Lent 2020 online retreats: one long (Bonhoeffer), three short (Stringfellow, Soelle, Isasi-Diaz)

art by Thomas Merton

Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent in Christian churches of the Western traditions, is February 26.
 Please join us for one or more of our online retreats this Lent.

Lent, the 40-day season preceding Easter, is the Christian church's annual long retreat.

We go on this retreat --not necessarily to a different geographical place, but to a zone of mindfulness and practice that simplifies our life and peels away its non-essentials-- in order to reconnect, deeply, with God, with Christ, with the Spirit at the heart of God's life, our life, and the life of the world.

We clear space and time to make room for the God of comfort and surprises, and to remember what is deepest and truest in our lives.
 
We have four online retreats for you to choose from this Lent. 

We are offering one long online retreat, lasting all of Lent and Holy Week, and three nine-day online retreats. The long retreat commits you to checking in with the retreat resources three times a week. The short retreat offers retreat resources every day for nine days.

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.

 Click on the name of each retreat below for further information (about the person and about the retreat) and registration.

Would you like to explore the life and writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer through short readings and spiritual exercises? A Lent-long online retreat invites you to do so. It is a retreat, not a course, so the readings are relatively short and the focus is meditative and intended to give you a lens through which to live the Christian season of Lent this year.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26 - SATURDAY, APRIL 18:

Lent with Dietrich Bonhoeffer (includes Holy Week and Easter Week)

Not sure you want to go on a long retreat, even online? Would you prefer a shorter, more intense experience? If so, we have three offerings for you, each of them nine days long and each inspired by the writings and life of a 20th century or  20th-21st century Christian from the Northern Hemisphere. You may choose one or more.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4 - THURSDAY, MARCH 12:

William Stringfellow: Nine Days in Lent

MONDAY, MARCH 16 - TUESDAY, MARCH 24:

Ada María Isasi-Díaz: Nine Days in Lent

FRIDAY, MARCH 27 - SATURDAY, APRIL 4:

Dorothee Soelle: Nine Days in Lent

All of these online retreats call us to simplicity, mindfulness, and holiness. Like the season of Lenten itself, they invite us to repentance and conversion, but also to joy. 

Peace be with you. Please join us on the journey of Lent.

Nine Days with Ada María Isasi-Diaz - Lent 2020

Longing for meditative time *and* new energy in your busy life, this Lent?
Eager to discover --or remember-- the life and work of Ada María Isasi-Díaz?
Curious about or committed to listening to the wisdom of grassroots Latinas?
 Aware that spirituality involves struggle, community, family, in daily life?

Join us!

Nine Days with Ada María Isasi-Díaz
an online retreat
Monday, March 16 - Thursday, March 24, 2020

Ada María Isasi-Díaz (1943-2012), born in La Habana, Cuba, came to the United States as a political refugee at the age of 18. Educated in Catholic and ecumenical Protestant institutions, she became a professor of Ethics at Drew University Divinity School in 1991, the year after receiving her Ph.D. from Union Theological Seminary. She taught at Drew until her retirement in 2009. Isasi-Díaz was the editor and author of several books, including En La Lucha/In the Struggle: Elaborating a Mujerista Theology and Mujerista Theology: A Theology for the Twenty-First Century. Her development of a mujerista theology was, within the rich field of liberation theology, the expression of the theological, ethical, and socio-cultural insights of grassroots Latinas, whom she always considered her "community of accountability." Her final project was co-editing the book Theological Perspectives for Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: Public Intellectuals for the Twenty-First Century.

Isasi-Díaz became involved in the movement for the ordination of Catholic women in the 1970s. During her years at Drew, she maintained both her residence in New York City and her involvement in Our Lady Queen of Angels parish in El Barrio, East Harlem. After the decision by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York to close the church building in early 2007, Isasi-Díaz helped to lead protest vigils and and worship services outside the church on the sidewalk, frequently serving as preacher at the weekly service. She was an activist for social justice as well as church justice, not simply asking for church reform but living new ways of being church at the heart of her community. Her lifelong attention to the lives of grassroots Latinas nourished her ethical, theological, and spiritual thinking.

The online retreat will focus on the meaning and lived experience of realities and concepts basic to AMID's life and work, including lo cotidiano (daily life); la lucha (the struggle); la comunidad/la familia (community/family); permítanme hablar (allow me to speak); un poquito de justicia (a little justice); place and being a person of multiple locations; and kin-dom.

