Retreats

Membership of the Contemplative Body Annual Retreat

Retreat for the Members of the Contemplative Body
January 4-6, 2019
$315
Finding Our Voice as Elders
At this annual retreat of the membership of the Contemplative Body of the Episcopal House of Prayer, we will explore what it means to be an elder — both individually and within our families, as well as collectively, within the House of Prayer and the broader community.

Entering the Bridal Chamber of the Heart: The Luminous Gospels of Thomas, Mary Magdalene, and Philip

Offered by the Rev. Matthew Wright, CRC
Thursday, February 21 — Sunday, February 24, 2019
$425 (Scholarships available)
Continuing the Episcopal House of Prayer’s offerings of teachings from the Christian Contemplative Wisdom tradition, this retreat will explore that tradition in depth. We will focus on the Gospels of Thomas, Mary Magdalene, and Philip. Come join us in a contemplative rhythm of silent prayer, teaching, chanting, lectio divina, and embodiment practice.

Meditation and the 12 Steps

Offered by Gary Barrett and Ward Bauman

Friday, March 22 — Sunday, March 24, 2019
$325 (Scholarships available)

This retreat is designed primarily for those who have or are currently working their way through a 12-step recovery program. This would include alcohol and drug addictions. This retreat will include teachings, guided meditation, silence and breath and body work. We will also make time to hear the wisdom and insights of the participants and others.

Voice, Body, and Heart/Mind: Doors of Awakening

Offered by the Rev. Myo-O Marilyn Habermas-Scher

4:30 PM Friday, April 12 – 4:30 PM Saturday, April 13, 2019
$225

The process of transforming our hearts is a mysterious creature; we glimpse it in the forest, fluttering in the leaves. Hearing it on the lake, it shimmers, and is gone. In this retreat we will explore the movement of the voice, rooted in kinesthetic awareness. Our time together will be spent in silent meditation, mindful movement, deep hearing, vocal warm-up and attunement. We will also chant, sing and improvise from that kinesthetically aware base.

A Darkness all of Light

Offered by Martin Laird, O.S.A.
Thursday, May 23 – Tuesday, May 28, 2019
Cost: $625 (Scholarships available)

“A Darkness all of Light”. This line from a poem by Franz Wright serves to focus our days dedicated to the practice of contemplation, conference, discussion, and silent table fellowship. Silence itself has no opposite. For the silent mind, sound is as silent as no sound. For the decluttered mind, despair and delight manifest the very same silence we incessantly bodyforth by the simple fact that we are. But for the cluttered mind, such things seem to be at odds. In this retreat we will consider such challenges, among others.

Humility Reconsidered

Offered by Cynthia Bourgeault
Friday, June 7 – Sunday, June 9, 2019
Cost: $425 (Scholarships available )

Cynthia Bourgeault, one of our core teachers in the Contemplative Wisdom tradition, will return to EHOP this summer to address Humility Reconsidered, a fresh look at the crucial but notoriously challenging Chapter 7 of the Rule of Saint Benedict from a wisdom perspective, in which humility = non-identification= interior freedom. In good Benedictine fashion the weekend will feature a balanced rhythm of silence and intentional inquiry; contemplative prayer and conscious practical work.

Pilgrimage to Iona: A Journey to Silence

Pilgrimage led by the Rev. Jerry Doherty
October 6–17, 2019
$300 deposit due by March 1st

The early Celtic Christians had a tradition of taking spiritual journeys as part of their faith in God. The journey was not to sight see or shop or just to have a good time. It didn’t even have a known destination. It was to go to a thin place, a place where the veil between time and eternity was very thin. It was a place to feel the presence of God. A place like this is the holy is the island of Iona in Scotland . Join the Episcopal House of Prayer in a journey to Iona in 2019. Experience a journey to the silence of God.