WINTER/SPRING 2017
Conversation A Ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet 1890 Randolph Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105 www.wisdomwayscenter.org
WELCOME
CONVERSATION
Life is lived through conversation. It is as essential as food, water, and love. From stars to trees to toddlers, a marvelous, ever-shifting exchange weaves together all life. This season at Wisdom Ways, we will immerse ourselves in Conversation. As night calls to day and day calls to night, we will seek ways to respond to what poet John O’Donohue names “the call to each other” with deep listening and honest speech. We’ll share hopes and fears, honor mystery and complexity, and recognize our fundamental shared kinship with creation and Creator. We’ll open ourselves to the wisdom of poets and poems, dancers and dreams, songwriters and songs, immigrants and indigenous, agates and scripture, and women ancient
OUR MISSION
and contemporary. We’ll let conversation take us more deeply into ourselves and more profoundly into the world. Remembering that conversation shares roots with the Latin word convertere, “to turn around”, we will practice and commit to transformation. Who knows what our conversations will generate? Come. Bring your curiosity and imagination, courage and faith. Trusting the Spirit dances in our midst, we create a way forward and awaken anew to hope within and around us. Rev. Barbara Lund, Director
EXPLORE. RE-IMAGINE. EMBODY.
Wisdom Ways Center for Spirituality offers programs to explore the spiritual dimensions of contemporary life for women and men and to re-imagine and embody all that we can be as agents of transformation in church and society. Established in 1994, Wisdom Ways is a sponsored ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province, who build their ministries around love of God and the dear neighbor without distinction. Your comments are welcome. Please contact us at 651-696-2788 or info@wisdomwayscenter.org to share ideas or to notify us of address changes.
WISDOM WAYS’ ADVISORY COMMITTEE Mary Beckfeld, Consociate; Mary Farrell Bednarowski, PhD; Meg Gillespie, CSJ; Rev. Barbara Kellett, Consociate; William McDonough, PhD; Joan Mitchell, CSJ, PhD; Rev. Julie Neraas. CONTRIBUTING POET: NAOMI SHIHAB NYE Naomi Shihab Nye’s first visit to Wisdom Ways last March generated so much excitement and synergy that she’s coming back this March for a week-long residency. Drawing on her Palestinian-American heritage, the cultural diversity of her home in Texas, and her experiences traveling and teaching around the world, Nye uses her writing as a sort of conversation that attests to the shared humanity that makes all the rest of our differences seem small. Three of her poems appear in this catalog. CONTRIBUTING ESSAYIST: RODA ABDI Roda Abdi is a senior at St. Catherine University. She believes literature, philosophy and art are the disciplines that will help us create betterfutures. Her essay is on page 11.
2 All programs are held at Carondelet Center, 1890 Randolph Ave., St. Paul, unless otherwise noted.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
WINTER/SPRING 2017
Explore
Conversations about Sacred Wisdom, Divine Mysteries and Human Questions
* Experiencing Hildegard of Bingen........................................... 4 * A Poetic Conversation of Being Human: a Week with Naomi Shihab Nye............................................... 6 * From the Heart as It Is: A Spring Harvest of Poems and Songs.................................... 8 * Readings and Reflections from my Time with Native People: An Evening with Kent Nerburn....................... 9
Re-imagine
SPIRITUAL PRACTICES * Writing the Sacred Journey: The Art and Practice
of Spiritual Memoir Workshop.............................................. 18 * Spiritual Memoir Monthly Writing Sessions.......................... 18 * Spiritual Memoir “Seed Writing” Sessions........................... 19 * The Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformation....... 19 * Walking in Harmony: A Labyrinth Journey............................ 21
ART EXHIBITS * Nine Gates............................................................................. 22 * Solomon’s Tent ...................................................................... 22 * Beauty in Agate...................................................................... 23 ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES ~ SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH SPIRITUALITY MINISTRIES
New and Emerging Ideas and Understandings
* Hedgerow Initiative: Women and Christianity:
Resilient Women, Emergent Church...................................... 12 * Exploring Dreams: Three Conversations with the Psyche... 13 * Paradox and Songs: A Springtime Circle of Trust Retreat... 13 * Playing in the Sacred Wilderness: Fiction, Imagination, and Faith............................................... 14
MEN’S SPIRITUALITY * Bio-Spiritual Focusing: A Practical Tool for Men.................. 15 * Centering Prayer Circle......................................................... 15
Embody
Celeste’s Dream: Spirituality for Young Adults ....................... 24 Membership and Association .................................................. 24 Justice Commission ................................................................. 25 Rituals to Mark the Seasons ................................................... 26 Second Sunday ......................................................................... 26 Spiritual Direction .................................................................... 26
EVENTS IN THE WIDER COMMUNITY Celtic and Nordic Services at Pilgrim Lutheran Church, St. Paul...................................................................................... 27
WISDOM WAYS LABYRINTH RESOURCES TO RENT .................................................... 27 CALENDAR OF PROGRAMS ....................................28-29
Spiritual Practices for Everyday Living
LOOKING AHEAD
MEDITATION
Transforming Soul and Society................................................ 30
Christian Meditation: A Way of Contemplative Prayer * Tuesday Evening Meditation.................................................. 16 * Half-Day Meditation Retreat.................................................. 16 * Meditation during Lent.......................................................... 16 * Seeking God in the Stillness: A Winter Retreat in Silence.... 17 * Lectio Divina: Mornings of Reflection during Lent.............. 17 * Lenten Awakenings: Friday Evening Prayer......................... 17
INDEX & REGISTRATION INFORMATION ............... 31 All programs are held at Carondelet Center, 1890 Randolph Ave., St. Paul, unless otherwise noted.
You can learn more about programs and presenters at www.wisdomwayscenter.org www.wisdomwayscenter.org
651-696-2788
info@wisdomwayscenter.org
3
Explore EXPLORE
Conversations about Sacred Wisdom, Divine Mysteries and Human Questions
EXPERIENCING HILDEGARD OF BINGEN
Come delve into the life and creativity of Hildegard of Bingen, a twelfth-century Rhineland mystic, writer, healer, leader, playwright, composer, and preacher. In 2012, 833 years after her death, she was declared a saint of the universal church and one of only four women among 35 persons officially recognized in Catholicism as a “Doctor of the Church.” In addition to a thorough examination of her life and visions, this interdisciplinary series, which began in September 2016, explores a Jungian perspective on her visions and key theological topics found in her writings, such as the dark side of God, the divine feminine, mother church, and her concept of the green life-force, viriditas. Compare mandalas in her visions and those found in Jung’s Red Book and probe Celtic influences on her spirituality. We’ll wrap up in April 2017 with a retreat and reflections on the contemporary implications of Hildegard’s life and thought led by Avis Clendenen, author of Experiencing Hildegard: Jungian Perspectives.
Presenters: Mary Kaye Medinger, MA, is a lifelong educator with a particular interest in women’s history and spirituality. A writer, editor and retreat leader, she holds degrees in history, education and pastoral studies as well as certificates in holistic health studies, spiritual direction and The Sacred Art of Living and Dying. A consociate of the Sisters of St. Joseph, she has spent 37 years in various ministerial positions in parish, diocesan and ecumenical settings. Hildegard is one of her mentors! Ed Sellner, PhD, is professor emeritus in theology, St. Catherine University, where he has taught undergraduate and graduate courses for the past 35 years and administered pastoral ministry, spiritual direction, and master’s degree programs. Ed has studied at the Jung Institute in Zurich, Switzerland, and is the author of 12 books on mentoring, Celtic spirituality, the history of Western monasticism and spirituality, and more recently on Buddhism and other Asian religions. He has long been an admirer of Hildegard, and shared his enthusiasm for her in many courses. Dr. Wighard Strehlow is a naturopath who treats patients using medicine, healing methods, nutrition and spirituality based on the visions of Hildegard of Bingen. Co-author of Hildegard of Bingen’s Medicine and author of Hildegard of Bingen’s Spiritual Remedies, he directs and practices at the Hildegard Center on Lake Constance in southern Germany. Painter, poet, and educator Elizabeth Erickson is a founding member of the Women’s Art Registry of Minnesota (WARM) and the Women’s Art Institute. In the 1990s, Erickson embarked on a continuing series of abstract paintings inspired
4
All programs are held at Carondelet Center, 1890 Randolph Ave., St. Paul, unless otherwise noted.
EXPLORE
WINTER/SPRING 2017
“ She stands in history as a woman too strong for the church to either deny or affirm for nearly a thousand years… a mystic, an encyclopedist, an artist, a leader, a public figure, a spiritual teacher, fearless carrier of the best ideals of her time, and, most of all, a prophetic model of a future worldchurch. This is not a woman for all seasons; this is a woman for all centuries.”
* JOAN CHITTISTER
by the life and art of Hildegard, whose preoccupation with language, light, and female spirituality remain a source of inspiration for Erickson. Author of Experiencing Hildegard: Jungian Perspectives, Avis Clendenen, PhD, DMin, is professor emerita of religious studies at St. Xavier University in Chicago, where she also served as Sister Irene Dugan R.C. Scholar in Spirituality. A pastoral theologian and gifted teacher, Avis provides days of reflection and retreats that integrate the arts and technology, exploring the intersections of Christian spirituality, depth psychology and the tasks of living fully in the second half of life. Session Five: Hildegard and Music. It has been said that her music has no ancestors and no descendants. We will explore its unique character and contemporary groups performing it today. Tuesday, January 17, 6:30 to 8:30 pm. Session Six: Hildegard and Healing. Join Dr. Wighard Strehlow to learn more about Hildegard’s concept of health and well-being and its application to contemporary life. Her holistic approach and her influence on premodern medicine is being rediscovered, with a focus on the unity of mind, body and soul. Tuesday, February 28, 6:30 to 8:30 pm.
