Monday, February 10, 2020

Nine days with Dorothee Soelle - Lent 2020

The full list of our Lent 2020 online offerings is here.

Do you need spiritual support and enrichment
during the fourth and fifth week of Lent?

It's not too late!
Join us for a time of reflection, practice, and prayer.

Friday, March 27 to Saturday, April 4, 2020
Nine Days with Dorothee Soelle
an online 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 is the author of The Silent Cry: Mysticism and Resistance; Against the Wind: Memoir of a Radical Christian; Revolutionary Patience; Theology for Skeptics; and other books.

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
What, when, where, how

* An online nine-day spiritual retreat, beginning Friday, March 27, 2020

*
The life and writings of Dorothee Soelle serve as a focus and inspiration.

* Simple and accessible:

one quote or short excerpt per day
one spiritual exercise per day
one prayer per day
on nine consecutive days
* At home, on a break at work, in a coffee shop, on vacation, in your daily life: read, reflect, meditate, and pray with the retreat materials in a way that suits your schedule.

* Spiritual refreshment, nurture, and challenge.

* You'll need 20 minutes a day of focused time (any time, night or day) and a computer or tablet with internet access.

Easy registration via PayPal secure link, which takes credit and debit cards in addition to PayPal.
Note: You don't have to have your own PayPal account to use this online payment method. (If you prefer paying by check, please e-mail me.)
--Register by March 2 for the Early Bird discounted rate!
--Some discounts are available for those in financial hardship. Talk to me.
--The benefactor rate helps offset costs and makes scholarship aid possible.
Payment is non-refundable and due upon registration.

Register here!




Retreat fee (choose one)




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, and sometimes a piece of music too) 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 on the one-time sign-in mechanism. After you first sign on to the retreat blog, the blog will always recognize you.

Privacy and community

During the retreat, you can remain anonymous, invisible, and silent 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. (More about your friendly retreat designer and facilitator, Jane Redmont, here. Please do not hesitate to write me with questions or concerns.)


Reminder: The full list of our Lent 2020 online offerings is here.

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.

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