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A Sample of Retreats and Workshops
offered by Dr. Canham
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ASK THE ANIMALS - a workshop on embracing
the wisdom of "all creatures great and small." The elephant
and the tiny fruit-fly, whales, spiders, humming-birds, pesky squirrels and
our beloved cats and dogs all have much to teach us about life and about the
Creator. Through meditations, reflection, journal writing and creative
activities participants are enabled to tell their own stories of animal
wisdom and to become more readily observant of creatures as God's teachers.
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Listen With the Ear of Your Heart... a retreat
celebrating Benedictine Spirituality
This retreat will focus on prayer as a conversation initiated by God who
speaks as we hone our capacity to listen. The practice of Lectio Divina,
journaling, paying attention to holy presence in ordinary events and things,
will be offered to enhance our own prayer and provide tools for ministry. A
variety of meditation models for connecting our personal history to the
great themes and stories of Scripture will be provided. Suggestions for
creating appropriate rhythms of prayer and spiritual discipline in daily
experience will be given to enable us to continue the conversation with
trust and hope.
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Be Thou My Vision
Early Celtic Christianity was earth centered, poetic, humorous, mystical,
egalitarian and characterized by pilgrimage journeys and deep trust in the
God of Creation. In every church and monastery of Celtic Britain and
Ireland, a fire was kept burning as a sign of God's presence. Today that
Celtic fire is burning anew as we face ecological disaster and seek a
spirituality that embraces the natural order. This retreat will use music,
visual material, and creativity as part of our reflection on the wisdom and
gift of Celtic Christians.
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The Greening of God... a retreat on Hildegard of
Bingen
"God hugs you: you are encircled by the arms of the mystery of
love." These words of Hildegard invite us into a space where we
experience the enfolding care of our loving Creator God. This 12th century
Rhineland mystic, prophet, artist, musician, writer, healer, abbess has many
gifts for us today, and the retreat will be designed to enable participants
to discover their own giftedness. Through music, visual art, meditation and
appreciation of nature we will explore her wisdom and journey with her
towards that integration of body, mind and spirit which she expressed.
Hildegard constantly used the image of a circle when she reflected on God
who made the round earth, and whose purpose is to gather all things into a
cosmic center. During the retreat there will be an opportunity to create our
own mandalas - circular visions of the spiritual journey - to share our
images of the Creator. Journaling will also be an option and we encourage
musicians to bring instruments so that we can also enjoy making music
together.
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Praying the Scriptures *
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Sing a new song
The psalms invite us to be scrupulously honest in our prayer as we give
expression to the full range of human emotion. This workshop is designed
to enable participants to pray their joy and fear, hope and doubt,
thanksgiving and anger, victories and losses, healing and pain, and to
deepen their relationship with the Creator who loves unconditionally.
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Living the questions
Through an exploration of questions posed by Jesus in the Gospel
according to St. John, participants will be guided into dialogue with
the life giving Word. Guided meditation, journaling and discussion will
be offered to enable each person to pursue her/his unique journey with
Christ and to connect with the Community of love which is called into
being through this Gospel.
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Behold it was very good
A focus on guilt often prevents Christians from celebrating the good
news that they are created in God's image and entrusted with earth
keeping. In this retreat our starting point will be the first Creation
story in Genesis I, as we explore ways to live into the Gospel of grace
as beloved children of God.
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Jeremiah - a man for our time
In this retreat participants will be invited to enter into dialogue with
the prophet Jeremiah, one of the great figures of the Hebrew scriptures.
His time was, like ours, marked by divisions in society and unfulfilled
longing. He lived during an era of change. There seemed to be no
connection between the "old ways" and the "new
ways." People were confused and without direction. Jeremiah's
message was one of comfort and hope. Through him, God promised the
people of Israel to be their God forever: "I will make with them an
everlasting covenant; I will not turn away from doing good to
them." Through prayerful journaling we will enter into the
heartfelt concerns of Jeremiah to find echoes of them in ourselves as we
live into God's hopeful future.
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The Write of Your Life
Our life journey is filled with images and encounters that shape and enrich
experience. By journaling with our own unique history, we bring to
consciousness overlooked touchstones of transformation. This workshop does
not require any previous writing experience but is for all who desire to
grow in self-awareness and to deepen their experience of God. Times of
reflective silence will be offered, together with journaling exercises and
the opportunity to share insights. We will explore our connectedness with
the natural world which offers us many powerful symbols of life, hope and
healing as we continue our pilgrimage. Each participant is invited to bring
an object which represents an important part of the past, e.g. photograph,
jewelry, toy, rock, book, etc. Also bring a notebook or journal and writing
materials. Above all, come with an open heart.
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How to Meditate Without Leaving the World!
Too often those who choose the way of meditation are perceived as
disconnected from the "real" world. In the Hebrew/Christian
tradition, however, we are invited to meditate day and night on God's word,
and this kind of prayer bears fruit as it leads us into compassionate
action. In this retreat we will learn to meditate on Scripture, the natural
world and life events in such a way that we begin to see the holy in the
ordinary - all things in God and God in all things.
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These topics may be offered in a two day retreat format
or adapted for one day workshops.
*Elizabeth Canham taught Biblical Studies for seven
years in a British Seminary, and specializes in relating Scripture to life and
prayer. She welcomes invitations to develop retreats and workshops around
Biblical books and themes other than those listed here. |
