Hope For Our World

Jan 12th 2024 @ 5:30pm - Jan 14th 2024 @ 12:00pm

On site at Mercy Center in Burlingame, CA.

“We are indeed all interconnected: your suffering is my suffering and your joy is my joy. We are responsible to one another, and to our planet. And the more we learn about opening to the vast, interwoven luminous field that shines throughout the cosmos, the more we can become a light. Our smallest actions can shine and reverberate and effect powerful change starting from within, tapping into a great cosmic heart, honoring our ultimate connection.”

—Joy Andrews Hayter, in The Cosmic Web: Hope for Our World Through Science and Spirituality

Everything in our universe is connected: the mystics throughout the ages have reflected this, and now physicists are beginning to clearly see this beautiful connection among all of us. Our world needs us to remember this at this time, when our planet with all its ecosystems and the very structure of our social systems are in a state of profound flux.

Come join us for a weekend of shared contemplative practices, including Centering Prayer, chanting, and sacred movement. When we come from a grounded place, when we remember the beauty of what we are and the divine indwelling at the heart of us all, we have so much more to offer. This brings us hope: that what we can offer to the world makes a difference. For example when we offer the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, kindness, forgiveness, self-control, and patience, the world is nourished by it. When we offer these fruits together, it’s even more powerful.

This will be a rejuvenating, hope-filled weekend at Mercy Center in Burlingame, supported by the old oaks and the prayer that has permeated these grounds for so long. We will have spacious free time to walk the grounds and the labyrinth, work in the art room, or just rest. Some periods of silence will be complemented by contemplative sharing and conversation.
This retreat is suitable for people at all levels of experience in contemplative practice. The registration fee includes purchase of Joy’s recently published book, The Cosmic Web: Hope for Our World Through Science and Spirituality.

Presenter: Joy Andrews Hayter

Joy Andrews Hayter is a professor emerita, with a PhD in physical chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley. Joy is also a long-time spiritual practitioner, first in Taoism and Buddhism, as well as re-embracing the Christian Wisdom tradition on a deeper contemplative level. She is a spiritual director, and teaches contemplative practices that help us become aware of God’s ever-present love. She regularly responds to questions about Centering Prayer and other practices in the Contemplative Outreach quarterly e-bulletin. You can find more about her at joyfulfillment.com

CONTACT
For further assistance, contact us at (650) 340-7474 or mc@sistersofmercy.org

These are unprecedented times. If finances are an issue, please fill out a learning grant form here for a grant. We want to make sure our offerings are available to everyone.

CANCELLATIONS / REFUNDS
The cancellation policy for Mercy Center Burlingame depends upon several factors including the type of program and duration of stay. Generally, the cancellation policy is a 50% forfeiture of payment if cancelled within 1 week or less of the program start date. Cancellation fees set forth in any specific program description supersedes any terms set forth in this general cancellation policy description.

These are unprecedented times. If finances are an issue, please email us at registration@mercywmw.org for a learning grant discount code. We want to make sure our offerings are available to everyone.

The Mercy Center Centering Prayer Program presents: Wisdom School: Wisdom Rhythms & Conscious Relationships

Aug 11th - Aug 16th, 2023 Starts Aug 11th at 6pm, ends Aug 16th at noon

On site at Mercy Center in Burlingame, CA.

In any moment, regardless of how significant or insignificant it may seem, we can offer ourselves as instruments, vessels, means by which worlds beyond can enter into this world, which has often been termed by several traditions ‘mixtus orbis.’ Wisdom teacher Cynthia Bourgeault often reminds us that this world’s dense conditions are not a mistake but a place where the rough material of our lives can be mixed with spiritual substances and nutrients from beyond and in so doing, something essential is created.

There is much to glean from the wisdom lineages in every tradition, including Christianity, about waking up to a different reality and orienting our lives to something more than our every day circumstances. In the case of the Christian wisdom lineage, we can place our gaze towards the world beyond—kingdom of heaven, the imaginal realm—which is always in our midst when we have eyes to see and ears to hear. When we can attune ourselves to this dimension, we can begin to draw from an endless wellspring and be of service to God in our day to day lives and relationships. Drawing on the work of Cynthia Bourgeault, G.I. Gurdjieff, and others, this Wisdom School will focus on listening for the wisdom rhythms that deepen presence in our three centers - intellectual, emotional, body - in order that we can perceive and act in accordance with the higher laws of the kingdom of heaven in cosmic servanthood and in particular in conscious relationships.

