Contemplative Retreat - Nov 16-18, 2007 - October 25, 2007
As the holiday season approaches, I am very much looking forward to involvement in a number of music-related events, including a contemplative-style retreat at Sacred Heart Retreat Center in Sedalia, Colorado, the weekend prior to Thanksgiving (November 16-18). I have been invited by Rita Berglund to co-lead this retreat by providing music as a focal point for some of the interactive sessions with participants as well as for the morning, afternoon, and evening Taizé-style prayer services we will incorporate into the retreat.
Rita is a therapist, retreat leader, spiritual director, and and an adjunct professor at Naropa University whom I met through her husband, Brad Berglund. Through Brad's friendship, guidance, and musical leadership, I became connected with the Taizé style of worship in the Denver area in 2002 and have sung for the last several years at the monthly Taizé-style prayer service established by Brad over 10 years ago at Calvary Baptist Church.
As Rita and I have begun to discuss the content for the Sedalia retreat, I feel compelled to share with those visiting this site the spirit of what we hope to create. Contemplative experiences often seem few and far between in this busy world; for those of us in the Christian tradition, even a Sunday morning church service filled with hymns, spoken prayers, and sermons offers very little time for quiet personal reflection. Steve Pearlman and I have often discussed the seeming lack of interest in contemplative-style events as the faithful few attend our church's monthly healing service and other such events. Mainline Christianity leans heavily on intellectual discourse. Our culture values stimulation through media, the internet, and endless social opportunities. Silent prayer and meditation seem very foreign and perhaps even outdated in contexts such as these.
I recognize that my own personal, ongoing need for solitude, silence, and reflection place me outside the general population in terms of lifestyle. But a more contemplative way of life is not fed simply by time alone. Contemplative living is fed by community, by interaction with others of a similar mindset. It is this reality that makes my quiet life more difficult to nourish at times, given the challenge of finding and gathering with others in a society that values stimulation over reflective interaction. And because the church itself has for so long buried its more contemplative nature, many of those who might embrace contemplative forms of prayer and fellowship are no longer drawn to church life at all.
It is with these reflections in mind that I feel so very grateful for the chance to participate in the upcoming Sedalia retreat with Rita and gather with a small community of individuals drawn to contemplative interaction. Interestingly, to guide us through the weekend, Rita has chosen a theme of "Beauty and Brokenness: Journeying Toward Wholeness," inspired in part by the pervasive stories of Hollywood fame, glamour, and personal tragedy presented over and over by the news media. In these stories, Rita found questions arising within her: How have we defined standards of beauty for ourselves and our cultural icons? How is brokenness inherent in our definition of beauty? How can we heal that brokenness and redefine beauty to better understand our true selves? Is brokenness a requirement to fully embrace beauty and to achieve wholeness?
Through the language of music, I hope to address these questions and provide a context for conversation that includes the world of creativity in our exploration. I have also been asked to lead the music for each of the prayer services at the retreat, so I anticipate that music will draw largely from the songs I know from the Taizé community.
For those interested in registering for this retreat, I am providing the following information and schedule. Each of the activities listed as "Session" will be interactive and focus on the theme of the retreat from a different angle. The prayers interspersed throughout each day will be much like Taizé-style prayer services and will probably last 15-25 minutes each. There is also space intentionally built into each day so that the retreat provides participants with some down time and the weekend is not overloaded with activities. Please feel free to contact me via email (rebecca@rebeccagale.com) if you have any questions. To you all, I wish a peaceful transition into and through the holiday season, with many blessings to you and your loved ones through the celebrations you share together.
"Beauty and Brokenness: Journeying Toward Wholeness"
An Annual Retreat for Prayer and Spiritual Awakening
November 16-18, 2007
Sacred Heart Retreat Center, Sedalia, CO
Cost: $269 / $225 for full-time students. Includes single-room accomodation for 2 nights plus meals and materials for the duration of the retreat.
To Register: Call Rita Berglund at 303-523-7111; send an email to info@illuminatedjourneys.com; or visit www.illuminatedjourneys.com
Retreat Schedule:
FRIDAY, NOV 16
Registration (2-3 p.m.)
Session I (3 p.m.)
