Got a late start on Lent?
Interested in (re-)discovering the work of a wise guide?
Need spiritual support?
Want a short and more intense retreat rather than a longer retreat?
Longing for some prayerful and reflective time in your busy life?
Interested in (re-)discovering the work of a wise guide?
Need spiritual support?
Want a short and more intense retreat rather than a longer retreat?
Longing for some prayerful and reflective time in your busy life?
Join us
Monday, March 5 - Wednesday, March 13, 2018
Howard Thurman:
Nine Days in Lent
Nine Days in Lent
an online retreat
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 and pertinent to people 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, how
* An online nine-day spiritual retreat, beginning Monday, March 5, 2018.
* The life and writings of Howard Thurman serve as a focus and inspiration.
* Simple and accessible:
one quote or short excerpt per day* 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.
one spiritual exercise per day
one prayer per day
on nine consecutive days
* 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 February 20 for the Early Bird discounted rate!Payment is non-refundable and due upon registration.
--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!
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 2018 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.
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.