Join us in person at the Mercy Center in Burlingame. There will be an invitation to a ‘wisdom way of knowing’ through a daily rhythm with periods of silence, centering prayer, teaching, conscious conversation, Gurdjieff Exercises and Movements, chanting, mindful work, lectio divina, and contemplative free time.

Required Reading (if you have not been to a wisdom school before): ‘Wisdom Way of Knowing’ by Cynthia Bourgeault

Retreat Leaders:
Heather Ruce, M.A. will be offering different teachings, Gurdjieff Movements and Seated Attention Exercises. She is a wisdom spiritual director with training in a neurophysiology based approach to understanding the nervous system. She loves working with individuals as well as facilitating groups and retreats focused on learning and practicing the Christian Wisdom Tradition.

Joy Andrews Hayter, Ph.D. will be supporting our wisdom school experience. She is a spiritual director, and Centering Prayer coordinator at Mercy Center. Joy is dedicated to fostering contemplative practices such as Centering Prayer and others within the Christian Wisdom tradition that help us become aware of God's ever-present love. As a scientist she sees in the physical world an expression of that love.

Catherine Regan, Ph.D. will be supporting our wisdom school experience. She is a spiritual director, retired psychologist, and adjunct staff member at Mercy Center, primarily serving on the Centering Prayer team. She has a special interest in participating in the reclamation of the Christian Wisdom tradition and fostering the contemplative practices so urgently needed at this time in our world.

CONTACT
For further assistance, contact us at (650) 340-7474.
For more information visit: www.mercy-center.org

These are unprecedented times. If finances are an issue, please email us at registration@mercywmw.org for a learning grant discount code. We want to make sure our offerings are available to everyone.

The Mercy Center Centering Prayer Program presents:
Abide in the Mercy: A Silent Wisdom** Retreat
A Centering Prayer Retreat

May 26 - June 1, 2023 Starts May 26 at 3pm, ends June 1 at noon

On site at Mercy Center in Burlingame, CA.

Registration: $800 (includes retreat, accommodations, and meals)

As the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Abide in my love.

- John 15:9

In many of Jesus' sayings we can find an invitation to a deeper contemplative way of being, so relevant for our Centering Prayer. 'Abide in my love', for example, can also be translated as 'abide in mercy' (rachma in Aramaic,  the language Jesus spoke). This is the Mercy that surrounds, nurtures, encompasses, and streams through us, bringing us alive. The Semitic root for this word is womb, like a mother loving completely, flourishing and encompassing. So in our Centering Prayer we are invited to abide, or rest deeply, in that generative compassion. The word 'abide' in Aramaic, 'qevah', can also mean to wait, hope for; even to continue, to endure. But in typical Aramaic fashion where multiple levels of meaning can be found in one word or phrase, it also means to collect, to bind together. This collection can be done in our own being, binding together as an integrated person, willing to remain fully present in an embodied way, in whatever state we find ourselves. And it can also refer to our collection as a group, gathering to practice together. 

Join us in person at Mercy Center, Burlingame, CA where we will gather together and allow silence, Centering Prayer, and Jesus’ own language of Aramaic to open us to the limitless depths of Jesus’ invitation. We will also include some wisdom practices of chanting, movement, and guided meditation that will help to deepen our Centering Prayer. 

This retreat is suitable for people with a long-time practice of Centering Prayer, and will also provide guidance for those relatively new to it.  We are planning a spacious schedule so that you will have time to walk the beautiful Mercy grounds, and to do other deeply relaxing practices that we'll talk about. Bring a journal and pen if you like. There is a lovely craft room at Mercy Center but bring additional art supplies if you prefer.

May the next years see the increase of Centering Prayer, and the creative addition of other wisdom aspects that might enhance what we are doing, or at least help us to do what we have learned out of our tradition, with complete commitment.

—Thomas Keating, in A Life Surrendered to Love

**For more information on the Christian Wisdom Path, see Cynthia Bourgeault's book: The Wisdom Way of Knowing: Reclaiming an Ancient Tradition to Awaken the Heart.

Retreat Leaders:

Joy Andrews Hayter, Ph.D. is a spiritual director whose offerings include Centering Prayer and other contemplative practices of the Christian Wisdom tradition. These practices encourage us  to lean into the Love that is constantly being offered within a relational web of Sacred Unity. As a scientist she sees in the physical world an expression of that love. Joy regularly offers retreats on Centering Prayer, often emphasizing the incarnational nature of the Christian path, and she regularly responds to questions about Centering Prayer in the Contemplative Outreach quarterly e-bulletin.

