CONSD offers local retreats, days of prayer, and formation events online and in-person. At the worldwide Contemplative Outreach Ltd. website, you can find the latest information on online and onsite retreats offered nationally and globally — see THIS LINK and click on the “Events” tab at the top right.
———–UPCOMING LOCAL EVENTS———–
CENTERING PRAYER AND THE 40 DAYS OF LENT, with Contemplative Outreach of San Diego. Beginning March 5 (Ash Wednesday) to April 16, from 9:00am to 9:30am Pacific Time daily on Zoom. We are called, as contemplatives, to be a sign of love and hope to those who are most vulnerable. In these 40 days of Lent, we ask during our prayer time for mercy and compassion in a world where millions of people suffer from the wages of war, famine, displacement, and disease. If you are new to Centering Prayer or you have known the practice for years, joining in group prayer during this time of day might be a good way to strengthen your practice. Join us each morning from 9:00am to 9:30am. We will not meet on the Sundays of Lent. There is no cost, and no registration needed. To receive the Zoom link, contact Ardy at ardywoodmansee@gmail.com .
Pre-registration for “An Introduction to Centering Prayer” is required so that we can know how many people to expect. To ask questions or to pre-register, please e-mail us at consdinfo@gmail.com.
Five-Day Intensive Centering Prayer Retreat, with Brian Curry & COSD. This five-day Centering Prayer intensive retreat provides an opportunity to deepen the practice of Centering Prayer in an atmosphere of silence and community support. This retreat follows the Contemplative Outreach guidelines for an intensive retreat including five 30-minute Centering Prayer periods on most days. An established practice of Centering Prayer for at least six months is recommended but is not a pre-requisite to attend. The retreat begins Monday with check-in from 2:00 to 5:00 pm and concludes the following Friday morning. The retreat fee of $450 includes a single room (with private bath) and meals. We are limiting the number of registrations to 25, including retreat leader,s so each has their own room for solitude. The cost of this retreat has been lowered by $200 per participant due to a grant from the Contemplative Outreach Divine Economy Fund. The fund is dedicated to making Fr. Thomas Keating’s teachings in retreats accessible to Centering Prayer practitioners. In person, April 28 to May 2, at Prince of Peace Abbey in Oceanside, CA. For more info and to register, please click HERE.
———MORE UPCOMING EVENTS IN THE U.S.———
ONGOING: OPENING MINDS, OPENING HEARTS: A Podcast Series by Contemplative Outreach, Ltd., first launched in November 2022. With Colleen Thomas and Mark Dannenfelser. Seasons 1, 2, and now 3 of this podcast series are complete and available HERE or through your favorite podcast provider platforms. Interviewees include Carl McColman, Dr. Lerita Coleman Brown, Fr. Adam Bucko, Pastor Tia Norman, Fr. Greg Boyle, Carmen Acevedo Butcher, Heather Ruce, Dr. Rory McEntee, and others.
What Do I Do With My Anger? with the Center for Action and Contemplation. Many of us feel growing anger about politics, economic opportunities, persistent racism, our threatened environment, and broken institutions. What do we do with our anger—and can ancient wisdom from the contemplative Christian tradition offer guidance for us in these times? Join us in a shared online space to explore these important questions alongside CAC founder Fr. Richard Rohr, author of the new book, “The Tears of Things,” and CAC Dean of Faculty, Brian McLaren. Online, March 14, 10:00am to 11:30am Pacific Time. For more info and to register, click HERE.
United in Prayer Day, with Contemplative Outreach, Ltd. A free, globally-hosted 20+hour day of prayer accessible via Zoom. In the global unity of silence as God’s first language, we hold vigil for suffering humanity and all creation, and we honor Fr. Thomas Keating’s birthday (March 7), and the growing presence of Christ among us. Join in silence and community at any time, as many times as you are able. Each hour will include at least 20 minutes of Centering Prayer and an offering from the hosting group. As we participate in this community prayer, let us remember and hold in our hearts all the members of the worldwide Centering Prayer community who do not have access to Zoom / internet technology, including those who live in remote areas and those who are incarcerated. Come join CONSD’s hosted hour at 11:00pm Pacific Time on March 14! On Zoom; no registration necessary. The event begins on Friday, March 14, 2025 at 9pm Eastern Time and continues through March 15, 2025. For more info, please click HERE.
