An Advent Morning Reflection – Journeying in Advent Mystery (on-line retreat)

During the Season of Lent, God invites us to draw closer and deepen our relationship. This three-session retreat helps you listen for God's voice in a sustained way throughout Lent. The first 90-minute session presents three prayer practices and several methods for capturing and pondering God's presence and guidance. The second session expands on the prayer practices and offers a chance to learn from each other. The final session moves towards distilling what you have heard and exploring where it might lead next. 7:00 - 8:30 pm Presenter: Sister Edith Bogue, OSB

Everyone recognizes life’s major choice points. People often arrive at them with little experience of to guide them. Benedictines have practiced discernment – choosing with wisdom and seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit – for centuries. This first-of-three retreat workshops invites you to use the choices we face every day as opportunities to grow in this ancient practice. Retreat director: Sister Edith Bogue, OSB Sister Edith Bogue, OSB, is a Benedictine sister recently transplanted to Sacred Heart Monastery in Cullman from a monastic community in the Midwest. A sociologist and social worker by training, she has also served as oblate and vocation director. A retreat leader and spiritual director, she joined the staff of the Benedictine Sisters Retreat Center in July 2021. Fee: $25.00

What does discernment look like? What are some practical things I can do to discern new directions, make difficult choices, or cultivate greater wisdom? This retreat workshop offers several tools drawn from the long Benedictine tradition of discernment, and with short opportunities to experience one or more of them. 7:00 - 9:00 pm Presenter: Sister Edith Bogue, OSB

In the Eastern Church, the Saturday before Palm Sunday is Lazarus Saturday. Not included in the 40 days of Lent or Holy Week, it is a transitional or "hinge" day, a joyful prelude to the difficult week to follow. Using John 11 and the traditional Russian Icon of the Raising of Lazarus, we shall go to Bethany with Jesus, meet his friends Mary and Martha, hear Him call Lazarus from all that would bind him and begin His own journey to death and resurrection. To paraphrase Jesus' invitation at the outset of John's gospel: "Come and see." 9:00 am - 3:00 pm Presenter: Bonnie Thurston, PhD

Contemplative photography is a prayer practice to see the created world with new eyes. Using the simplest of cameras, often a phone, we slow down and simply look at what is before us. We aim to see the subtle beauty of things, to notice and appreciate surprising details or signs of the changing seasons. This workshop offers guidance to observe in silence, guided by flashes of interest, inspiration, and wonder. Then we will consider ways to deepen our contemplation. Our goal is not to make beautiful pictures but see deeply. There will be opportunities to share images and meaning with the group. Retreat director: Sister Edith Bogue, OSB Sister Edith Bogue, OSB, is a Benedictine sister recently transplanted to Sacred Heart Monastery in Cullman from a monastic community in the Midwest. A sociologist and social worker by training, she has also served as oblate and vocation director. A retreat leader and spiritual director, she joined the staff of the Benedictine Sisters Retreat Center in July 2021. Fee: $40.00 Limited enrollment.

How can we live and practice discernment when others are involved? Friends, work groups, families, and organizations face choices. The long Benedictine tradition of discernment moves beyond winner/loser methods (taking turns, majority rules) to seek common ground. This retreat offers an introduction to the spirituality of this form of reaching decisions in groups and some practices that foster it. Retreat director: Sister Edith Bogue, OSB Sister Edith Bogue, OSB, is a Benedictine sister recently transplanted to Sacred Heart Monastery in Cullman from a monastic community in the Midwest. A sociologist and social worker by training, she has also served as oblate and vocation director. A retreat leader and spiritual director, she joined the staff of the Benedictine Sisters Retreat Center in July 2021. Fee: $25.00