EVENTS
to Nurture Spirituality
Contemplative Prayer Group
Join me in learning about and practicing contemplative prayer for six weeks, meeting on Sunday mornings during the 9am adult-education hour at St James by-the-Sea. Each session will include a short teaching on contemplative prayer, time of silence, and a handout to help facilitate the practice at home during the week.
Week 1: Beginning Contemplative Prayer
Breathing, embodiment, senses, stillness, and quiet
Week 2: Centering Prayer
Building a foundation of silence
Week 3: Lectio Divina
Attuning your inner ear to God’s Spirit through prayerfully reading scripture
Week 4: Vizio Divina
Cultivating spiritual vision through prayerfully gazing on an image
Week 5: Prayer Beads
Resting in prayerful repetition through tactile engagement
Week 6: Prayer of Examen
Practicing self-reflection and divine noticing through reviewing your day with God
No need to RSVP and all are welcome!
Quiet Day Retreat: Embodiment as a Path to Wholeness
Join the female identifying parishioners of St James by-the-Sea for a quiet Sunday afternoon retreat—in a beautiful La Jolla garden with a prayer labyrinth! Lunch will be served, so be sure to RSVP.
In this intimate setting, we will be learning about the spiritual significance of embodiment. As Pierre Teilharrd de Chardin famously said: “We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” How then can we understand—and even thrive in—our bodily human experience? How might our Christian traditions give us guidance?
Through teachings and facilitated small group discussions we will…
Explore perceptions we have of our own bodies, and how the biblical scriptures may shift these perceptions to become more positive and accepting.
Learn about embodiment and the science behind the mind, body, and spirit being inextricably intertwined.
Glean from Jesus’ example of being the divine incarnation, leading us to identify ways we can live out our own incarnation.
Cultivate compassion for our bodies, honor our bodies’ “gut intuition,” and value even simple acts of self-care.
A guided mindfulness meditation…
Will allow you to soak up the natural beauty around us even more, and equipping you to implement an easily applied embodiment practice into your daily routines.
Our retreat will conclude with an invitation to walk the garden labyrinth…
I will provide guidelines for walking the labyrinth as a moving meditation, which you can then implement at your own pace. You are welcome to enjoy the remaining time for your own rest and contemplation.
You won’t want to miss this restorative time of being in your body, and uncovering greater freedom and grace in your life going forward.
“Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly” (Matthew 11:28, MSG).
RSVP through St James by-the-Sea at (858) 459-3421 and you will receive the home address and lunch selection.