Catherine Regan, Ph.D. is a spiritual director, retired psychologist, and adjunct staff member at Mercy Center, primarily serving on the Centering Prayer team. She has a special interest in participating in the reclamation of the Christian Wisdom tradition and fostering the contemplative practices so urgently needed at this time in our world.

Heather Ruce, M.A. will be supporting our wisdom school experience through guiding us in daily Gurdjieff Movements. She is a wisdom spiritual director with training in a neurophysiology based approach to understanding the nervous system. She loves working with individuals as well as facilitating groups and retreats focused on learning and practicing the Christian Wisdom Tradition.

Link to COVID Protocol: https://mercy-center.org/guest-protocol/

Contact Us: 650-340-7474; MC@sistersofmercy.org

For more information visit: www.mercy-center.org

These are unprecedented times. If finances are an issue, please email us at registration@mercywmw.org for a learning grant discount code. We want to make sure our offerings are available to everyone.

"The season of Advent means there is something on the horizon the likes of which we have never seen before...So stay. Sit. Linger. Tarry. Ponder. Wait. Behold. Wonder. There will be time enough for running. For rushing. For worrying. For pushing. For now, stay. Wait. Something is on the horizon."                                       

―Jan L. Richardson

Advent is a season rich with anticipation as we prepare to honor the incarnation of the person of Jesus: he revealed to the world a life rooted in the heart, at the intersection of time and timelessness. Alongside Mary, pregnant with the Christ, we enter the dark and soft stillness of winter; ripening with the blessing of generating the Christ in our own embodied lives. As we lean into the blessing, cultivating our own deep "yes" parallel to Mary's, we have the opportunity to carry forth tending to the horizontal demands of the season from a profound fullness. Slowing and staying awake to the true meaning of this season, we break the habitual excess of commercial consumerism, instead offering the fruits of our awakened hearts.

This retreat will include the practices of Silence, Centering Prayer, Lectio Divina, Visio Divina, Audio Divina, Reflective Writing, Sacred Chanting, and Body Prayers. Join us as we lean into the blessing, sitting and lingering in the quiet, readying our hearts to enter Christmas with humility, compassion, and great love; that we may offer what is needed.

Optional Reading: Night Visions, by Jan Richardson. We will be incorporating some material from this book and you are welcome to purchase it if you like, but it is not necessary. Just come and sink into the season with us!

Retreat Leaders:

Heather Ruce, M.A. is a wisdom spiritual director with a background as a therapist and training in a neurophysiology based approach to trauma resolution. She loves working with individuals as well as facilitating groups and retreats focused on learning and practicing the Wisdom Tradition.

Joy Andrews Hayter, Ph.D. is a spiritual director whose offerings include Centering Prayer and other contemplative practices of the Christian Wisdom tradition. These practices encourage us to lean into the Love that is constantly being offered within a relational web of Sacred Unity. As a scientist she sees in the physical world an expression of that love.

Please register at www.mercy-center.org or telephone 650-340-7474

These are unprecedented times. If finances are an issue, please email us at registration@mercywmw.org for a learning grant discount code. We want to make sure our offerings are available to everyone.

How will the virtual retreat work?  

You are invited to join us from your own home as we practice integrating prayer with our daily lives, in our homes, and in our circumstances as they are. Check out the schedule (subject to change) below to get a sense of what our retreat will be like together. We hope that you will choose as much or as little of it as fits in your life, on any given day. Let the rest go. Be met, exactly where you are, trusting that God's love surrounds all of it, all of us, exactly as we are.  

Friday, December 2nd 

4:00 Welcome & Introductions 

5:00 Silent Break

5:15 Contemplative Reflection One 

6:00 Silent Dinner 

7:30 Centering Prayer & Practices, followed by Great Silence

Saturday, December 3rd 

8:30 Centering Prayer & Practices 

9:30 Silent Break

9:45 Contemplative Reflection Two 

10:30 Silent Break

10:45 Contemplative Reflection Three 

11:30 Centering Prayer & Practices

12:00 Silent Lunch followed by Silent Contemplative Free Time 

4:00 Centering Prayer & Practices 

5:00 Silent Break 

5:15 Contemplative Reflection Four 

6:00 Silent Dinner 

7:30 Centering Prayer & Practices, followed by Great Silence

Sunday, December 4th 

8:30 Centering Prayer & Practices

9:30 Silent Break

9:45 Contemplative Reflection Five 

10:30 Silent Break

10:45 Closing Reflections & Circle  

CANCELLATIONS / REFUNDS

Mercy Center requires notice of cancellation in writing (email to mc@sistersofmercy.org) 1 week prior to the event for a full refund by check or 50% of the total program cost if the notice is received 3 days or less prior to the event.

