Programs
COMW Celebrates 25 Years
As we continue in our 25th year of retreat offerings (monthly and a six-day retreat in October), we embrace this theme for 2023: “The Healing Role of Contemplation.” We believe that a regular period of Centering Prayer practice will allow us to live out what God is calling us to do, bringing healing into a world in which conflict and injustice are all too present.
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We invite you to join us!
Benedicte Vibe Christensen, COMW Chapter Coordinator
November Retreat
Registration Fee $25
Zoom Instructions to be shared upon registration.
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Benedicte Vibe Christensen, Facilitator
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A HALF-DAY RETREAT
Centering Prayer and Interspirituality
November 18, 2023
9 am - 12 Noon (via Zoom)
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Led by Netanel Miles-Yepez, D.D.
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At our November retreat, Netanel Miles-Yepez, professor of Religious Studies at Naropa University and co-founder of Charis Foundation for New Monasticism and Interspirituality, will explore the roots of Centering Prayer as a receptive meditation practice in Christianity, and explore its applicability to the interspiritual milieu in which we live today.
Netanel Miles-Yépez, D.D., is an artist, philosopher, religion scholar, and spiritual teacher. He is co-founder of Charis Foundation for New Monasticism & Interspirituality, which is dedicated to the emergence of a newly conceived contemplative life in dialogue with all of the world's great wisdom traditions. Netanel studied History of Religions at Michigan State University and Contemplative Religion at the Naropa Institute, before pursuing traditional studies with such spiritual luminaries as Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, founder of the Jewish Renewal movement, and Father Thomas Keating, founder of Contemplative Outreach. He is the author of The End of Religion and Other Writings (forthcoming, 2023) and the editor of The Common Heart: An Experience of Interreligious Dialogue (2006). Currently, Netanel lives in Boulder, Colorado, where he is Chair of Religious Studies and Director of the Keating-Schachter Center for Interspirituality at Naropa University.
December Retreat
The Healing Power of Centering Prayer
Saturday, December 9, 2023
9 am - 12 Noon
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The Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle
1725 Rhode Island Ave, NW
Washington, DC
Led by The Rev. Tim Grayson
“You have made us for yourself, O Lord,
and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” (St. Augustine)
Thomas Keating, one of the founders of the modern Centering Prayer movement, popularized the Centering Prayer process as “divine therapy" because it enables the healing of deep psychological wounds and promotes spiritual growth. According to Keating, this therapy leads to the “purification and healing of the unconscious, thus deepening the practitioner's relationship with God.” Acknowledging and releasing troubling thoughts that bubble up from deep within helps deconstruct the false self that emerges in childhood from our efforts to find security amid damaging societal and familial influences.
In this retreat, Tim Grayson, a member of COMW’s coordinating team and an Episcopal priest, will review the work of renowned spiritual guides such as Keating, Basil Pennington, Thomas Merton, Cynthia Bourgeault, and Jim Finley, who have written extensively on the healing properties of Centering Prayer. The program will include three Centering Prayer sessions and ample time for discussion.
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Tim is a longtime board member of Listening Hearts Ministries, which is dedicated to teaching the practice of spiritual discernment, and is an authorized Listening Hearts trainer. He also has a burgeoning interest in Christian mysticism.
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Location
The Cathedral of St Matthew the Apostle
1725 Rhode Island Ave, NW, Washington, DC
(Please enter at the lower level through the door next to the garage, and note that the church garage is closed on Saturdays, but metered street parking is available, as well as two parking garages close-by.)
PAYMENT BY PAYPAL OR MAJOR CREDIT CARD
When registering, you will be prompted to pay via PayPal.
NOTE: PayPal also gives you the option to pay by other major credit cards.
PAYMENT BY CHECK
Make checks out to COMW and mail to:
Linda Hall, COMW Treasurer
1959 39th St NW, Washington, DC 20007
Confirmation will be sent upon registration. Reminders are sent the day prior to the event.
Questions? Please contact Benedicte Vibe Christensen, facilitator
Donations
Donations are always welcome! COMW has always made its retreats available at the cost of providing them. You might consider adding a donation for the benefit of our future programs to allow us to expand outreach activities. Make your donation here.