Dear Readers, Followers and Friends,
For a week in April (16th-21st) I’ll be leading a meditation retreat at the Montreat Conference Center in North Carolina, just outside of Asheville, on Black Mountain. More than a few folks have asked what happens at a meditation retreat and why do people pay to be silent… Both are good questions.
As to what happens, together we keep a schedule of times together and apart. There is an early morning time of Meditation that is led by one of the retreat leaders before breakfast that includes several readings. We will have breakfast in the main dining room together, but in silence. Each day, there will be a morning and afternoon plenary session where I’ll be teaching on our theme of BEAUTY AND SILENCE. There is free time for your individual use, and lunch together. You are invited to walk, wander, wonder or nap. Each day we will have a contemplative service before dinner including the Lord’s Supper. And after dinner we will keep the Divine Office of Compline together before retiring. Then, we do it all over again, for the rest of the week.
On my retreats (where I am making it, not leading it) in my free time I read, I write, I’ve been known to bring supplies to paint, and of course nap. During many WCCM retreats you are invited to write Haiku to share with the group by posting them in our gathering room. But I have to say that mostly, its a time for listening. We each listen for the Spirit, who for most of the rest of our lives doesn’t get a chance to be heard above the din of very, very, busy lives.
One of the amazing things about coming together for a meditation retreat, is how quickly we form a community of silence. We learn, whether this is our first retreat or our 10th, that silence becomes our bond and our way. We strengthen one another by this solidarity that we form together. And we often have much to say by that final morning when we offer our words to one another.
Our subject matter in April will lead the way for our week. We’ll consider how God inhabits Beauty. (Not as culture defines it.) We’ll consider how God speaks through Beauty…and what our response means. We’ll take a look at Beauty from various traditions, people and places. And we will tie it all together with how our silence allows us to see Beauty and how Beauty leads us into deeper and deeper silence. And before I tell you everything about my presentations, I think I’ll stop here.
When I was in church ministry, I most often used my continuing education time for silence. It was a necessary part of both my spiritual and self-care. I depended on that time for renewal, for healing, for joy to return, for fresh ideas to germinate. My guess is that most everyone needs renewal, healing, joy and freshness. But sometimes we have no idea how to access it. And likely we cannot imagine that it could all happen within 5 days! Which really is the answer to the second question above…why do people pay to be silent.
I hope you will consider joining me in April at Montreat. Registration is available on the WCCM-USA.org website, and will be open through March 16th. The cost of the retreat is $125.00 plus the room and food package of your choosing. Costs are low because all of the leadership team volunteers their time to make this possible. We each want to share what we have found in this gift of silence, of meditation.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. In the meantime, if you would like to try just a little meditation… I am hosting WEDNESDAYS IN LENT on Zoom at 7:00pm Eastern. Registration (free) for that program can also be found on WCCM-USA.org
In a world that seems to be changing more quickly than ever before, at a time when doing justice, loving mercy and walking humbly is often ridiculed or ignored, when fear shows up more often than we care to name… meditation, the silent prayer of the heart, offers a needed balm.
Blessings upon you as we move from winter to spring. May you know the hope of new beginnings!
In peace and with love,
Kathleen
The Celtic Monk
The Celtic Monk Musings 