Blessed Are the Clean of Heart: Living with Spiritual Integrity in an Age of Fragmentation, with Mark Kutolowski. We will explore Jesus’ invitation to live from an undivided heart and strategies to live in the world with deeper spiritual integrity in an age of fragmentation. We’ll look at the challenge and promise of living fully in God, and the wisdom to be gleaned from countercultural Christian movements, including the early Church, the Desert Fathers and Mothers, the Franciscan movement, and the first Jesuits. Mark will draw from his experience living at Metanoia of Vermont, a lay contemplative homestead in the Benedictine tradition. This program will be offered both in-person and online via Zoom. Information on how to access the program on Zoom will be sent to participants in advance. This program will include a morning and an afternoon session of Centering Prayer. In person and on Zoom, March 15, 8:30am to 4:30pm Eastern Time. For more info and to register, click HERE.
Serenity Retreat: Cultivating Rhythms of Wholistic Wellness, with Susan YIM. Serenity is a universal need, though often elusive in our fast-paced, tension-filled lives. While the world’s demands create stress and chaos, serenity offers a path toward peace, grounding us in a state of calm that nurtures our deepest sense of well-being. Far more than the absence of conflict, serenity is a practice that leads us toward wholeness, balancing the body, mind, and spirit in a way that sustains health and harmony. Through contemplative practices such as guided meditation, silence & solitude, creative activities, and reflective storytelling, this retreat will provide the space and tools needed to develop personal rhythms of wholistic wellness. Together, we will explore how serenity, when nurtured, can become a source of strength that transforms our inner lives and how we engage with the world. Ultimately, Serenity invites us to find peace in our imperfect lives, rest in God’s presence, and cultivate wholeness in a broken and troubled world. In person at St. Andrew’s Abbey in Valyermo, CA, March 17-19, 2025. For more info and to register, click HERE.
Nine-Day Intensive, Post-Intensive Retreat, sponsored by Contemplative Outreach. This retreat offers three tracks simultaneously: Intensive I, Intensive II and Post Intensive. For everyone, there will be 3 sets of two 30 minute periods of Centering Prayer daily. Intensive I and Intensive II will watch video talks from Fr. Thomas Keating’s Spiritual Journey. Intensive I focuses on “The Human Condition and the Spiritual Journey”. Intensive II focuses on “Divine Love: The Heart of the Christian Spiritual Journey”. The Post Intensive has no videos and an additional hour of Centering Prayer each day. You choose the track that works best for you. Any of the tracks may be repeated multiple times. If this is your first Centering Prayer retreat of this length, we suggest you choose Intensive I. We recommend attending Intensive I before Intensive II. Lectio Divina and a contemplative Eucharist will be offered daily, as well as optional soul-friending with the staff. Throughout the retreat, we will be in silence. Pre-requisite: A daily practice of Centering Prayer for 6 months or longer. In person at the Mercy Center in Auburn, CA, March 19-27, 2025. For more info and to register, please click HERE.
Faith and Healing Bereavement Weekend Retreat, with Cathy Narvaez, MA. Are you struggling with the death of a loved one? Are you having trouble finding healing in your grief? Are you angry, lost or confused? Do you need help letting go? Grief is a process. It is the hardest job you’ll ever do. The only way to deal with grief is to grieve. Are you ready to do the necessary work to heal and learn to move on with life again? Through prayer, the arts, meditation, journaling, and private time, we will journey through the life, death, and resurrection of our loved ones in the loving hands of our Lord and the support of each other. This weekend retreat is not recommended for those grieving less than 3 months (January 2025) from the retreat. In person at the Holy Spirit Retreat Center in Encino, CA., March 28-30. Register by March 14. For more information, please call Sr. Marie at 818-815-4496.
