With our online format this year, we will be offering a single track presentation that all participants will walk together as if walking a labyrinth. Our goal with this track is to offer brief instruction in several prayer practices, take time to engage with those practices, and then time to reflect on them with small groups. In considering the world we have been living in for the past year, it is our intention to be lighter on information and heavier on practice than in years past. We hope this leads to an environment where people can be renewed by the Spirit, and begin to see more clearly how they are being transformed by the wilderness we find ourselves in. Below, you will find a description of our workshops along with supplies you might need.    

Breathing and Body Scan- Alissa Gunning

Learning how to breathe can lessen our anxieties by calming our bodies and minds. In this workshop you will learn and practice techniques on how to use your breath to connect to the presence of God and yourself. Join us on a journey into the breath.

Welcoming Prayer- Patty Forsberg

The Welcoming Prayer is a method of consenting to God’s presence and action in our physical and emotional reactions to events and situations in daily life. The purpose of the Welcoming Prayer is to deepen our relationship with God through consenting in the ordinary activities of our day. The Welcoming Prayer helps to dismantle the emotional programs of the false-self system and to heal the wounds of a lifetime by addressing them where they are stored — in the body. It contributes to the process of transformation in Christ initiated in Centering Prayer.
 

Lectio Divina with Desert Wisdom- Patrick Sipes

Having journeyed this far into the wilderness, take some time to sit at the feet of the masters who learned its lessons best, the desert Abbas and Ammas of the 3rd century. As you reflect on their wisdom, let it help you begin your journey out of the wilderness.  

What Will Grow Here?- Denise Mainquist

After a long journey, whether to the desert or the inner self, we may experience intense emotions ranging from despair and futility to elation. We may be hungry and thirsty after our long journey or feeling the need to grow in a new way. This simple drawing exercise can help to focus thoughts, understand emotions, and see a beautiful way forward.

​Participants will need colored pens, crayons or markers and a large piece of drawing paper.

Compassionate Conversations- Terri Storer

Our journey experience awakens us to new thinking and feeling. Compassionate Conversations can create a safe space to explore, ponder, and shift into a deeper awareness of being and doing. We open to learn and engage in dialogue. We practice listening for understanding, honoring everyone’s truth and experience, and being present to the divine, ourselves, and others.