Session Seven: Hildegard and Art. Compare the symbol of wholeness, the Mandela, in Hildegard’s visions and Jung’s Red Book, his personal journal. Talk with artist Elizabeth Erickson and share her exploration of Hildegard’s art. Tuesday, March 21, 6:30 to 8:30 pm. Closing Retreat: Experiencing Hildegard of Bingen: Medieval Nun, Doctor of the Church, Wisdom Figure for Our Time. Avis Clendenen will explore in greater depth the richness that Hildegard and Carl Jung, 12th and 20th century mystics, bring to us precisely because we need them now more than ever. Avis will draw on technology and the arts, scholarly research, and ritual, with plenty of time for group conversation and engagement. Friday, April 21, 7:00 to 9:00 pm and Saturday, April 22, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. The course sessions continue from last fall. See Wisdom Ways website for session details and other recommended reading and resources. REQUIRED TEXT: E xperiencing Hildegard: Jungian Perspectives
COST:
(Expanded and Revised Version) by Avis Clendenen, 2012, Chiron Publications (available at Wisdom Ways). Monthly sessions: $35.00 each; April retreat, $140.00, includes lunch.
www.wisdomwayscenter.org
651-696-2788
info@wisdomwayscenter.org
5
Explore EXPLORE
Conversations about Sacred Wisdom, Divine Mysteries and Human Questions
THE POETIC CONVERSATION OF BEING HUMAN: A WEEK WITH NAOMI SHIHAB NYE March 26 to 31 This week was made possible by a grant from the Ministries Foundation of the Sisters of St. Joseph
The Sufi poet Rumi suggested that for any of us to open into the fullness of our beauty, we must be spoken to. He regarded every human being as a conversation– between our bodies or the particulars that make us who we are, and that something “more” flowing through all of us, the universal that we share across time and differences. Wisdom Ways brings poet Naomi Shihab Nye back for a week in residence, opening a rich and daily conversation between the particular and universal, between the world that we live in and the world we want to create. She will lead five public programs you can attend individually or as a series in a weeklong self-guided writing retreat with ample time for your own work on the page. Attend one or all of these programs. Discover the poetry of your own life waiting to be spoken to and waiting to reply.
WHEN SILENCE SPEAKS: A CONTEMPLATIVE EVENING OF POETRY AND SONG WITH NAOMI SHIHAB NYE AND SARA THOMSEN Poetry and song both rise from and return to the silence. In this contemplative service, poet Naomi Shihab Nye and singer/songwriter Sara Thomsen lead poetry, song and silence, opening our hearts to compassion, community and creativity. WHEN: Sunday, March 26, 7:00 to 8:30 pm COST: $15.00 TEXT: Unity Church-Unitarian, 733 Portland
Self-Guided (DIY) Writing Retreat With Naomi Shihab Nye Have you been longing for time and space to write? For silence and a room of your own? For inspiration from a favorite poet to spur your own words? Wisdom Ways invites you to create a Do-It-Yourself writing retreat during Naomi Shihab Nye’s week as writer-in-residence, Sunday, March 26 to Saturday, April 1. A single DIY writing retreat registration fee covers: • six nights’ accommodation in a private room furnished with a bed, desk, reading chair, and wifi; • admission to all five public events with Naomi Shihab Nye; • a welcome lunch on Monday to meet Wisdom Ways teaching writers Karen Hering and Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew and your fellow DIY retreatants; • a morning of coffee/tea and scones with Naomi Shihab Nye and fellow DIY retreatants on Thursday. For an additional fee, DIY writing retreatants may choose to schedule a one-hour spiritual consultation on your writing journey and projects with Karen Hering or Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew. The DIY writing retreat does not include meals, except where noted. The rooms share access to a kitchenette with a refrigerator, microwave, sink and dishes, and many restaurants are located nearby. This opportunity is an experiment offered for a limited number of retreatants who wish to create their own writing experience, without a retreat leader (other than you!) but supported and fed by inspiration and teaching from Naomi Shihab Nye. Come by yourself, with a writing buddy or with your whole writing group. Full details and cost available at www.wisdomwayscenter.org. Or call 651-696-2788.
Ave, St. Paul. Registration through Wisdom Ways only.
6
All programs are held at Carondelet Center, 1890 Randolph Ave., St. Paul, unless otherwise noted.
EXPLORE
WINTER/SPRING 2017
THE WORK OF WORDS IN TROUBLED TIMES In times of heightened fear of those we name as “other,” words can serve to deepen the divisions between us or to bridge them with connection and understanding. Naomi Shihab Nye’s poetry and stories often serve as bridges. Whether you’re a reader or writer or both, join her for an afternoon’s conversation on the role of literature and poetry and the writer’s call: to bear witness to the troubled times we live in and to awaken the imagination and open-heartedness needed to turn us toward hope, justice and new possibilities. WHEN: Monday, COST: $20.00
March 27, 1:30 to 3:30 pm
LET WRITING BE THE FIRST CONVERSATION OF YOUR DAY
“It’s so unimaginative not to do something better,” says Naomi Shihab Nye of the conflict in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world. Closing her week in residence with Wisdom Ways, Nye and Palestinian-American writer Ibtisam Barakat reflect together on the importance of poetry and literature in our world and its power to help us imagine—and grow into—a better world. Friday, March 31, 7:00 to 8:30 pm Reception and book signing following. COST: $15.00, free for students with ID WHEN:
Our first moments after waking are often our freshest, offering access to our larger consciousness and greater powers of association. When we devote this time to our writing, having our first conversation with the open page, the results can be beautiful and surprising. Come cultivate a morning practice of writing, no matter how much or how little writing you have done. Bring pen and paper and a willingness to explore what it means to be devotional and reverent in your writing practice. WHEN: Tuesday, COST: $20.00
POETRY AS A CONVERSATION WITH SOMETHING BETTER: A READING BY NAOMI SHIHAB NYE AND IBTISAM BARAKAT Co-hosted by Mizna, St. Catherine University and Wisdom Ways
Presenters:
March 28, 7:30 to 9:30 am
THE WRITER’S PATH TOWARD BELOVED COMMUNITY: A DAY OF INSPIRATION, CONVERSATION, EMBODIED REFLECTION AND WRITING For experienced and emerging writers who wish to explore the power of poetic language for opening a path to common ground, this day explores writing as an invitation into relationship–with ourselves, others and the world we share. Includes presentations by Nye, writing exercises, group conversation, lunch, and time for writing. Guided movement to keep our bodies and senses awake and engaged led by Lisa Schlingerman who facilitates art and Tai Ji experiences for people of all ages and abilities. WHEN: Wednesday, March 29, 9:00 COST: $65.00, includes lunch
am to 4:00 pm
www.wisdomwayscenter.org
Award-winning, Palestinian-American author, poet, translator, artist and educator Ibtisam Barakat writes in both English and Arabic. Balcony on the Moon, Tasting the Sky and her other works center on healing social injustices, especially in the lives of young people. Her writings exist in numerous translations. www.ibtisambarakat.com Naomi Shihab Nye is the author and/or editor of more than 30 volumes, including poetry, essays, short stories, novels for young readers, and picture books. The Turtle of Oman, her novel for children, was named Best Book of 2014 by The Horn Book, a 2015 Notable Children’s Book by the American Library. Musician in residence Sara Thomsen is a weaver of song and community singing. She is founder and artistic director of the Echoes of Peace Choir, a non-audition, 70-member community choir in Duluth, Minnesota and a staunch supporter of struggles for human dignity and ecological sustainability. www.sarathomsen.com
651-696-2788
info@wisdomwayscenter.org
7
Explore EXPLORE
Conversations about Sacred Wisdom, Divine Mysteries and Human Questions
FROM THE HEART AS IT IS: A SPRING HARVEST OF POEMS AND SONGS
Creation takes place in the dark, but it seeks the light. The darkness is often bewildering, intimidating, but the artist persists. The theologian James Carse in The Silence of God writes that when we pray, we pray “from the heart as it is” rather than wait until we somehow have our act together before daring to address the Divine Mystery. This evening of poems and songs, featuring Angela Shannon, Laura MacKenzie, Sharon Chmielarz, and Michael Dennis Browne, explores the journeys we must make on the way to transforming experience into words and notes that contribute to the vastness of our shared world. Presenters: Michael Dennis Browne’s latest collection of poems is The Voices. Two of his collections have won the Minnesota Book Award for poetry. A librettist and lyricist, he worked almost four decades with composer Stephen Paulus; their best-known shorter works include “Pilgrims’ Hymn,” “The Road Home,” “Hymn to the Eternal Flame” and “Hymn for America.” To Be Certain of the Dawn, a post-Holocaust oratorio, was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in music. Recently he worked with Craig Hella Johnson on the fusion oratorio Considering Matthew Shepard. He is a professor emeritus of English at the University of Minnesota.
Laura MacKenzie has learned from many noted tradition bearers on both sides of the Atlantic, and has been recognized as a master folk artist. Her honors and performing arts awards include a Bush Foundation Fellowship in Traditional and Ethnic Performing Arts. Laura performs and teaches on an array of wind-powered instruments, from wooden flutes and whistles to Scottish smallpipes, medieval greatpipes, gemshorn and voice. She has performed and recorded with diverse ensembles, worked with theatrical productions and for public radio, and has performed at festivals across the U.S. www.lauramackenzie.com
Sharon Chmielarz’s ten books of poetry include The Widow’s House, a finalist for the 2015 Next Generation Indie Book Awards and one of Kirkus’s Best of 2016 Books, and Visibility: Ten Miles, a Prairie Memoir in Photography and Poetry, a Midwest Book Awards finalist. Her work has been published in The Notre Dame Review, The Iowa Review, Prairie Schooner, The Hudson Review, The North American Review, North Dakota Quarterly, Commonweal, Salmagundi, Margie, The Seneca Review, Louisiana Literature, Ontario Review, CutBank and many others. She was awarded Water~Stone’s Jane Kenyon Prize in 2012.
Angela Shannon, author of Singing the Bones Together, has published poetry in many anthologies including Blues Vision: African American Writings from Minnesota; Where One Voice Ends, Another Begins: 150 Years of Minnesota Poetry; Hip Hop Speaks to Children: a celebration of poetry with a beat edited by Nikki Giovanni; and Beyond the Frontier: African-American Poetry for the 21st century, Step Into a World: The Global Anthology of the New Black Literature. Her publication credits include TriQuarterly, Crab Orchard Review, Ploughshares, and Essence Magazine. She is a professor of English at Bethel University. WHEN: Thursday, COST: $20.00
8
April 6, 7:00 to 9:00 pm
All programs are held at Carondelet Center, 1890 Randolph Ave., St. Paul, unless otherwise noted.