Note: The meaning and resonance of the Spanish words are not fully embodied in their English translations. These words cannot be divorced from their Latina/o cultural, political, economic, religious, and linguistic context. AMID, who wrote in both English and Spanish, used the Spanish words above in her English texts, and so will we.

What, when, where

* An online nine-day spiritual retreat, beginning Monday, March 16, 2020.

* The writings of Ada María Isasi-Díaz will provide us with focus and inspiration.

* Simple and accessible:

one quote 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 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.)

Some discounts are available for those in financial hardship. Talk to me. The benefactor rate helps offset costs and makes scholarship aid possible.

Register here!

Retreat fee (choose one)

Regular rate $75.00 USD Benefactor rate $130.00 USD DIscount rate $65.00 USD Hardship rate $50.00 USD

Payment is non-refundable and due upon registration.

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 a little music to feed the soul) 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, I will send instructions for the one-time-only 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.)

NOTE:

This retreat is not a replacement for the in-depth study of Dr. Isasi-Díaz's life and thought. Like our other online retreats (inspired by --among others-- Dorothy Day, Dorothee Soelle, Howard Thurman, Thomas Merton, and William Stringfellow) this one offers a carefully chosen selection of wisdom from a larger body of writing, together with attention to the life that produced and reflected this wisdom and to ways we can learn from this wisdom in daily life.

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

Nine days with Ada María Isasi-Díaz: an online retreat

Longing for meditative time *and* new energy in your busy life?
Eager to discover --or remember-- the life and work of Ada María Isasi-Díaz?
Aware that spirituality involves struggle, community, family, in daily life?
Curious about or committed to listening to the wisdom of grassroots Latinas?

Join us!

Nine Days with Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz

an online retreat
July 17-25, 2017

Ada María Isasi-Díaz (1943-2012), born in La Habana, Cuba, came to the United States as a political refugee at the age of 18. Educated in Catholic and ecumenical Protestant institutions, she became a professor of Ethics at Drew University Divinity School in 1991, the year after receiving her Ph.D. from Union Theological Seminary. She taught at Drew until her retirement in 2009. Isasi-Díaz was the editor and author of several books, including En La Lucha/In the Struggle: Elaborating a Mujerista Theology and Mujerista Theology: A Theology for the Twenty-First Century. Her development of a mujerista theology was, within the rich field of liberation theology, the expression of the theological, ethical, and socio-cultural insights of grassroots Latinas, whom she always considered her "community of accountability." Her final project was co-editing the book Theological Perspectives for Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: Public Intellectuals for the Twenty-First Century.

Isasi-Díaz  became involved in the movement for the ordination of Catholic women in the 1970s. During her years at Drew, she maintained both  her residence in New York City and her involvement in Our Lady Queen of Angels parish in El Barrio, East Harlem. After the decision by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York to close the church building in early 2007, Isasi-Díaz helped to lead protest vigils and and worship services outside the church on the sidewalk, frequently serving as preacher at the weekly service. She was an activist for social justice as well as church justice, not simply asking for church reform but living new ways of being church at the heart of her community. Her lifelong attention to the lives of grassroots Latinas nourished her ethical, theological, and spiritual thinking.

The online retreat will focus on the meaning and lived experience of realities and concepts basic to AMID's life and work, including lo cotidiano (daily life); la lucha (the struggle); la comunidad/la familia (community/family); permítanme hablar (allow me to speak); un poquito de justicia (a little justice); place and being a person of multiple locations; and kin-dom.

Note: The meaning and resonance of the Spanish words are not fully embodied in their English translations. These words cannot be divorced from their Latina/o cultural, political, economic, religious, and linguistic context. AMID, who wrote in both English and Spanish, used the Spanish words above in her English texts, and so will we.

What, when, where

* An online nine-day spiritual retreat, beginning Monday, July 17, 2017.

* The writings of Ada María Isasi-Díaz will provide us with focus and inspiration.

* Simple and accessible:

one quote 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 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.)

Some discounts are available for those in financial hardship. Talk to me. The benefactor rate helps offset costs and makes scholarship aid possible.

Register here!

Retreat fee (choose one)

Regular rate $75.00 USD Benefactor rate $100.00 USD DIscount rate $65.00 USD Hardship rate $50.00 USD

Payment is non-refundable and due upon registration.

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 a little music to feed the soul) 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, I will send instructions for the one-time-only 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.)