Afternoon Prayer
Dinner
Session II
Evening Prayer
SATURDAY, NOV 17
Morning Prayer
Breakfast
Session III
Noonday Prayer
Lunch
Personal Time
Afternoon Prayer
Dinner
Session IV
Evening Prayer
SUNDAY, NOV 18
Morning Prayer
Breakfast
Session V
Noonday Prayer
Lunch
Session VI
Depart (3 p.m.)
Rita is a therapist, retreat leader, spiritual director, and and an adjunct professor at Naropa University whom I met through her husband, Brad Berglund. Through Brad's friendship, guidance, and musical leadership, I became connected with the Taizé style of worship in the Denver area in 2002 and have sung for the last several years at the monthly Taizé-style prayer service established by Brad over 10 years ago at Calvary Baptist Church.
As Rita and I have begun to discuss the content for the Sedalia retreat, I feel compelled to share with those visiting this site the spirit of what we hope to create. Contemplative experiences often seem few and far between in this busy world; for those of us in the Christian tradition, even a Sunday morning church service filled with hymns, spoken prayers, and sermons offers very little time for quiet personal reflection. Steve Pearlman and I have often discussed the seeming lack of interest in contemplative-style events as the faithful few attend our church's monthly healing service and other such events. Mainline Christianity leans heavily on intellectual discourse. Our culture values stimulation through media, the internet, and endless social opportunities. Silent prayer and meditation seem very foreign and perhaps even outdated in contexts such as these.
I recognize that my own personal, ongoing need for solitude, silence, and reflection place me outside the general population in terms of lifestyle. But a more contemplative way of life is not fed simply by time alone. Contemplative living is fed by community, by interaction with others of a similar mindset. It is this reality that makes my quiet life more difficult to nourish at times, given the challenge of finding and gathering with others in a society that values stimulation over reflective interaction. And because the church itself has for so long buried its more contemplative nature, many of those who might embrace contemplative forms of prayer and fellowship are no longer drawn to church life at all.
It is with these reflections in mind that I feel so very grateful for the chance to participate in the upcoming Sedalia retreat with Rita and gather with a small community of individuals drawn to contemplative interaction. Interestingly, to guide us through the weekend, Rita has chosen a theme of "Beauty and Brokenness: Journeying Toward Wholeness," inspired in part by the pervasive stories of Hollywood fame, glamour, and personal tragedy presented over and over by the news media. In these stories, Rita found questions arising within her: How have we defined standards of beauty for ourselves and our cultural icons? How is brokenness inherent in our definition of beauty? How can we heal that brokenness and redefine beauty to better understand our true selves? Is brokenness a requirement to fully embrace beauty and to achieve wholeness?
Through the language of music, I hope to address these questions and provide a context for conversation that includes the world of creativity in our exploration. I have also been asked to lead the music for each of the prayer services at the retreat, so I anticipate that music will draw largely from the songs I know from the Taizé community.
For those interested in registering for this retreat, I am providing the following information and schedule. Each of the activities listed as "Session" will be interactive and focus on the theme of the retreat from a different angle. The prayers interspersed throughout each day will be much like Taizé-style prayer services and will probably last 15-25 minutes each. There is also space intentionally built into each day so that the retreat provides participants with some down time and the weekend is not overloaded with activities. Please feel free to contact me via email (rebecca@rebeccagale.com) if you have any questions. To you all, I wish a peaceful transition into and through the holiday season, with many blessings to you and your loved ones through the celebrations you share together.
"Beauty and Brokenness: Journeying Toward Wholeness"
An Annual Retreat for Prayer and Spiritual Awakening
November 16-18, 2007
Sacred Heart Retreat Center, Sedalia, CO
Cost: $269 / $225 for full-time students. Includes single-room accomodation for 2 nights plus meals and materials for the duration of the retreat.
To Register: Call Rita Berglund at 303-523-7111; send an email to info@illuminatedjourneys.com; or visit www.illuminatedjourneys.com
Retreat Schedule:
FRIDAY, NOV 16
Registration (2-3 p.m.)
Session I (3 p.m.)
Afternoon Prayer
Dinner
Session II
Evening Prayer
SATURDAY, NOV 17
Morning Prayer
Breakfast
Session III
Noonday Prayer
Lunch
Personal Time
Afternoon Prayer
Dinner
Session IV
Evening Prayer
SUNDAY, NOV 18
Morning Prayer
Breakfast
Session V
Noonday Prayer
Lunch
Session VI
Depart (3 p.m.)