EXPLORE
WINTER/SPRING 2017
READINGS AND REFLECTIONS FROM MY TIME WITH NATIVE PEOPLE: AN EVENING WITH KENT NERBURN Praised as one of the few non-Native authors who can respectfully bridge the gap between Native American and non-Native cultures, Kent Nerburn has lived and worked among the Native American people for three decades. In this special evening, he shares encounters, experiences and reflections gathered in his new book, Voices in the Stones: Life Lessons from the Native Way. Experience a traditional Native feast where children are taught to respect the elders. Meet a young Native man and his father who use the power of ceremony to connect the present with the ancient voices of the past. Listen to an elder who remembers the time when his ancestors could talk to animals. In these and other encounters, Nerburn reveals the spiritual awareness that animates all of Native American life, and shows how much we have to learn from one another, if only we have the heart to listen. Kent Nerburn is the highly acclaimed author and editor of fourteen books on spiritual values and Native American themes, including Letters to My Son; Neither Wolf nor Dog: On Forgotten Roads with an Indian Elder and The Wolf at Twilight: An Indian Elder’s Journey through a Land of Ghosts and Shadows, and The Girl who Sang to the Buffalo. WHEN: Wednesday, COST: $20.00
www.wisdomwayscenter.org
May 3, 7:00 to 8:30 pm
651-696-2788
info@wisdomwayscenter.org
9
POETRY
“ CROSS THAT LINE” from You and Yours, 2005
* Naomi Shihab Nye
“ COMMUNICATION SKILLS” from Honeybee, 2008 I am working on speaking to the ones who haven’t spoken to us in years, the ones swinging punches out of nowhere, the ones who decided to shun us for reasons unknown, who wouldn’t greet our group at the family reunion but sat across the swimming pool looking wounded. The strength of strangers will help us survive. Strangers are so generous. They don’t know our faults, our flaws, so they hope for the best, muttering good morning when you pass at the bridge. The consolation of strangers is endless and forgiving. But it takes all our courage with close ones sometimes. Families, neighbors, best friends . . . Even if we believe in world peace, they will find reasons to dislike us. I think of Gandhi who said he might never have become an activist for nonviolence if the neighbor boys had not beaten him up.
“ SHOULDERS” from Red Suitcase, 1994
Paul Robeson stood on the northern border of the USA and sang into Canada where a vast audience sat on folding chairs waiting to hear him. He sang into Canada. His voice left the USA when his body was not allowed to cross that line. Remind us again, brave friend. What countries may we sing into? What lines should we all be crossing? What songs travel toward us from far away to deepen our days?
A man crosses the street in rain, stepping gently, looking two times north and south, because his son is asleep on his shoulder. No car must splash him. No car drive too near to his shadow. This man carries the world’s most sensitive cargo but he’s not marked. Nowhere does his jacket say FRAGILE, HANDLE WITH CARE. His ear fills up with breathing. He hears the hum of a boy’s dream deep inside him. We’re not going to be able to live in this world if we’re not willing to do what he’s doing with one another. The road will only be wide. The rain will never stop falling.
10
All programs are held at Carondelet Center, 1890 Randolph Ave., St. Paul, unless otherwise noted.
WINTER/SPRING 2017
CONSIDERING CONVERSATION
CONSIDERING CONVERSATION * By Roda Abdi
My parents are immigrants from Somalia. They arrived in the United States in 1991. Somali, the official language of Somalia, wasn’t a written language until 1972. How did my ancestors communicate, then? How did they stay in conversation together when they didn’t have any tangible way to keep track of what was happening other than the word of mouth? I’d like to think that they were theatrical in the way they communicated, complete with hand gestures and animated faces. Along with a vibrant oral tradition, we are also known as “the land of poets.” Since Somalia was a country that in ancient times had a tribalist governance system, and poets were deeply revered and respected, the poet would use her agile way with words and colorful language to either advocate for his tribe or prepare them for war. Here, the poet is key: she can be a catalyst to avoid conflict, or the reason a tribe would get into one. Poets could make or break a society with their words. Listening to Naomi Shihab Nye last March reminded me of my roots as well as the imminent future. I spent this semester as an intern at Wisdom Ways where conversation was at the front and center of my experience. I was at conversation with myself where I was pushed to become a little more outward, a little more vocal because I love interiority, and because interaction is a large part of the experience of the classes I attended here. I was in conversation in the various classes where I knew I stood out as a Muslim woman in a Christian space. I was at the same time in conversation with a larger community at my classes at St. Kate’s. At St. Kate’s, conversation has been a key thread and has
given me space to grow and become the person I knew I could be. Wisdom Ways has given me the platform to try to expand the ways I am in dialogue with myself, my local community, and how I fit into the same conversation on a larger, global landscape. The last six months have been brutal, as the winning candidate made hateful and divisive language the centerpiece of his campaign. Even within families there seem to be deep rifts and ideological divides. How can we become one, how can we be whole? At the weekly seminars that Wisdom Ways sponsors, when individuals come with specific intentions to better themselves and those around them, I feel the most hopeful for the world in these bleak times. Community-building, resilience, and empathy begin with being in dialogue and conversation with each other. All of the seemingly large feats of the world begin small. Transformative change doesn’t happen overnight, but it does start by having honest, life-affirming dialogue and conversation within ourselves, and then having the courage to talk to those around you. All of these aggregate conversations then become a movement. This is why I am excited for Naomi’s return. Her poetry transcends typical storytelling and includes the many places that have been impactful to her and has lineages scattered across the globe, such as I do. When she graces us with her presence for a week this March, her powerful words and poignant prose-poetry will ensure that we can build and sustain a world that is for all of us.
www.wisdomwayscenter.org
651-696-2788
info@wisdomwayscenter.org
11
Re-imagine REIMAGINE
New and Emerging Ideas and Understandings
HEDGEROW INITIATIVE
The Hedgerow Initiative offers sustained, systematic programming in feminist theological education, spiritual integration, and leadership for a just and holy world. In a particular way, the Initiative highlights the scholarship of women who since the 1950s have worked to reclaim women’s presence and significance in scripture, church, history, theology and culture. The Initiative takes its name from the hedgerow schools in Ireland that kept alive the language, faith, culture and community of the people during the time of the British penal codes. A hedgerow is a biosphere and a haven.
WOMEN AND CHRISTIANITY: RESILIENT WOMEN, EMERGENT CHURCH History: who makes it and who tells it? Who decides the story line and cast of characters? Women’s scholars such as Church historian Mary T. Malone retell Christian history with women widening the path of discipleship through the centuries. From the beginning a company of men and women accompany Jesus, follow him, and serve the emergent community. In every generation women find their voices, claim authority, act creatively, confront heedless power, and participate in the upheavals of their times. Some are wives and mothers, some celibate; some reign, others preach and inspire. What do we inherit from these foremothers? What do their lives inspire in those of us who seek God today? To what is God summoning us from the future? Join creative and resilient women in wrestling with the gospel message today, pondering what the Reformation asks of us in its 500th anniversary year, seeking the holy in a world many label secular, reimagining women’s leadership in our churches. Where will ecumenical dialogues take us? Marriage, divorce? Built around Mary T. Malone’s history Women & Christianity, the seminar will delve into historical persons and controversial topics as well as include guest presenters. Find the syllabus at www. wisdomwayscenter.org SAMPLE TOPICS INCLUDE: • Reading Women into History, Trajectories into the Future • Women Using their Heads and Hearts, Gnostic Heroines and Christian Martyrs • Women of the People or Witches? • Women of the New World • Reimagining Ministry/Spirituality Today: What Can We Learn from Each Other? Hedgerow Instructors: Joan Mitchell, CSJ, PhD; Rev. Barbara Lund; Mary Kaye Medinger, MA; Susan Hames, CSJ, ABD; Catherine Steffens, CSJ, MA; and guest presenters. Required Texts: Women & Christianity by Mary T. Malone, Volume I, The First Thousand Years; Volume II, From 1,000 to Reformation; Volume III, From the Reformation to the 21st Century WHEN: Mondays, February 6 through April 24, 6:30 to 8:30 pm COST: $240.00 for the 12-week series. $25.00 for a single session.
12
All programs are held at Carondelet Center, 1890 Randolph Ave., St. Paul, unless otherwise noted.
Mary of Nazareth Mary Magdalen Martha Mary of Bethany Samaritan Woman Woman who anoints Jesus Syrophoenician woman Tabitha Prisca Junia Lydia Lois, Eunice Thecla Marcella Perpetua, Felicity Macrina Clotilde Hilda of Whitby Leoba Hildegard of Bingen Christina of Markyate Elizabeth of Schönau Marguerite Porete Julian of Norwich Ursala Jost Isabelle d’Este Teresa of Avila Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz Anne Hutchinson Sarah Edwards
REIMAGINE
WINTER/SPRING 2017
“ Psyche consists of the conscious and the unconscious, but the critical point is that these are not two separate systems, but rather two aspects of one system, with the exchange of energy between consciousness and the unconscious providing the dynamic for growth and change.” * JUNE SINGER
EXPLORING DREAMS: THREE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE PSYCHE Dreams come to us for healing and wholeness—our psyche’s gift to us, along with unfiltered wisdom about who we are. These three evenings are designed to give space, time, and a focused process into a conversation between ourselves and our dreams. We’ll explore three doorways of conversation, one each evening: focusing, touchdrawing, and sandtray. We’ll have time to center, time to share our dreams with each other, and time to let the dream speak to us. What? and Why?—often the first questions we ask of the dream—will be set aside as we ask Who? of our dream and of ourselves. Please bring one or two written dreams to explore. All sharing of dreams and insights is optional. Facilitators: Carol Burling, MA, DMin, has been a lifelong learner in the area of human development. The focus of her work and studies is spiritual development, attachment, shame, loss, grief and resiliency. She also has interest and training in Sandplay, Dreamwork, and Focusing, all of which she uses in her work as a spiritual director, retreat leader and consultant. Weaver, stained glass artist and spiritual director Dennis Galvin, FSC incorporates dream work (certified through the Haden institute) and sand/symbol work in retreats and continuing adult formation for the Midwest Province of Christian Brothers. WHEN: Wednesdays, COST: $75.00
February 8, 15, 22, 6:30 to 8:30 pm
PARADOX AND SONGS: A SPRINGTIME CIRCLE OF TRUST® RETREAT Early spring in the Midwest offers a time of in between. In the natural world, we find ourselves watching and waiting for the green of new life to arrive, even as we stand amidst the muck and deadness of last year. Join us in the paradox of spring. Through song, poetry and community, we will explore the seasons we are leaving and entering in our own lives. For educators, clergy, community leaders, activists, artists, people of faith and seekers of all kinds, this retreat combines the principles and practices of Circles of Trust and the power of music to help us understand and live into our lives. Developed by Parker Palmer and the Center for Courage & Renewal, The Circle of Trust® approach creates a process of shared exploration in a safe space for deepening awareness, nurturing personal and professional integrity, and summoning the courage to act on hard-earned wisdom. Learn more at www.couragerenewal.org/approach.
