Nine days with Dorothee Soelle: online "novena retreat" begins August 31

Longing for some prayerful and reflective time in your busy life?
Struggling with the challenge of hope in hard times?
Join us:

Dorothee Soelle:
An Online Novena Retreat

Dorothee Soelle (also spelled Sölle) (1928-2003) was a German theologian, poet, peace activist, Protestant and ecumenical Christian, spouse and mother, teacher, socialist, and from mid-life on, feminist. She was the author of The Silent Cry: Mysticism and Resistance, Against the Wind: Memoir of a Radical Christian, Revolutionary Patience, Theology for Skeptics, and many other works. Soelle wrote in an accessible manner --mostly in prose, sometimes in poems-- and not in the form of long academic treatises. Her chosen topics, though, were often challenging: silence and language in the struggle to name God; suffering and the vulnerability of God; Jesus the risk-taker and the community of the friends of Jesus; history, evil, and Christian political engagement; the church as community of memory, resistance, and hope.

What, when, where

* An online nine-day spiritual retreat, August 31-September 8, 2015, with the help of the writings of Dorothee Soelle (1928-2003).

* 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 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.

Dorothee Soelle was a Protestant in the Lutheran tradition, and the 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.

* 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, 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 Sunday, August 23.

* $75 if you register between August 24 and August 31, the day the retreat begins.

It's best to register before the 21st, but you are still welcome if you sign up at the 11th hour!

* Discounts are available if you are in financial hardship. Talk to me.

* Payment is non-refundable and due upon registration, by check or online electronic payment.

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 online payment method.)

Retreat fee (choose one)

August 24-31 - regular rate $75.00 USD through August 23 - early bird rate $60.00 USD benefactor rate - $85.00 USD hardship rate - $50.00 USD

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 retreatants and with the retreat facilitator.

Full  listing of summer online retreats here.

This announcement of the Dorothee Soelle retreat was originally posted on July 8.

Hurry Up and Slow Down -- late summer edition!

Last fall, when I felt as if I had NO TIME, and I mean NONE, to do anything, because I was so busy, I signed up for this retreat. What a big gift I gave myself... Having some focused time to replenish my spirit was great. Highly recommended!

--Fran Rossi Szpylczyn, New York

The "Hurry Up and Slow Down" retreat was one of the most valuable I have ever experienced, because it encourages the participants to take nuggets of time on a regular basis for guided reflection and renewal, rather than trying to devote a whole weekend or several evenings to the pursuit. It's well done and well worth the time commitment as well as the money.

--Joanne Fisher, Michigan

"Hurry Up and Slow Down"

begins August 16

(c) Jane Redmont 2013

What, when, where

* A 6-week online retreat, August 16-September 26 

* At home, in your daily life, 15 minutes a day

* Simple, accessible, gently focused on practice, with spiritual exercises

* Each week of the retreat has an anchoring theme:

mindfulness
breath 
place 

time 
community
earth

* Suitable for those who are religiously affiliated as well as for those who consider themselves spiritual, but not religious.

* If you think you don't have time for "Hurry Up and Slow Down," you're exactly the person who will benefit from it.

See below for details.

Hurry Up and Slow Down is a spiritual retreat accompanying your daily life. It offers guidance, but it is not an academic class with a lot of reading. It is simple, accessible, and gently focused on practice -- the "how" of living every day mindfully and reverently, in a way that suits our own circumstances and takes into account how busy we are. Each week will have a theme or anchor. The weekly themes will be rich and basic:

* mindfulness * breath * place *
* time * community * earth *

These themes can be building blocks of spiritual practice, whether we are religiously affiliated or not.

Every week, with the theme of the week, will include four components, offered each Sunday and accompanying you throughout the week:

1. Awareness of the week's theme:

Taking stock, naming, asking and answering questions, doing a little writing (or drawing if we are more visually inclined).

2. Inspiration:

A short reading, an image, an insight, a bit of wisdom about the theme for us to ponder during the week.

3. Practice:

An exercise related to the week's theme, a concrete how-to that we can incorporate into our daily life throughout the week.

4. Tradition(s):

Some insights into the week's theme from the experience and wisdom of more than one religious tradition. We are not the first to grapple with the themes of our retreat and we are not alone.

