice of God through song, participants will sing from the diverse choral literature through which we experience the spirit of God in our being. Drawing from songs in various faiths and cultures, music sources will include Lift Every Voice and Sing, The Hymnal 1982, & Wonder, Love, and Praise, as well as a variety of others utilizing keyboard and percussion accompaniments. All voices with the desire to “sing with the spirit” are invited & music directors will discover materials useful for liturgical adaptation.

Program check-in 9:00 AM

Program Fee:	$75.00
Room & Board:	n/a
Total Cost:	$75.00

Poetry as Prayer and Meditation

Devotional poetry is one of the richest treasures of English literature and of the Anglican religious tradition. In this weekend workshop we will develop our ability to “read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest” some of the finest lyrics of the seventeenth-century Anglican poets John Donne, George Herbert, and Henry Vaughan, and of the great Jesuit poet of the Victorian era, Gerard Manley Hopkins. Their poems, deeply personal and yet firmly structured as prayer, exegesis, confession, and meditation, provide models that can quicken, organize, deepen, and enrich our own devotional practices. We will exercise some techniques of literary analysis and consider how meditative practices like lectio divina and contemplative prayer might take our experience of the poems from the verbal to the ineffable.

Program check-in 4:00-6:00 pm Friday

Program Fee:	$120.00
Room & Board:	$200.00
Total Cost:	$320.00

Quiet Day – Earth and All Stars

This quiet day will focus on themes in science which stir awe and wonder, leading us to deeper understandings of God’s work in the universe. We will explore ways to discern and strengthen our unique roles in the redemption of creation through meditation and prayer. Periods of silence may be guided by using the readings and Bible study passages. Participants in this event will have the opportunity to explore and experience new milieus of God’s presence and to be empowered and renewed to go into the world in expanded action, prayer and peace.

Program check-in 9:00 AM

Program Fee:	$75.00
Room & Board:	n/a
Total Cost:	$75.00

Silent Retreat – Sculpture and Silence

In this retreat our silence will be enriched by the contemplation of wood sculptures - some are liturgical, some figurative and some are inspired by forms found in nature. The leader will share connections between her life’s work and her process of creating sculpture, as well as stories about the inspiration behind individual pieces and the sources of the wood. Participants will be encouraged to explore the contours and textures of the work by signs that say “Please Touch.”

Program check-in 4:00-6:00 pm Friday

Program Fee:	$120.00
Room & Board:	$200.00
Total Cost:	$320.00

Jesus’ Family Values

Participants will engage with the biblical record on Jesus' family of origin and language about the family in the New Testament to determine what this material has to say to us and how it might speak to proponents of "family values." This event will include both plenary and small group discussions which will help participants to explore the material and allow for open conversation on the topic. Our hope is that all will leave with a deeper knowledge of the family in the Hellenistic and Roman world of New Testament times, and will have the ability to engage in contemporary political debate about "Jesus' Family Values."

Program check-in 4:00-6:00 pm Tuesday

Program Fee:	$120.00
Room & Board:	$200.00
Total Cost:	$320.00

The Contemplative Nature Journal

This Labor Day weekend gives us a special opportunity to follow the patterns and ways of the natural world around us. Marshes, gardens, sky, clouds, ocean, night stars, flowers, migrating birds and foraging animals can be our delight and mystery. In this time of concern for the Earth and its fragility, scientists and theologians are joining forces to consider the human footprint on this planet. Each of us will set up our own Nature Journal using nature study, guided drawing, expressive art, readings, contemplation and meditation. There will be plenty of time for both group and solo work, and individual instruction from Clare. We will have this wonderful chance to explore a part of the land that has been preserved and to slow down, observe, reflect and be grateful for God's bounty. Please bring an unlined journal, a thin-lined felt-tipped pen, along with a pencil and eraser. Other suggested materials are: crayons, colored markers, colored pencils, and watercolors. Limited art supplies will be available for purchase at the workshop.

Program check-in 4:00-6:00 pm Friday

Program Fee:	$120.00
Room & Board:	$200.00
Total Cost:	$320.00

The Holy Isle of Iona: Home of Celtic Christianity

The holy island of Iona, off the west coast of Scotland, is a remote and mystical place that for over 1000 years has been a pilgrimage destination for people from all over the world seeking spiritual renewal. Pilgrims continue to draw from the island's beauty and deep peace, and the echo of centuries of worship in the Celtic tradition. We will meditate with Celtic prayer and explore the history, theology, and art of Celtic spirituality. We will learn how the ecumenical Iona Community witnesses to the presence of the Holy Spirit in its various ministries, and consider our own experiences in community and ministry.

Program check-in 9:00 AM

Program Fee:	$75.00
Room & Board:	n/a
Total Cost:	$75.00