I f we are willing to embrace the challenge of becoming whole, we cannot embrace it alone—at least, not for long: we need trustworthy relationships to sustain us, tenacious communities of support, to sustain the journey toward an undivided life. Taking an inner journey toward rejoining soul and role requires a rare but real form of community that I call a “circle of trust.” * PARKER J. PALMER, A HIDDEN WHOLENESS (ADAPTED)
www.wisdomwayscenter.org
651-696-2788
info@wisdomwayscenter.org
13
Re-imagine REIMAGINE
New and Emerging Ideas and Understandings
Facilitators: Winton Boyd, senior pastor at Orchard Ridge UCC in Madison, WI and Courage & Renewal Facilitator (CCR) for nine years, helps people explore their ‘inner teacher’ in a safe and spiritually open way. He has worked with people of faith in multiple contexts and embraces the insights and pathways of multiple spiritual traditions while residing within the Christian way. Courage and Renewal Facilitator Paula J. Pedersen is a Psychology professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Paula is also an interculturalist and consultant to educational and leadership groups seeking self-awareness and strategies toward intercultural effectiveness. As an educator, singer and global citizen, Paula strives to facilitate understanding of the complexity of multiple perspectives, whether singing, teaching, training or tending her garden.
PLAYING IN THE SACRED WILDERNESS: FICTION, IMAGINATION, AND FAITH Imagination is necessary for creativity, compassion, human connection, and our relationship with Mystery. In this threepart series, Susan Power will share excerpts from her novel, Sacred Wilderness, offer insights from a Native worldview in which faith, practice, and imagination work in unity, and lead us in using our own sacred imaginations through conversation and fiction-writing exercises. In fiction, the trail markers of what happened don’t exist. The writer must step bravely into the wild, having faith that imagination will provide what’s needed to make meaning. It’s an exercise of trust, deep listening, and active creation. Writers Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew and Elizabeth Fletcher will join Susan Power in leading this exploration of fiction writing as a spiritual practice. Session One: Entering the Sacred Wilderness. We’ll learn about the inspiration for and birth of Sacred Wilderness. How does a novelist come to trust an inner nudge enough to begin writing? Or how do you know when a story has chosen you? When characters appear, how does the author know they’re worth heeding? Why might this creative impulse be an act of faith?
14
Deepening spiritual connection and widening social engagement through song is at the heart of singer-songwriter Sara Thomsen’s work. See page 7 for more. Friday, March 17, 4:00 pm to Sunday, March 19, 12:00 pm WHERE: St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Wood, Maplewood, MN COST: $395 includes meals and onsite lodging, $295 includes meals (no lodging). Registration through Wisdom Ways only. WHEN:
Session Two: Romping in the Wilderness. Together we’ll explore how the process of writing fiction can be a form of deep listening and a means of acting on faith. How can our imaginative play become a way of participating in the Spirit’s movement? How do we encourage a story’s inner life to reveal itself? Session Three: Trusting the Wilderness. Resistance inevitably arises during the creative process. When things are hard, how do we know whether that’s a message to stop or to trust our deeper impulses regardless? What do you do when inner wisdom doesn’t reveal itself quickly or easily? What motivates you to continue when your imagination seems to have forsaken you or when external forces deny the significance of this work? Susan Power is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe who teaches in the American Indian Studies Department at the University of Minnesota. She’s the author of three books, The Grass Dancer (winner of a PEN/Hemingway award), Roofwalker, and Sacred Wilderness, a novel that brings together four Clan Mothers across chasms of time and culture in order to bring foundation to a contemporary woman floundering in the wilderness of soulless materialism.
All programs are held at Carondelet Center, 1890 Randolph Ave., St. Paul, unless otherwise noted.
REIMAGINE
WINTER/SPRING 2017
Writing instructor and spiritual director Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew is the author of Writing the Sacred Journey: The Art and Practice of Spiritual Memoir; the forthcoming Living Revision: Opening the Writer’s Art; and many other books, es says, and short memoirs. Her work explores the intersec tions between spiritual growth and the creative process. www.elizabethjarrettandrew.com
Elizabeth Fletcher holds an MFA in Writing from Hamline University and writes fiction and nonfiction. Her work has appeared in The Literary Bohemian, Sea Stories, and Confrontation. She is dedicated to helping writers explore wellness through creativity. WHEN: Thursdays, COST: $75.00
April 20, 27, and May 4, 6:30 to 8:30 pm
MEN’S SPIRITUALITY Exploring Men’s Personal Journeys of Spiritual Growth To preserve a sacred space for men to explore their spirituality together, we ask that only men register for the sessions. Coordinator: Terry Shaughnessy is a spiritual director trained in Ignatian Spirituality through the Masters in Christian Spirituality Program at Creighton University. For Contemplative Outreach of Colorado and other venues, he conducts retreats and workshops and teaches Centering Prayer. His primary passion is offering the ministry of compassionate presence to support men from a variety of backgrounds to tend to their inner lives. To learn more about spiritual direction, contact Terry at 651-328-7675.
BIO-SPIRITUAL FOCUSING: A PRACTICAL TOOL FOR MEN Bio-Spiritual Focusing is a simple, practical process that re-awakens your ability to allow the gift of your body’s wisdom to guide you into greater wholeness. It is more than just “thinking” or “feeling”. It is “felt-sensing” unique personal meanings and directions that come from deep within. This requires time, patience, and willingness to continue developing the practice of deeply listening inside. This two-part workshop is for any man who has struggled to be in touch with his feelings. Much psychological and spiritual suffering is carried in our bodies, often leaving us stuck in repetitive patterns that confuse the expression of feelings. By learning and applying this simple yet profound process, we will more readily access our more noble qualities. Please join us as we learn and practice focusing skills developed by Eugene Gendlin (Focusing) and Rev. Peter A. Campbell and Rev. Edwin M. McMahon (Bio-spiritual Focusing). To learn more: www.biospiritual.org Facilitator: Learn more about Carol Burling, MA, DMin, on page 13. WHEN: Wednesday COST: $45.00
mornings, March 15, 29, 7:30 to 9:00 am
“ Hidden deep within our bones lies an unrecognized capacity just waiting to be found. Can we make time to begin this sacred inward journey, discovering hidden possibilities inside ourselves just waiting to surprise us?” * REV. PETER A. CAMPBELL AND REV. EDWIN M. MCMAHON
CENTERING PRAYER CIRCLE To foster community among participants, the Wisdom Ways Men’s Spirituality Series holds a monthly contemplative prayer circle. Each meeting begins with 20 minutes of contemplative prayer practice using the method of Centering Prayer. Opportunity for group sharing is included, as well as occasional video teachings by Centering Prayer teacher and Trappist monk Thomas Keating. This ancient practice of Christian meditation is related to the classic tradition of contemplation and is easily accessible. Facilitators: Louie Doering, a group leader for Centering Prayer groups at St. Stanislaus Parish in St. Paul, and Terry Shaughnessy, Wisdom Ways Men’s Spirituality Coordinator. Wednesdays, January 25, February 22, March 22, April 26, May 31, June 28, 5:30 to 7:00 pm COST: Donation. RSVP to 651-696-2788 or info@wisdomwayscenter.org WHEN:
www.wisdomwayscenter.org
651-696-2788
info@wisdomwayscenter.org
15
Embody EMBODY
Spiritual Practices for Everyday Living
MEDITATION
CHRISTIAN MEDITATION: A WAY OF CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER
Therefore contemplation, even at its highest, dearest, and most intimate, is not to be for you an end in itself. It shall only be truly yours when it impels you to action: when the double movement of the Transcendent Love, drawing inwards to unity and fruition, and rushing out again to creative acts, is realised in you. * E VELYN UNDERHILL
Meditation is a form of contemplative prayer in which we move beyond words, thoughts, and images. We open ourselves to God’s mysterious and silent presence within us and it becomes more and more the reality of our lives. From this place of prayer we engage in our work in the world. This spring, Wisdom Ways invites you to experience Christian contemplative prayer.
