Early image of St. Patrick, from a 13th century manuscript
Ask me where I sit on the spiritual spectrum, and I might answer "Celtic contemplative". In March, I'll have a chance to share what I mean by that in three workshops/retreats in Washington, DC, and Fairfax, VA. All will have a bit of silence and a story or two. All are open to the public, so come and bring your imagination!
Saturday, March 17 - Listening to the Land: A Meditation in Green with St. Patrick
I used to stay out in the forests and on the mountain and I would wake up before daylight to pray in the snow, in icy coldness, in rain, and I used to feel neither ill nor any slothfulness, because, as I now see, the Spirit was burning in me at that time. ~ St. Patrick
St. Patrick’s spiritual awakening came not in a church but in the forests and hills of Ireland, where he was a slave tending sheep. Celtic spirituality is an invitation to listen for wisdom in many ways, by quieting our souls, in chanting and sacred text, and also in the very land we walk. Welcome the re-greening of the earth in this season by gathering to listen to what the land remembers.
Saturday, March 17, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm, Washington National Cathedral, $35. More information.
Thursday, March 22 - Centering and Contemplative Prayer Workshop
I still think true contemplation is the most subversive of activities because it undercuts the one thing that normally refuses to be undercut -- our natural individualism and narcissism. ~ Richard Rohr
The invitation to presence is always present, even on the busiest day. In this workshop, we'll explore the technique of contemplative prayer in the Christian tradition, its purpose and its fruits. No prior meditation experience necessary, but if you already have a contemplative prayer practice, you are encouraged to attend and share your experience. We will have time at the end of the afternoon to consider how to support each other in our contemplative practice during the following days of Revival.
Thursday, March 22, 2 - 5 pm, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax, included in full registration for Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship Revival. $25 for non-Revival attendees.
Friday, March 23 - The Divine Feminine in Celtic Christianity
Nothing living or truly creative happens through seed-giving man that does not have its completion in the nurturing womb of the feminine. ~ Noel Dermot O'Donoghue
Many influential spiritual authors have been calling for the return of the feminine. To understand what this might mean, we can look to the Celtic mind, which viewed the feminine as the ground of all creativity and fertility. Walk with St. Brigid to the sacred well of the spirit in this experiential workship.
Friday, March 22, 2:30 - 4 pm, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax, included in full and one-day registration for Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship Revival. $25 for non-Revival attendees.