Longing for some prayerful and reflective time in your busy life?
Interested in (re-)discovering the work of a wise guide?
Join us!
Interested in (re-)discovering the work of a wise guide?
Join us!
Howard Thurman:
An Online Novena Retreat
July 6-14, 2015
An Online Novena Retreat
July 6-14, 2015
Howard Thurman (1899-1981), a philosopher, educator, theologian, and pastor, was an African American born in the segregated South during the Jim Crow era. Nourished by the rich traditions of the Black Church and ordained as a Baptist minister, he was deeply influenced by Quaker thought, especially the mysticism and nonviolence of Rufus Jones. He was also a pioneer in interreligious understanding. His writings --books, prayers, meditations, and sermons-- are rooted in Christianity yet accessible to and pertinent to whose wisdom path is "spiritual but not religious."
Howard Thurman exercised a deep influence on some of the Civil Rights Movement's leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He traveled to India to meet Gandhi in the 1930s with the first group of African Americans to do so. Thurman served as the first Black Dean of Marsh Chapel, the university chapel at Boston University, and founded the Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples, a multicultural, multiracial, and interfaith congregation in San Francisco which is still in existence today. Thurman's book Jesus and the Disinherited predated Black liberation theology by a generation.
What, when, where
* An online nine-day spiritual retreat, July 6-14, 2015, with the help of the writings of Howard Thurman (1899-1981).
* Simple and accessible:
one quote per day
one spiritual exercise per day
one prayer per day
* At home, in your daily life: read, meditate, and pray in a way that suits your schedule.
* You'll need just 20 minutes a day of focused time and a computer or tablet with internet access.
* Spiritual refreshment, nurture, and challenge.
"Novena retreat" ?
A novena is a sequence of nine successive days of prayer–usually prayers of either petition or thanksgiving. It is generally a public and popular spiritual practice and is found most often in the Roman Catholic religious tradition.
I am using the word “novena,” meaning nine days, as part of the description of this retreat to indicate that it is nine days long and involves daily meditation and prayer.
This novena retreat is ecumenical, accessible to Christians of any background or affiliation, and open to all. It is a new twist on the traditional novena.
I am using the word “novena,” meaning nine days, as part of the description of this retreat to indicate that it is nine days long and involves daily meditation and prayer.
This novena retreat is ecumenical, accessible to Christians of any background or affiliation, and open to all. It is a new twist on the traditional novena.
An online retreat? How does that work?
* The retreat offers daily resources (the quotes, spiritual exercises, and prayers mentioned above, with some images as well to nourish you visually) online on a blog. More specifically, a closed blog.
* The retreat offers daily resources (the quotes, spiritual exercises, and prayers mentioned above, with some images as well to nourish you visually) online on a blog. More specifically, a closed blog.
* What's a closed blog? It's a blog like this, but it is not public: it is open only to those whom the blog owner-administrator (that's me) has signed in. In other words, it is not open to anybody wandering around the internet. It is not "searchable": random web surfers will not be able to view either the blog or our conversations in the comments.
* Once you register for the retreat by e-mailing me your intention to participate, I will send instructions for the one-time-only sign-in mechanism. After that, the blog will always recognize you.
Registration
To register, write me, Jane Redmont, stating your intention to take the retreat, and make your payment.
Cost and payment
* $60 if you register by Tuesday, June 30.
* $75 if you register between Wednesday, July 1 and Monday, July 6, the day the retreat begins.
It's best to register before July 1, but you are still welcome if you sign up at the 11th hour!
Some discounts are available for those in financial hardship. Talk to me.
If you prefer to pay by check, I will send you the mailing address when you write me to register.
If you prefer to pay online by credit card or PayPal, please click below to pay via the Redmont Retreats secure PayPal account. (Note: you don't have to have your own PayPal account to use this secure online payment method.)
Privacy and community
During the retreat, you can remain private and just read the blog and use the quotes, spiritual exercises, and prayers on your own.
or
If you are more extroverted and communal or in need of companions on your retreat, you can share your thoughts, experiences, and questions via the comments function on the blog and engage in conversation with other participants and with the retreat facilitator.
A full list of online retreats for summer 2015 is here.