TUESDAY EVENING MEDITATION During these times of prayer, we will sit in silent meditation with others. Meditating together is a way of deepening and supporting our personal practice. The weekly sessions include a short reading and one 25-minute meditation. Following meditation, there will an optional short introduction to Christian Meditation for those new to this form of prayer. Come as often as you are able. WHEN: Tuesdays, January 3 to June 6, 7:00 to 7:40 pm COST: Registration is not required and sessions are free
CHRISTIAN MEDITATION DURING LENT Lent is a time of preparation. Through prayer and fasting, we ready ourselves to enter into the celebration of the central Christian mystery of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Wisdom Ways offers varied ways to move toward the transforming experience of this sacred event. Ash Wednesday Meditation Ritual The ancient ritual of being marked with ashes that begins the season of Lent calls us back to ourselves, to our roots in Earth and in the stardust from which the universe expanded. The ashes are a sign of our will to live anew, mending torn relationships, healing damaged commitments, and embracing Holy Mystery in our lives. In the quiet of Ash Wednesday evening, we will gather to bless and receive our Lenten ashes and enter into a communal time of contemplative prayer. WHEN: Wednesday, March 1, 7:00 to 8:00 pm WHERE: Our Lady of Presentation Chapel COST: Registration is not required and the ritual
Tuesday Meditations The weekly meditation sessions include a short reading and one 25-minute meditation. Tuesday, March 7 – April 11, Noontime, 12:00 to 12:40 pm Evenings, 7:00 to 7:40 pm Evenings, 7:00 to 7:40 pm COST: Registration is not required and sessions are free. WHEN:
Morning Meditation Retreat This Lenten morning retreat provides a more extended and focused time to deepen our existing practice of meditation. Our morning in silence will include a pattern of sitting and walking meditations, mindful movements, and chanting. Limited to 25 participants. Two offerings. Thursday, March 16, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm and Saturday, March 25, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm COST: $15.00 each session WHEN:
16
is free
All programs are held at Carondelet Center, 1890 Randolph Ave., St. Paul, unless otherwise noted.
EMBODY
WINTER/SPRING 2017
Holy Saturday Meditation Enter into the emptiness of Holy Saturday. This time of prayer includes a short reading, two 25-minute sitting meditations, and walking meditation. WHEN: Saturday, April 15, 9:00 to 10:15 COST: Registration is not required and
am the session is free.
he kingdom of God is not something in the far future that T is going suddenly to come down from heaven and settle on you and magically turn everything right. You yourselves are It. It’s in you and among you; you have to do It or It will never come. * BEATRICE BRUTEAU
LECTIO DIVINA: MORNINGS OF REFLECTION DURING LENT Lectio Divina or Sacred Reading is the slow, repetitive reading of a sacred text that leads one to the ultimate step of resting in God. It is not Scripture study, nor is it spiritual reading. It is an invitation to take a “long, loving look at Scripture” says spiritual director Teresa Blythe. “It is a time for falling in love with the Word and experiencing the goodness of God.” This four-step process for being with Scripture in a prayerful manner includes: Reading (Lectio); Meditating (Meditatio); Praying (Oratio); and Contemplating (Contemplatio). Using texts for Advent, you will experience this ancient prayer form in a group setting, though it is easily adapted to individual practice and can be incorporated into your prayer life. Facilitator: Pat Jones is a spiritual director, Psychologist Emeritus, and former Benedictine.
SEEKING GOD IN THE STILLNESS: A WINTER SILENT RETREAT
Mondays, March 6, 13, 20, 27, and April 3, 10, 10:00 to 11:00 am COST: Free. RSVP to 651-696-2788 or info@wisdomwayscenter.org WHEN:
Winter’s stillness invites us to step away from the busyness of our everyday lives and enter into a time of quiet. This residential retreat in the Christian contemplative tradition is intended for those who wish to awaken more fully to the Divine presence. The days, which will be spent in silence, will be highly structured, with a pattern of 25-minute sitting meditations, teachings, and other contemplative practices. Because of the intensity of this retreat experience, it is expected that participants have learned about meditation, practice it regularly, are comfortable with silence, and stay overnight on site. Thursday, January 19, 5:30 pm through Saturday, January 21, 6:00 pm. See schedule at www.wisdomways.org COST: $150.00, includes meals and lodging. Call 651-696-2788 for overnight arrangements. WHEN:
Facilitators for Christian meditation programs: Susan Oeffling, CSJ, spiritual director has master’s degrees in theology and counseling and spiritual direction training from the Center for Spiritual Guidance. Deborah Chernick studies the history of Christian contemplative prayer and serves on the board of the Trust for the Meditation Process. Both have practiced meditation for many years.
“ To pray is to descend with the mind into the heart, and there to stand before the face of God – ever-present, all-seeing, within you.” * THEOPHANE THE RECLUSE
LENTEN AWAKENINGS Come immerse yourself in song and reflection during Friday Evening Prayer. Fridays, March 10, 17, 24, 31, April 7 and 14, at 4:30 pm in Our Lady of the Presentation Chapel. COST: Free. WHEN:
www.wisdomwayscenter.org
651-696-2788
info@wisdomwayscenter.org
17
Embody EMBODY
Spiritual Practices for Everyday Living
SPIRITUAL PRACTICES
WRITING THE SACRED JOURNEY: THE ART AND PRACTICE OF SPIRITUAL MEMOIR Introductory Workshop
Spiritual memoir is the practice of listening deeply to life experiences through the creation of artful, true stories. We come more alive when we accept how our experiences have formed us and when we form something from what we’ve experienced. It’s possible to find holiness in the details of our memories, in the patterns that unify our sense of self, and in the deep personal healing that comes when we write. By crafting our stories to engage the inner lives of readers, we participate in transforming our world. Join Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew for an introduction to the art and spiritual practice of writing memoir. What is memoir, and how is it different from autobiography? What makes memoir spiritual? How can memoir writing, whether for an audience or no audience, support spiritual growth? We will start with the basics, using writing exercises, readings from master writers, and conversation. WHEN: Thursday, COST: $40.00
February 2, 6:00 to 9:00 pm
MONTHLY WRITING SESSIONS: SECOND FRIDAYS Monthly drop-in sessions focus on different aspects of writing spiritual memoir: themes that commonly arise, craft techniques, challenges and joys of the writing process, and practices for opening our work to the Spirit’s movement. Sessions include writing exercises, examples from leading and emerging writers, lecture, and small group conversation.
18
January: Light and Darkness Spiritual memoirs inevitably encompass both joy and hardship. What literary tools can help us “wail the right question into the swaddling band of darkness,” as Annie Dillard put it, “or, if it comes to that, choir the proper praise”? February: Cultivating Love “What goes on in your innermost being is worthy of your whole love,” Rilke told the young poet. Writing memories can be an expression of this love. We’ll grapple lovingly with our past, practice writing as a loving act, and open ourselves to receiving love through the creative process. March: Holy Resistance Sometimes resistance—to creativity, to spiritual practice—is a sign that our small, limited self feels threatened by the True Self. When we resist the process of writing or the material that arises, how can we open our hearts to transformation? April: Living the Questions Questions pry open possibilities, expose alternatives, ask that we see through new eyes, motivate, open us to love—and are a writer’s best tool. We’ll explore questions as portals into memory and instruments of revision. May: The Natural World “Earth’s crammed with heaven, / And every common bush afire with God,” writes Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Together we’ll plumb memory for encounters with the natural world— animals, plants, weather, elements, seasons, landscapes— seeking the heaven crammed within. June: Looking Back, Seeing Again The roots of the word “respect” mean “to look back at.” The roots of the word “revision” mean “to see again.” We’ll explore revision as a way to gain respect—and reverence— for our experiences. Facilitator: Learn more about writing instructor and spiritual director Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew on page 15.
Fridays, January 13, February 10, March 10, April 14, May 12, June 9, 1:30 to 3:30 pm COST: $150.00 for the series; $30.00 per session Introductory workshop is not a prerequisite for the monthly writing sessions. WHEN:
All programs are held at Carondelet Center, 1890 Randolph Ave., St. Paul, unless otherwise noted.
EMBODY
WINTER/SPRING 2017
When we write together and share our words with others, we move our creative work out of solitude into community and foster an ongoing, lively writing practice. For those wanting to sustain this practice throughout the month, Wisdom Ways now offers Seed Writing Sessions.
SPIRITUAL MEMOIR “SEED WRITING” SESSIONS THIRD FRIDAYS Develop your writing as a spiritual practice with these dropin sessions. We will write spiritual memoir “seeds” from prompts based on a monthly theme, which participants can then develop if they choose. There will be opportunities to share (but not critique) our work, bringing our creations to life beyond the page. Together we’ll participate in generative silence and celebrate the sacred nature of our life stories. January: Light and Darkness with Vanessa Ramos February: Cultivating Love with Liz Olds March:
Holy Resistance with Liz Olds
April:
Living the Questions with Elizabeth Fletcher
May:
The Natural World with Vanessa Ramos
June:
Looking Back, Seeing Again with Elizabeth Fletcher
Facilitators: Liz Olds was raised in Virginia and has traveled the country in a search for her right path both spiritual and physical. Now living in Minneapolis, she writes her way through joys and challenges, developing her relationship with God, friends, and two cats. Born in Texas and raised in Minnesota, Vanessa Ramos is an artist dedicated to inspiring and empowering others to explore, create, and share their stories. Read more about Elizabeth Fletcher on page 15. Fridays, January 20, February 17, March 17, April 21, May 19, June 16, 1:30 to 3:00 pm COST: $65.00 for the series; $15.00 single session WHEN:
THE DIVINE DANCE: THE TRINITY AND YOUR TRANSFORMATION In The Divine Dance, Fr. Richard Rohr (with Mike Morrell) writes, “Let the circle dance rearrange your Christian imagination.” The circle dance metaphor refers to the dynamic relationship and flow found in the Trinity. He is inviting us to understand and experience a God of love and renewal. No more God throwing thunderbolts from a throne. This is a Trinitarian God of transformation. We can best understand this metaphor by dancing ourselves. Just as Rohr draws upon Eastern Orthodox mystics to help us understand the Trinity, so too can the ritual circle dances from Eastern Orthodox cultures help us embody the divine flow of love. The Divine Dance suggests seven spiritual practices for bringing an understanding of the Trinity into our hearts. Each week we will enter into The Divine Dance through dance, the spiritual practice of the week, and book discussion–each part enriching our understanding of the other. Please read the assigned section of the book prior to each session. Session One: Seeing in the Dark. We prepare ourselves to let go of what we think we know about God so that we can create a new relationship with God. Through contemplative reading we will prepare our hearts to release the idea that God is a substance and begin to see a God of relationship. Read pages 25-40. Session Two: Watching for the Flow of Love. Through contemplation we will attune to the presence of Love within and without. Rohr uses the metaphor of mirroring to describe this flow of love. We will literally use mirrors and act as mirrors to each other to attune our hearts. Read pages 40-64. Session Three: Walking Meditation. Reshaping our image of God also reshapes our sense of personhood. We are in the process of being loved and passing on love. The Trinity as our stable, rooted identity creates balance in our receiving and giving. Using the practice of walking meditation we will connect with the unfolding flow of our lives. Read pages 64-89.
www.wisdomwayscenter.org
651-696-2788
info@wisdomwayscenter.org
19
Embody EMBODY
Spiritual Practices for Everyday Living
SPIRITUAL PRACTICES
Session Four: Body-Based Knowing. We will bring new consciousness to the practice of making the sign of the cross, a simple prayer that affirms the power to bless oneself, honors the body, and helps reclaim our spiritual identity. Ultimately practice leads us to a place of vulnerability where the ego identity can fall away. Surrendering to love, we allow it to break us out of dualistic impasses. Read pages 90-117.