Registration

The retreat begins Sunday, August 16.

Registration will remain open till the third day of the retreat, though beginning the first day will give you more breathing space, literally and figuratively.

To register, please e-mail your intention to take the retreat to Jane Redmont.

Cost

$110 early bird rate (till the end of the day Thursday, August 13).

$125 if you register between Friday, August 14 and Tuesday, August 18.

Some discounts are available for those in financial hardship. Talk to me.

Payment

Payment is non-refundable and due upon registration, by check or online electronic payment.

If you prefer paying 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 the appropriate button 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.)

LATE SUMMER HUASD RETREAT (begins Sunday, August 16, 2015)

Retreat fee (choose one)

Aug. 1-18 - regular rate - $125.00 USD through August 13 - $110.00 USD benefactor rate - $150.00 USD hardship rate - $95.00 USD

An online retreat? How does that work?

An online retreat offers retreat resources (themes, quotes, images, videos, guidelines for spiritual exercises, and more) online on a blog. More specifically, a closed blog.

What's a closed blog? It's a blog like this, but open only to those whom the blog owner-administrator (that's me) allows in. In other words, it is not open to anybody wandering around the internet. It is not searchable on the web. Random web surfers will not be able to view either the blog or our conversations in the comments. Once you register for the course, I will send instructions on the one-time sign-in mechanism. After that, the blog will always recognize you.

Privacy and community

Do I have to talk to other people on the retreat? I'm a very private person.

and/or

Can I get some support here? I'm not sure I can stick to this all by myself.

The retreat will offer you a choice in finding your preferred balance between the solitary and the communal, between privacy and solidarity.

1) You can be private and just read the blog and use the exercises, practices, and quotes on your own.

or 

2) 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 retreatants and with the retreat facilitator.

Either way, in your participation on the blog, silent or speaking, you must respond respectfully to others and protect the privacy of participants. It's fine for you to say to people outside the retreat "someone in a group I'm in mentioned [issue, insight, dilemma]" but not the name or identifying characteristics of the person or the story.

(c) Jane Redmont

This online retreat is meant to help you find time and opportunity

 to breathe and pause in your busy life,

but not to make you feel guilty when you struggle to do so.

Begin where you are, not where you "ought to be."

(c) Jane Redmont 2014

Nine days with William Stringfellow: online retreat begins August 3

Longing for some prayerful and reflective time in your busy life?
 Thinking about the relationship between Christian faith and social realities?
Interested in a renewed perspective on the Bible in these United States?

 
William Stringfellow

An Online Novena Retreat
August 3-11 , 2015

What, when, where

* An online nine-day spiritual retreat, August 3-11, 2015, with the help of the writings of William Stringfellow (1928-85).

* 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.

William Stringfellow (1928-1985), was a lawyer by training and trade, not a professional theologian, though he wrote a dozen books and was one of most astute and insightful Christian thinkers of the 20th century. An Episcopal layman who understood himself very much as "Protestant" and who engaged in open criticism of his own beloved church, he was grounded in the prayerful study of scripture. Stringfellow was also a radical social critic preoccupied with the powers of sin and death in the world and in the cosmos.

"My concern," Stringfellow wrote, "is to understand America biblically -- in contrast to the more common tendency, to understand the Bible 'Americanly.'" One of the published summaries of his work notes that his great theme "was the Constantinian compromise, the accommodation of Christianity to the values of the empire and the preservation of status quo."

Click here for an informative essay on William Stringfellow 

if you want to know more about his life, work, and significance.

Details about the retreat below the picture.

Block Island, R.I., where Stringfellow shared a home with the poet Anthony Towne

"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.

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.
 

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.

* 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 Monday, July 26.

* $75 if you register between Tuesday, July 26 and Tuesday, August 3, the day the retreat begins.

It's best to register before August 3, 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.

 

* Payment is non-refundable and due upon registration, by check or online electronic payment.
 
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.)

Retreat fee (choose one)

July 27 - Aug. 3 - regular rate $75.00 USD through July 26 - early bird rate $60.00 USD benefactor rate - $85.00 USD hardship rate - $50.00 USD

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.

 [Originally posted July 3, 2015.]