NOTE:

This retreat is not a replacement for the in-depth study of Dr. Isasi-Diaz's life and thought. Like our other online retreats (inspired by --among others-- Dorothy Day, Dorothee Soelle, Howard Thurman, Thomas Merton, and William Stringfellow) this one offers a carefully chosen selection of wisdom from a larger body of writing, together with attention to the life that produced and reflected this wisdom and to ways we can learn from this wisdom in daily life.

 Reminder: The full list of our summer 2017 online offerings is here.

Summer online programs: information and registration

Summer Online Offerings

July 6 to September 26

 (c) Jane Redmont

Registration is now open for the first three retreats of the summer.

See below for announcement of all the retreats and for links to each retreat's information-and-registration page.

Hurry Up and Slow Down:

Spiritual Practices for Daily Life

A six week online retreat
offering
techniques and inspiration
for slowing down
in this busy world
and 
for living more mindfully --
wherever you are,
whoever you are,
whatever your schedule.

offered twice!

early summer: July 9 - August 18
late summer: August 16 - September 26

see here for full details and registration 

Novena Retreats

with inspiring companions

 
For many of us, it may be easier to commit to a shorter length of time (in this case, nine days, hence the name "Novena") during which there is focused reflection, meditation, and prayer each day.

You may, of course, take more than one of these short online retreats.

Each retreat uses as its inspiration 
the life and writings
of a contemporary Christian
who has combined deep spiritual roots and practice
with active commitment to the work of justice.

July 6-14 ~ Howard Thurman              Registration has begun. See here for details.

and see below...

July 20-28 ~ Dorothy Day                    Registration has begun. See here for details.

Aug. 3-11 ~ William Stringfellow        Registration has begun. See here for details.     

Aug. 17-25 ~ Ada María Isasi-Díaz              Details/registration forthcoming

Aug. 31 - Sept. 8 ~ Dorothee Soelle      Registration has begun. See here for details.

Sept. 14-22 ~ Pauli Murray                             Details/ registration forthcoming

These are retreats, not classes.

There are readings, 

but the readings are short: 

they are meant to be pondered 

and used as a springboard 

for prayer and action.

Thich Nhat Hanh

Taking Care of Ourselves

while 

Taking Care of Others

A month-long 

combination of 
retreat, support group, and resource sharing

for caregivers: 

parents and foster parents, 

adult children of aging parents

people caring for a sick partner or spouse, 

professional caregivers 

(social workers, therapists, psychologists, nurses, clergy),

community organizers and teachers,
and anyone 
who expends a lot of time and energy
with and for others.

Topics will include time, sleep, community, solitude,
living with difficult feelings, and spiritual practice.
(Persons of any and no religious affiliation are most welcome.)

July 18-August 21           Registration is still open. See here.
plus an optional extra week, Aug. 22-28

Do you have questions or concerns after reading the retreat descriptions, here and on the linked pages with more details? (Make sure you read those.) E-mail me.

Summer session 2014: online retreats!

Online retreats are back... with a whole season full of choices!

Details and registration instructions at the links highlighted in bright yellow below. Registration is now open for the first two retreats of the summer.

Here is a quick look at the summer offerings (June 19 to September 15):

Hurry Up and Slow Down: 
Spiritual Practices for Daily Life

A six week online retreat
offering
techniques and inspiration
for slowing down
in this busy world
and for living more mindfully --
wherever you are,
whoever you are,
whatever your schedule.

offered twice!

early summer:  June 19 - July 30
late summer: August 3 - September 13

see here for full details/registration

about "Hurry Up and Slow Down" 

Novena Retreats

For some, it is easier to commit to a short time (in this case, nine days) during which there is focused reflection, meditation, and prayer each day. You may, of course, take more than one of these short online retreats.

Each retreat uses as its inspiration the writings and the life of one person:

June 24 - July 2 - Dorothy Day      details/registration info here

July 7-15 - William Stringfellow    details/registration info here

July 21-29 - Dorothee Soelle             details/registration info here

August 4-12 - Howard Thurman    details/registration info here

August 18-26 - Ada María Isasi-Díaz   rescheduled for winter!

September 8-15 - Thomas Merton    details/ registration info here

These are retreats, not classes. There are readings, but they are very short and meant to be pondered and used as a springboard for prayer and action.

Do you have questions or concerns after reading the retreat descriptions, here and on the linked pages? E-mail me.

Top two photos (c) Jane Redmont (2013, 2014)