Session Five: Breath. “You cannot ever say ‘God’ and know what you are talking about, but you can breathe God.” Emptying ourselves of words can help us connect with the generous self-emptying of God. Breathing meditation will invite new ways to understand suffering. Read pages 121-147. Session Six: Praise Evocative Names for God. Our practice is to praise a God who is the source of our lives. Let us praise the never-ending pattern of loss and renewal, and Jesus as part of the much larger Cosmic Christ. Praise helps us recover a sense of transcendence that has the potential to renew both our prayer lives and Christianity. Read pages 147-181.
20
Session Seven: Becoming Spirit People. Attuning to the Holy Spirit helps us show up in a new way that changes the reality around us. Spirit brings spontaneity and freedom to let love happen. We will practice being messengers of the Holy Spirit with each other through the Wisdom Sparks practice. Read pages 185-194. Artist and healer Emily Jarrett Hughes helps people tap into deep inner resources for transformation. Embodied spiritual practice is at the heart of her classes and one-on-one work. Her two-year training with Laura Shannon on Women’s Ritual Dances is the foundation for how she teaches and presents dance in many contexts. www.wisdomdances.com Required Text: The Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformation by Richard Rohr and Mike Morrell. (Available from Wisdom Ways.)
WHEN: Tuesdays,
January 31, February 14, 21, March 14, 28, April 11, 25, 6:30 to 8:00 pm COST: $145.00 for the series; $25.00 single session
All programs are held at Carondelet Center, 1890 Randolph Ave., St. Paul, unless otherwise noted.
EMBODY
WINTER/SPRING 2017
WALKING IN HARMONY: A LABYRINTH JOURNEY Second Fridays, January through July In the midst of daily challenges and conflicts within our greater communities, cultivating a spirit of harmony and peace is a gift for yourself and the world. You are invited to walk the labyrinth indoors or outdoors at Carondelet Center, whether this is your first walk or you are developing a spiritual practice. After a brief opening reflection, you are welcome to walk as often as you wish. There will be space for writing and artistic play as well as time for quiet prayer and meditation. Facilitators: Marilyn Larson has been making labyrinths since 1996. She creates labyrinths for personal and public spaces in a variety of media, including the labyrinth for the Spiritual Center at Hennepin County Medical Center. MJ McGregor, PhD, Advanced Veriditas Certified Facilitator, introduces and facilitates labyrinth walks nationally and in Chartres Cathedral, France. MJ leads pilgrimages in Chartres, where she is a seasonal resident, and most recently co-guided a walking pilgrimage from Paris to Chartres Cathedral. Fridays, January 13, February 10, March 10, April 14, May 12, June 9, July 14 9:30 to 11:30 am COST: Free. RSVP to 651-696-2788 or info@wisdomwayscenter.org WHEN:
www.wisdomwayscenter.org
651-696-2788
info@wisdomwayscenter.org
21
ART EXHIBITS
NINE GATES
THRESHOLDS OF A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY As the new year begins, consider entering a visio divina practice with The Nine Gates of spiritual passage that resonate most with artist Bob Schmitt’s experience: longing, abandonment, rage, emptiness, compassion, unbridled joy, oneness and delusion. Sound familiar? Let this beautiful blend of calligraphy and digital technology invite you into interior landscapes. Bob Schmitt is a Quaker and a student and teacher of Chinese calligraphy and painting who lives and paints a stone’s throw from Minnehaha Falls. Learn more at www. laughingwatersstudio.com This exhibit is a part of Wisdom Ways permanent collection gifted to WW by Sue Cochrane. WHEN:
January 9 - February 3
SOLOMON’S TENT “As a child I was frightened by the images from my family photo album,” says Syrian American artist Osama Esid. “I was unable to understand the images of people with piercing eyes and of blurred children. Most frightening of all was the thought those people lived in a world that had lost its colors. In 1977, a new form of photograph appeared, square and colorful, in the family photo album. For my father, it was the instant gratification of the Polaroid camera that made him so happy. For me, the Polaroid brought the answer of knowing where the colors came from. But it also raised another question. ‘How did the colors get inside?’ This became my interest in technical photography.” With his Polaroid camera, Esid met and photographed Syrian families living in the Adana refugee camp in Turkey. Come meet the residents of Solomon’s Tent and share their dignity amid duress. Born in Damascus, artist and photographer Osama Esid lives and creates in Minneapolis. WHEN: February 6 - April 7 CONVERSATION WITH THE ARTIST:
22
hursday, March 30, T 7:00 to 8:00pm
All programs are held at Carondelet Center, 1890 Randolph Ave., St. Paul, unless otherwise noted.
ART EXHIBITS
WINTER/SPRING 2017
BEAUTY IN AGATE This series captures the beauty of agates in photos that magnify them up to 20 times by Joseph H. Taubr, photographer. Taubr’s fascination with rocks began as a small boy, when he collected Lake Superior agates and fossils from the Mississippi River lime stones near his home in St. Paul. When he saw his first moss agate under a magnifying glass, he knew that someday he would collect and magnify the moss in the agates to share that same wonder with others. What he did not know is that it would be six decades before technology would advance to the point where he could accomplish this vision.
A self-taught explorer of microscopic universes, the late Joseph H. Taubr spent 60 years hunting for rocks in western states with his wife Nobuko. For more information about books and prints, contact Joseph H. Taubr’s sister, Barbara Kellett at Barbarakellett@gmail.com. WHEN:
April 10 - May 31
www.wisdomwayscenter.org
651-696-2788
info@wisdomwayscenter.org
23
ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH SPIRITUALITY MINISTRIES
CELESTE’S DREAM YOUNG ADULT SPIRITUALITY Nourish Spirit * Inspire Social Action * Experience Community Participate in the mission and spirituality of the Sisters of the St. Joseph and Consociate community. Young adults (20-35 years old) and others are welcome. Rooted in the Catholic, Christian faith, we welcome people from all spiritual traditions. For more program information visit www.csjstpaul.org/celeste
CSJ MEMBERSHIP AND ASSOCIATION Come and See the CSJ Way: Community, Spirituality, and Justice An information session about and retreat with Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and Consociates Community! Information Session
Community Garden • Learn organic growing methods and enjoy healthy heirloom produce • Participate in a local food system and build community with Earth and other gardeners—share the harvest. WHEN:
eekly gardening Tuesdays 6:00 to 8:00 pm W May through October. February 7 Garden planning and soup dinner; March 21 Seedling planting in Holy Week; May 2 Seedling transplanting
Visiting Women’s Religious Communities Meet, learn, share meals, and pray with Catholic Sisters as we visit local communities of Franciscan Poor Clares, School Sisters of Notre Dame, Sisters of St. Joseph and Visitation Sisters. Carpooling will be arranged – offer donation to driver. Saturday, April 1 CONTACT: 651-696-2873 or celeste@csjstpaul.org WHEN:
Come learn and pray with this community steeped in spirituality and justice. Experience welcome and explore a wide range of opportunities for deeper connection and growth. WHEN:
riday, February 24, 5:00 pm, hospitality; F 6:00 to 8:30 pm, meal and program
RETREAT Participate in a day of retreat with Sisters, Consociates, and Friends reflecting upon the CSJ mission of “profound love of God and neighbor without distinction” for the health and healing of the world. WHEN:
riday, February 24, 5:00 pm F Saturday, February 25, 4 pm
WHERE:
oth sessions take place at the Carondelet Center, B 1890 Randolph Ave. St. Paul, Housing available.
CONTACT:
oan Pauly Schneider, 651-690-7063 or J jpaulyschneider@csjstpaul.org, or Jill Underdahl, CSJ, 651-696-2873 or junderdahl@csjstpaul.org
ECOLOGICAL JUSTICE EVENTS The Complexity of Sustainability: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach. Visit www.csjstpaul.org for more information on this panel conversation. CSJ Earth Day –Work the Land, Celebrate Earth and Community Prepare garden beds new and old, turn compost, and begin planting. WHEN:
24
Saturday, April 29, 9:30 am to 12:00 pm.
All programs are held at Carondelet Center, 1890 Randolph Ave., St. Paul, unless otherwise noted.
ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH SPIRITUALITY MINISTRIES
JUSTICE COMMISSION
International Women’s Day Celebration
The Justice Commission of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and Consociates, St. Paul Province, acts for justice and equality for all by always moving toward profound love of God and neighbor without distinction. We join with other groups in addressing issues influencing human dignity and Earth
International Women’s Day is designed to catalyze activism and highlight advancements and challenges in women’s rights and equality. This year’s focus will be women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work, the priority theme of the 61st session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Sheryl WuDunn will offer the morning keynote, followed by workshops and opportunities to engage with organizations. This event is free and open to the public.
