A Season of Soul-Tending
How are you tending to the nurture of your soul in this season? How are you experiencing the fall season? Perhaps it is a time of letting go or shedding. Or maybe it is a time of evaluation, commitment, re-commitment. Maybe it is a time to connect with the non-human creation – plants, animals, migrating birds, waterways, hills/plains/beach, etc. Perhaps it is a season of opening to possibility. … Or … something else. If you take some time to reflect on how you are moving through this season, please share some thoughts on our Facebook page.
Recalibration LIVE!
Our September zoom featuring Jerry Webber was a wonderful time together. The time included worship, readings (scripture, poetry, image, prose – with invitations for how we might engage them), reflection, and sharing.
One scripture we were invited to consider was Ecclesiastes 3 – “to everything there is a season…”
One poem we sat with was The Door, by Jane Hirschfield, linked here.
Our next Recalibration LIVE! will take place on Saturday, November13, beginning at 1:00 pm Eastern time, and will feature Sarah Cledwyn. Get more information and register here.
On January 22, 2022, we welcome Anne Kertz Kernion for a three-hour retreat on self-compassion. Watch for more information and registration details coming soon.
The photo above is Rosie, a 4-year-old (at the time of the photo) Australian Shepherd. You are invited to gaze into her eyes, gaze on her face, as a way of connecting with The Holy.
What’s New from Some of Our Partners
Rolling Ridge Retreat and Conference Center
Multiple online opportunities, including a Joan Chittister book study (Radical Spirit: 12 Ways to Live a Free and Authentic Life), Understanding Your Dreams (an online monthly group), the next in the Voices and Stories series about Indigenous People of New England, …and much, much more! Click here for a listing of upcoming events.
Center Quest: An Ecumenical Hub for the Study and Practice of Christian Spirituality
A new cohort of the School of Spiritual Direction will begin in the fall of 2022.There will also be a pilot group starting in Manila, Philippines in January of 2023. Click here for more information.
Academy for Spiritual Formation
This ministry of The Upper Room is offering a variety of both online and in person events. Coming in the next 10 months are several five-day and one four-day academy events in Washington, Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Louisiana, and more. Online events include several ongoing groups, as well as some one-day events, such as “Drinking from Ancestral Wells” on October 15 and “Healing the Wounds of Christendom” on November 12.Click here for more information about all these offerings and to register.
Garrett’s Rueben P. Job Institute for Spiritual Formation E-Course
A Formational Practicum for Leaders
October 6 – November 19, 2021
with Rev. Dr. Brenda Buckwell, PCC
The cultural shifts from the pandemic through systemic racism and violence to the theological divide invite us to discover new ways of experiencing prayer in community. This class is a retreat-like experience of formation AND a modeling for how to lead contemporary prayer practices. Click here for more information and to register.
Membership in Hearts On Fire (FUMSDRL)
- Please join if you have not already done so.
- Zooms are being held every other month this year, and will continue into 2022. These have been wonderfully enriching times of community, contemplation, and growth.
- Retreat in 2022 – in person! Additional information is below, and registration is coming soon! (Members receive a discount on registration.)
Click here for the membership page on our website. You will have the option to complete your member profile and pay online, or print a form and mail in a check.
Are you interested in serving on the board? Reply to this email and someone will contact you to discuss what that entails.
Retreat
July 17-22, 2022
Carrie Newcomer will be our retreat leader.
Christ the King Retreat Center
Buffalo, MN
Mark your calendar and plan now to attend!
Words of Wisdom
A quote: Rabbi Barukh’s grandson, Yehiel, was once playing hide-and-seek with another boy. He hid himself well and waited for his playmate to find him. When he had waited for a long time, he came out of his hiding place, but the other was nowhere to be seen. Now Yehiel realized that his friend had not looked for him from the very beginning. This made him cry, and crying he ran to his grandfather and complained of his faithless friend. The tears brimmed in Rabbi Barukh’s eyes and he said: “God says the same thing: ‘I hide, but no one wants to seek me.’”
Martin Buber, from Tales of Hasidim: Early Masters
A spoken word: Listen to a message about spiritual hope from Tara Brach.
A free online opportunity: Click here for information and registration for a free webinar series on White Privilege from SDI (Spiritual Directors International), featuring our 2018 retreat leader Jane Vennard. The series will take place weekly for 4 weeks beginning October 27.