The Wisdom Way of Christian Spirituality, with Rev. Henry Shoenfield. Wisdom is at the contemplative headwaters of every major religious tradition, including Christianity. Wisdom takes many shapes and focuses on human transformation more than on a set of beliefs. The Christian Wisdom path is about learning to listen to the Divine within – attending to our interconnectedness with a larger whole. This kind of listening requires that we know ourselves deeply. This retreat will explore the core tenets of the Christian Wisdom Tradition and Jesus as our Wisdom Teacher through the lineage of Cynthia Bourgeault. This program will be offered both in-person and online via Zoom. Information on how to access the program on Zoom will be sent to participants in advance. This program will include a morning and an afternoon session of Centering Prayer. In person and on Zoom, April 5, 8:30am to 4:30pm Eastern Time. For more info and to register, click HERE.
Centering Prayer in the Treatment of Mental Illnesses, with Dr. Bob Hesse. Dr. Hesse will report the results of neuroscientific studies on improvement in quality of life using Centering Prayer in the treatment of: PTSD, Bipolar Disorder, Parkinson’s Disease, and excessive fear of death (NDE). He will discuss using the results of these studies to establish ministries in medical treatment facilities. The studies were published in scientific journals and summarized in Dr. Hesse’s book: Faith and Science: A Journey into God’s Mystical Love. Its chapter titles are the agenda of the first Faith and Science Conference in Rome on 17-20 June 2025, see www.faith-science.org. Dr. Hesse will review these findings and then there will be time to submit questions via the chat. On Zoom, April 29, 2:00 to 3:00 pm [unsure of time zone]. For more info and to register, please click HERE.
An Ancient Flowing Stream: How African Origins, Heritage, Culture, and Music Power the Christian Contemplative Spirit, with Rev. Michael Battle and Julian Davis Reid. The instinct to search for and find a path to God flows like an ancient river through every human heart. It is universal, and like the human race itself, it has its source in Africa. Over time, the river of contemplation has been fed by streams from every continent, and experiencing this diversity of influences has great transformative power. Here in the West, one stream of influence – white and European – has been the dominant approach to Christian contemplation, while alternative worldviews have tended to be neglected and silenced. But this is changing…. Let us seek the grace to extend a warmer and more authentic welcome to people of all backgrounds, and to be transformed by what they can teach us. We invite you to swim in an ancient stream toward sacred Communal Contemplative Spirituality. This workshop will invite you into transformation as much as it invites you to learn about the African underpinnings of all contemplative practices, and Black American contemplative practices in particular. On Zoom, May 3, Noon to 3:00pm Pacific Time. For more info and to register, please click HERE.
Introductory Wisdom School: A Wisdom Way of Knowing. This Introductory Wisdom School lays the groundwork for understanding the vital role of Wisdom in today’s world. Led by Cynthia Bourgeault, participants will delve into the Christian Wisdom tradition, exploring two key spiritual streams: the ancient Benedictine monastic model of “Ora et Labora” and the Gurdjieff Work’s concept of three-centered knowing and presence. Cynthia will illuminate how Wisdom serves as a precise and transformative spiritual science, offering both theoretical insights and practical tools for embodying Yeshua’s teachings—the Way of the Heart. Through an integrated daily rhythm, this Wisdom School fosters an embodied “wisdom way of knowing,” incorporating periods of Great Silence, teaching sessions, Centering Prayer or silent meditation, mindful work, mindful movement, and contemplative free time. In person and on Zoom, May 25-30, at the Mercy Center in Burlingame, CA. For more info and to register, click HERE.
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Scholarships to attend retreats and events are available from CONSD and from Contemplative Outreach, Ltd. Please email consdinfo@gmail.com to inquire.
For more information on CONSD events, call Linda Dollins at (760) 743-8297 or Mary Williams at (760) 822-3916.
For information on COSD (Contemplative Outreach of San Diego) events, see the COSD website, www.contemplativeoutreachsd.org