Moving Forward Together: Breaking the Impasse VIII In an evening of policy, poetry, and creative solutions, Sr. Simone Campbell and Courtney Martin explore ways to strengthen our communities to move beyond a politics of divisiveness. Sr. Simone focuses on legislation that will mend the gaps and benefit the 100%. Courtney Martin insists that real love for our nation calls us to look at ourselves, as citizens, and our great potential to shape it moving forward together. Sr. Simone Campbell, Executive Director of NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby in Washington D.C., is a religious leader, attorney and poet with extensive experience in public policy and advocacy for systemic change. Author of A Nun on the Bus: How All of Us Can Create Hope, Change, and Community, she has received numerous awards, including a “Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award” and the “Defender of Democracy Award” from the international Parliamentarians for Global Action. Author and entrepreneur Courtney E. Martin is weekly columnist for the NPR show On Being with Krista Tippett. The newest of her six books, The New Better Off: Reinventing the American Dream, explores how people are redefining the American dream. Other titles include Do It Anyway: The New Generation of Activists, and Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters: How the Quest for Perfection is Harming Young Women. She is the recipient of the Elie Wiesel Prize in Ethics and a residency from the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Centre. WHEN: Wednesday, February 22 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm WHERE: Rauenhorst Ballroom, Coeur de Catherine at
St. Catherine University 2004 Randolph Avenue, St. Paul
Author and business executive Sheryl WuDunn is the first Asian-American reporter to win a Pulitzer Prize. With her husband Nicholas Kristof, she is co-author of A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity and Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. Cited by Newsweek as one of the “150 Women Who Shake the World”, she lectures on economic, political, and social topics related to women in the developing world. WHEN: Saturday,
March 11, 8:30 am registration, 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. Free. WHERE: Hamline University, Anderson Center, 774 Snelling Ave N, St Paul CONTACT: Megan Bender at mbender@csjstpaul.org or at 651-690-7057. To register, visit http://bit.ly/2fER14O Presented by the Justice Office of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and Consociates, The Advocates for Human Rights, Hamline University’s Women’s Resource Center, and Hamline University’s Wesley Center for Spirituality, Service, and Social Justice. 11th Day Prayer for Peace Created in 2001 and offered on the 11th of each month, 11th Day Prayer for Peace provides the opportunity to pray for peace in situations throughout the world where it is needed. Themes include anti-human trafficking, dismantling racism, eco-justice, immigration reform, life from womb to tomb and more. WHEN: 11th day of each month, 6:30 to 7:15 pm WHERE: Our Lady of Presentation Chapel (CSJ Chapel),
Co-Sponsored by the Justice Office of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and Consociates, NETWORK A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, and Myser Initiative on Catholic Identity at St. Catherine University
1890 Randolph Ave., St. Paul
www.wisdomwayscenter.org
651-696-2788
info@wisdomwayscenter.org
25
ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH SPIRITUALITY MINISTRIES
HONORING CREATION IN SEASONAL RITUALS
SPIRITUAL DIRECTION
What a Wonderful World We Live In
Spiritual Direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with the divine. In spiritual direction, space is created for one to learn and grow in their spirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of his or her encounters of the divine, or how he or she is experiencing spiritual issues.
Let us journey together to celebrate the Mysteries of Creation as the Seasons turn. Join us in song, prayer, silence, poetry, and sharing to honor these holy days. February 1 Candlemas A spark of light piercing the gloom of winter March 15
Spring Equinox A balancing of Light and Darkness
April 26
Beltane Awakening to surprise and possibility
June 21
Summer Solstice Inhaling the beauty of Creation
July 26
Lammas Enjoying the Bounty of Creation
Elizabeth Kerwin, CSJ Mary Lamski, CSJ Susan Oeffling, CSJ Cathy Steffens, CSJ Jill Underdahl, CSJ
WHEN: Gather at 5:30 pm; ritual from 6:00 to 7:00 pm. Free. WHERE: Carondelet Center, 1890 Randolph Ave., St. Paul CONTACT: Mary Lou Flandrick at 612-724-6008
SECOND SUNDAY Second Sunday is a community circle in which women and men and families gather to reflect together on the Sunday scriptures. Second Sunday began among the Sisters of St. Joseph in three community houses. We reflect on the Sunday gospel and nourish one another’s lives with this sharing. We share bread and wine and lift up the prayers of all gathered and concerns for the world. Following, we drink coffee and enjoy treats. All are welcome and invited to come when you can. The group is a new blessing each month. WHEN: Second Sunday of each month, 10:00 am WHERE: Carondelet Center, 1890 Randolph Ave., St. CONTACT: Therese Sherlock, CSJ, 651-690-7011
26
Spiritual direction nurtures a deeper relationship with the spiritual aspect of being human. It is not counseling, psychotherapy or financial planning. If you seek spiritual direction, the following CSJ Spiritual Directors are available to support you on your journey. 651-641-0008 651-695-5387 651-696-2757 651-696-2760 651-696-2873
Group Spiritual Guidance Group spiritual direction is a process in which people gather on a regular basis to assist one another in an ongoing awareness of God in all of life. They are seeking support for their responsiveness to God and they agree to support others in that same responsiveness. Meets Wednesdays, March 8, 15, 22, 29 and April 5 10:00 to 11:30 am and/or Evening sessions: 6:30 to 8:00 pm
MORNING SESSIONS:
Contact Cathy Steffens, CSJ, 651-696-2760 or csteffens@csjstpaul.org for cost and registration.
Paul
All programs are held at Carondelet Center, 1890 Randolph Ave., St. Paul, unless otherwise noted.
WINTER/SPRING 2017
EVENTS IN THE WIDER COMMUNITY
EVENTS IN THE WIDER COMMUNITY SAINT CLAIR SUNDAY EVENINGS AT PILGRIM LUTHERAN CHURCH “Wherein the Holy Spirit Makes a Dwelling” CELTIC CONTEMPLATIVE COMMUNION a Celtic Journey into the Mysteries
NORDIC CONTEMPLATIVE EVENING PRAYER
January 8
January 22
the rich and haunting music of the Scandinavian peoples
O Tender Tether binding us together
And the Waters Flow
Guests: ASI Cloudberries Women’s Choir
February 12
God comes to your window
March 12
Holy sparks of heavenly fire
April 9
Why do you not protect us?
February 26 The Dream We Carry Guests: Fiddles on Fire
March 26 Winds of Change Guests: Twin Cities Hardingfelelag
April 23
For You Shall Go Out in Joy
Guests: St. Olaf College Hardinger Fiddle Group
COMPLINE: CONTEMPLATIVE NIGHT PRAYER An ancient liturgy led by the Minnesota Compline Choir 3rd Sunday of the month, January to March
All Sunday evening services are at 6:51 pm at Pilgrim Lutheran Church, 1935 St. Clair Ave., St. Paul. For more information, go to www.pilgrimstpaul.org, or call 651-699-6886
WISDOM WAYS RESOURCES DIRECTIONS TO CARONDELET CENTER Carondelet Center is located at 1890 Randolph Avenue, St. Paul, between Cleveland and Fairview Avenues. From I-94, take the Snelling or Cretin/Vandalia exit south to Randolph Avenue. Travel west from Snelling or east from Cretin. From I-35E, take the Randolph exit west past Fairview to 1890 Randolph. Turn in at either of the two driveways marked by the brown and teal signs marked CSJ, Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. Free parking is available.
Labyrinth facilitators are available to bring presentations and portable labyrinths to your site or to guide you in the use of your own labyrinth. Contact us at 651-696-2788 to make arrangements or visit www.wisdomwayscenter.org
Admin Center
Cleveland
LIBRARY Wisdom Ways’ collection of 2500 books, audio, videotapes and CD/DVDs on spirituality-related themes is located in the west parlor of Carondelet Center. Browse our labyrinth section of inspiring images and background on the labyrinth, grief and loss, spirituality and more.
Randolph Ave.
www.wisdomwayscenter.org
Fairview
LABYRINTH RESOURCES TO RENT One mission of Wisdom Ways is to share resources in ever-expanding circles. Wisdom Ways has over 70 multiplesized labyrinths, singing bowls and ritual items for rent. Canvas labyrinths are available to rent for church or community events, retreat days, civic gatherings, weddings, celebrations and personal use. Additional ritual and creative resources are also available for rent. To see selection, visit www.wisdomwayscenter.org or call 651-696-2788 to make arrangements.
Carondelet Center
651-696-2788
info@wisdomwayscenter.org
27
WINTER/SPRING 2017 CALENDAR
JANUARY Date 1/13 1/13 1/17 1/20 1/19 1/20 1/21 1/25 1/31
Program
MARCH Page
Walking in Harmony: A Labyrinth Journey 21 Writing the Sacred Journey: The Art and Practice of Spiritual Memoir 18 Experiencing Hildegard of Bingen 4 Spiritual Memoir “Seed Writing” Sessions 19 Seeking God in the Stillness: A Winter Silent Retreat 17 Men’s Centering Prayer Circle The Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformation
15 19
FEBRUARY Date
Program
2/2 2/6 2/8 2/10 2/10 2/13 2/14 2/15 2/17 2/20 2/21 2/22 2/22 2/27 2/28
Writing the Sacred Journey: The Art and Practice of Spiritual Memoir: Introductory Workshop 18 Hedgerow Initiative | Women and Christianity: Resilient Women, Emergent Church 12 Exploring Dreams: Three Conversations with the Psyche 13 Walking in Harmony: A Labyrinth Journey 21 Writing the Sacred Journey: The Art and Practice of Spiritual Memoir 18 Hedgerow Initiative | Women and Christianity: Resilient Women, Emergent Church 12 The Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformation 19 Exploring Dreams: Three Conversations with the Psyche 13 Spiritual Memoir “Seed Writing” Sessions 19 Hedgerow Initiative | Women and Christianity: Resilient Women, Emergent Church 12 The Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformation 19 Men’s Centering Prayer Circle 15 Exploring Dreams: Three Conversations with the Psyche 13 Hedgerow Initiative | Women and Christianity: Resilient Women, Emergent Church 12 Experiencing Hildegard of Bingen 4
28
Page
Date
Program
Page
3/1 Ash Wednesday Meditation Ritual 16 3/6 Lectio Divina 17 3/6 Hedgerow Initiative | Women and Christianity: Resilient Women, Emergent Church 12 3/7 Tuesday Noonday Meditation 16 3/10 Walking in Harmony: A Labyrinth Journey 21 3/10 Writing the Sacred Journey: The Art and Practice of Spiritual Memoir 18 3/10 Lenten Awakenings 17 3/13 Lectio Divina 17 3/13 Hedgerow Initiative | Women and Christianity: Resilient Women, Emergent Church 12 3/14 Tuesday Noonday Meditation 16 3/14 The Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformation 19 3/15 Bio-Spiritual Focusing: A Practical Tool for Men 15 3/16 Morning Meditation Retreat 16 3/17 Spiritual Memoir “Seed Writing” Sessions 19 3/17 Lenten Awakenings 17 3/17 Paradox and Songs: A Springtime 13 3/18 Circle of Trust® Retreat 3/19 3/20 Lectio Divina 17 3/20 Hedgerow Initiative | Women and Christianity: Resilient Women, Emergent Church 12 3/21 Tuesday Noonday Meditation 16 3/21 Experiencing Hildegard of Bingen 4 3/22 Men’s Centering Prayer Circle 15 3/24 Lenten Awakenings 17 3/25 Morning Meditation Retreat 16 3/27 Lectio Divina 17 3/27 Hedgerow Initiative | Women and Christianity: Resilient Women, Emergent Church 12 3/28 Tuesday Noonday Meditation 16 3/28 The Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformation 19 3/29 Bio-Spiritual Focusing: A Practical Tool for Men 15 3/30 Solomon’s Tent: Conversation with the Artist 22 3/31 Lenten Awakenings 17 March 26 – March 31 The Poetic Conversation of Being Human: A Week with Naomi Shihab Nye 6
All programs are held at Carondelet Center, 1890 Randolph Ave., St. Paul, unless otherwise noted.
