Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Dorothee Soelle: Nine Days in Lent * online retreat *

Need spiritual support during the fourth week of Lent?
It's not too late!
Join us for a time of reflection, practice, and prayer.

Monday, March 9 to Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Dorothee Soelle:
Nine Days in Lent

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

* Simple and accessible:
one short passage from Soelle's writings each day
one (related) spiritual exercise each day
one prayer each day
* 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 (any time, night or day) and a computer or tablet with internet access.

* Spiritual refreshment, nurture, and challenge for your Lenten journey.


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.
 


This retreat will be especially helpful if you  
--are struggling with the challenge of staying hopeful in hard times 
--want to explore connections between Christian spirituality and social justice
--are busy and yearn for some quiet and inspiration
--are honest about your struggles in faith
--want to rekindle your relationship with God
--got a late start on Lent
Note: We are also offering three other Lenten retreats this year, two long, beginning on Ash Wednesday and ending on Easter Sunday. (Click here for more information on the featuring writings by Thomas Merton; Click here for the retreat on food and fasting, Desert Journey, Daily Bread), and one short, like this one. (Click here for a March 9-15 retreat with writings by Howard Thurman.)
All of the retreats have a structure and a schedule, but they are flexible enough to integrate into your daily life: you are the one who decides when and where to read and pray with the materials in the retreat (day or night, at home or elsewhere) and how to apply the invitations to practice.
 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 and payment

To register, write me, Jane Redmont, at readwithredmont@earthlink.net if you plan to pay by check, and I will acknowledge your registration and send you the mailing address. I will also notify you when I receive your check.

OR
 
If you want to pay by credit or debit card or with a PayPal account, simply register and pay in a single transaction using the PayPal button below. (You can use that button and its secure connection to pay with a credit or debit card even if you don't have a PayPal account.)

The PayPal payment will record your name and e-mail address and serve as your registration. You will receive an acknowledgment from me within 24 hours.

Payment is non-refundable and due upon registration.

If you are in a situation of financial stress, please write me and we can arrange for a discount, payment plan, or scholarship. (If you wish to help make more scholarships possible, just check the "benefactor" rate below.)


Retreat fee (choose one)



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 wish, 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.

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