WINTER/SPRING 2017 CALENDAR
WINTER/SPRING 2017
continued FEBRUARY MARCH continued
APRIL continued
Date
Program
Page
3/26 2/21 3/27 2/22 3/28 2/22 3/29 2/27 3/31 2/28
When Silence Speaks: A Contemplative The Divine Dance:Evening of Poetry and Trinity Song with Shihab Nye The andNaomi Your Transformation and Sara Thomsen 6 The Work of Words in Troubled Men’s Centering Prayer Circle Times 07 Let Writing Be the First Conversation of Your Day 7 Exploring Dreams: The Writer’s Path toward Three Conversations with Beloved the Psyche 0 Community: A Day of Inspiration, Conversation, Embodied Reflection Hedgerow Initiative | Women and and Writing 7 Christianity: Resilient Women, Poetry as aChurch Conversation with Emergent 0 Something Better: A Reading by Naomi ShihabHildegard Nye and Ibtisam Barakat 07 Experiencing of Bingen
0
APRIL Date
Program
Page
4/3 4/3 4/4 4/6 4/7 4/10 4/10 4/11 4/11 4/14 4/14 4/14 4/17 4/20 4/21 4/21 4/22 4/24
Lectio Divina 17 Hedgerow Initiative | Women and Christianity: Resilient Women, Emergent Church 12 Tuesday Noonday Meditation 16 From the Heart as It Is: A Spring Harvest of Poems and Songs 8 Lenten Awakenings 17 Lectio Divina 17 Hedgerow Initiative | Women and Christianity: Resilient Women, Emergent Church 12 Tuesday Noonday Meditation 16 The Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformation 19 Walking in Harmony: A Labyrinth Journey 21 Writing the Sacred Journey: The Art and Practice of Spiritual Memoir 18 Lenten Awakenings 17 Hedgerow Initiative | Women and Christianity: Resilient Women, Emergent Church 12 Playing in the Sacred Wilderness: Fiction, Imagination, and Faith 14 Spiritual Memoir “Seed Writing” Sessions 19 Closing Retreat: Experiencing Hildegard of Bingen 5 Hedgerow Initiative | Women and Christianity: Resilient Women, Emergent Church 12
Date
Program
4/25 4/26 4/27
The Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformation Men’s Centering Prayer Circle Playing in the Sacred Wilderness: Fiction, Imagination, and Faith
Page 19 15 14
MAY Date
Program
Page
5/3 5/4 5/12 5/12 5/19 5/31
Readings and Reflections From My Time with the Native People: An Evening with Kent Nerburn 9 Playing in the Sacred Wilderness: Fiction, Imagination, and Faith 14 Walking in Harmony: A Labyrinth Journey 21 Writing the Sacred Journey: The Art and Practice of Spiritual Memoir 18 Spiritual Memoir “Seed Writing” Sessions 19 Men’s Centering Prayer Circle 15
JUNE Date
Program
Page
6/9 6/9 6/16 6/28
Walking in Harmony: A Labyrinth Journey 21 Writing the Sacred Journey: The Art and Practice of Spiritual Memoir 18 Spiritual Memoir “Seed Writing” Sessions 19 Men’s Centering Prayer Circle 15
JULY Date
Program
Page
7/14
Walking in Harmony: A Labyrinth Journey 21
ART EXHIBITS: Nine Gates: Thresholds of a Spiritual Journey, January 9 - February 3 Solomon’s Tent, February 6 - April 7 Beauty in Agate, April 10 - May 31 WEEKLY TUESDAY OFFERINGS: Christian Meditation: A Way of Contemplative Prayer Tuesdays, January 3 - June 6 7:00 pm – 7:40 pm
www.wisdomwayscenter.org
651-696-2788
info@wisdomwayscenter.org
29
LOOKING AHEAD
LOOKING AHEAD TRANSFORMING SOUL AND SOCIETY: A SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM September 2017 through May 2019 Register now to be part of a transformative two-year journey that will deepen your spirituality, broaden your sense of contribution to community and, if desired, certify you as a professional spiritual guide. Together with a spiritually supportive community you will: • Enter a sacred circle where you share in story, ritual and creativity with others from diverse backgrounds and faith traditions who share a mutual desire to meet life’s challenges and joys with renewed hope and compassion. • Learn to integrate the energies of the Cosmic Story, Divine Feminine and Sacred Masculine to bring healing and wholeness to yourself, to others and to the planet. • Develop leadership skills involving spacious listening and clear questioning, expand and deepen your practices in meditation, reflection, ritual and celebration. • Cultivate a sacred activism for Earth and one another in times of suffering, struggle and change.
Learn more (including schedule, application, and program samples) at www.wisdomwayscenter.org Program Faculty: Carol Burling, MA, DMin., Nancy Cosgriff, DMin., and Delmarie Gibney, FSPA, DMin., bring extensive experience in education, theology, ministry, psychology, leadership and spiritual guidance. Each participant meets annually with a program leader for personal consultation. WHEN: Gathers 10 times from Friday through Sunday afternoon, beginning September 8-10 and then the first full weekend of alternate months through May 2019. Overnight accommodations available upon request through Wisdom Ways.
Gathers an additional 8 Saturdays to address skills and knowledge pertaining to effectively communicating in family and community and, if desired, to certify you as a professional spiritual guide and companion. A concurrent internship in year 2 and a one-year postprogram supervision is also required for those who pursue professional spiritual guidance work. WHERE: All program sessions are held at the Carondelet Center, 1890 Randolph Ave., St. Paul. COST FOR THE TWO-YEAR PROGRAM: $2,600 for each year; $5,200 total. Payment plans available.
Want to learn more? Attend an information session! Saturday, January 28, 9:30 to 11:00 am; Tuesday, March 21, 4:30 to 6:00 pm; or Thursday, April 27, 6:30 to 8:00 pm Contact Wisdom Ways at 651.696.2788 to RSVP for any of these sessions or to learn more about the Transforming Soul and Society program.
30
All programs are held at Carondelet Center, 1890 Randolph Ave., St. Paul, unless otherwise noted.
INDEX AND REGISTRATION
WINTER/SPRING 2017
PRESENTERS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER - WINTER-SPRING 2016 Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 15, 18 Ibtisam Barakat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Winton Boyd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Michael Dennis Browne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Carol Burling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 15, 30 Deborah Chernick. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Sharon Chmielarz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Avis Clendenen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Nancy Cosgriff. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Louie Doering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Elizabeth Erickson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Osama Esid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Elizabeth Fletcher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15, 19 Dennis Galvin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Delmarie Gibney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Susan Hames. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Karen Hering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Emily Jarrett Hughes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Pat Jones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Marilyn Larson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Barbara Lund. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 MJ McGregor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Mary Kaye Medinger. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 12 Laura McKenzie. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Joan Mitchell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Kent Nerburn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Naomi Shihab Nye. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 7 Susan Oeffling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Liz Olds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Paula Pedersen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Susan Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Vanessa Ramos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Lisa Schlingerman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Ed Sellner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Angela Shannon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Terry Shaughnessy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Cathy Steffens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Wighard Strehlow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Sara Thomsen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 14
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Ways to register: Online registration at www.wisdomwayscenter.org • We accept American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa and personal checks. • Phone registration at 651-696-2788 or email at info@wisdomwayscenter.org. • Mail registration to: Wisdom Ways, 1890 Randolph Ave., St. Paul, MN 55105 • Gift certificates are available, call 651-696-2788. • Financial assistance is available, call 651-696-2788. • Full refunds with a week advance notice. See website for more information.
Registration Form Name: ____________________________________ Address: ___________________________________ City: ____________________ State: __ Zip: ______ Phone: ____________________________________ Email: _____________________________________
Unless otherwise noted, all events will be held at the Carondelet Center, 1890 Randolph Avenue, Saint Paul, MN Free and ample parking.
PAYMENT OPTIONS: ____ Check payable to Wisdom Ways ____ American Express ____ Discover ____ Master Card ____ Visa Card #: ________________________________/AVG Expiration Date: _____________________________ Name on card: ______________________________
Would you like to receive program updates by email? (We do not sell or share our email list.) Yes No
DONATION OPTIONS:
Program Names: Dates 1. 2. 3. 4. Amount Due: ________________________
Scholarship for participants: In memory/honor of:
$ ___________ $ ___________
Total enclosed for programs: Tax deductible donation:
$ ___________ $ ___________
GRAND TOTAL: www.wisdomwayscenter.org
651-696-2788
$ ___________
info@wisdomwayscenter.org
31
NON-PROFIT ORG US POSTAGE
PAID
TWIN CITIES, MN PERMIT NO. 1990 A Ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet 1884 Randolph Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105
Find Us On Facebook