No refund will be given if a retreatant leaves early or arrives late during a retreat. Out of consideration for others on the waiting list, please make a commitment to attend the entire retreat.

This event is organized by

Mercy Center Burlingame

A ministry of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. We provide opportunities for people to become more attentive to the presence of the Divine in their lives and in the world, and then respond with care for the Earth and service to others. http://www.mercy-center.org/

Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 

— (Mt. 11.28-30)

When we step on the spiritual path we bring our motivations and intentions with us. Our intentions often include the desire to draw closer to God and to become a better person.  We may struggle with something we want to overcome thus inspiring us to work on ourselves. Once we have adopted a spiritual practice and have been on the path for a while we discover that the motivations that brought us to the journey can become impediments to our spiritual and emotional growth.  Seeing ourselves more clearly allows us to surrender to God’s extraordinary love while being ordinary people. We understand that we are not trying to get anywhere or to become better.  We are simply learning how to be and to rest in God’s love each moment.

ALL SAINTS’ EPISCOPAL CHURCH + CARMEL, CALIFORNIA

9TH & DOLORES ST. 831-624-1296 CENTERINGPRAYER@ALLSAINTSCARMEL.ORG

*The retreat will begin at 9:00am on Friday and end at 12noon on Sunday. Breakfast foods, snacks and lunch will be provided Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will be breakfast only. Each day the retreat will conclude at around 6pm. Retreatants are on their own for dinner. An evening meditation will be provided for you to do in your home or lodging. This is a silent retreat with several periods of Centering Prayer during the day, conferences, personal reflection time, and some group discussion in the afternoon.

**We are currently consulting with local hotels for inexpensive accommodations for out-of-town retreatants. If you need lodging please contact us as soon as you receive this invitation so that we can find accommodations for you. Thank you!

Joy Andrews Hayter, Ph.D. is a spiritual director whose offerings include Centering Prayer and other contemplative practices of the Christian Wisdom tradition. These practices encourage us  to lean into the Love that is constantly being offered within a relational web of Sacred Unity. As a scientist she sees in the physical world an expression of that love. Joy has been practicing contemplative practices for 31 years, Centering Prayer for 18 years, and has been leading Centering Prayer /wisdom school retreats, workshops, and days of prayer since 2008.  She was coordinator of the Centering Prayer program at Mercy Center in Burlingame 2018-2022, and continues there as adjunct staff.

Rev. Amber Sturgess is an Episcopal Priest, spiritual director, retreat leader, and a seeker on the contemplative path.  She enjoys teaching contemplative practices that deepen our spiritual awareness.  Amber currently serves as Rector at All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Carmel.

Please register by emailing the registration form to Larissa Lavering at centeringprayer@allsaintscarmel.org or call 831-624-3883.

Registration closes October 27, 2022

ALL SAINTS’ EPISCOPAL CHURCH + CARMEL, CALIFORNIA

9TH & DOLORES ST. 831-624-1296 CENTERINGPRAYER@ALLSAINTSCARMEL.ORG

“From time immemorial Wisdom Schools have emerged in times of global crisis or on the cusp of great leaps in human consciousness in order to help shepherd our planet through the transition. While there is academic teaching that goes on here, that is not the primary business of a Wisdom school; the primary business is to help anchor human wholeness and to work with the core practices that sustain the transformation of consciousness.”

— Wisdom Waypoints

We are indeed in a time of global crisis and amidst a shift in our current structures of consciousness. Drawing on the work of Cynthia Bourgeault, G.I. Gurdjieff, Gebser, and others, this Wisdom School will focus on deepening presence in our three centers - intellectual, emotional, body - and how awakening in them can support us in the transformation of consciousness. We will also explore the practices of self-observation, self-remembering, conscious labor, and intentional suffering as a way of participating in what is needed for the whole right now.

Join us in person at the Mercy Center in Burlingame. There will be an invitation to a ‘wisdom way of knowing’ through a daily rhythm with periods of silence, centering prayer, teaching, conscious conversation, Gurdjieff Exercises and Movements, chanting, mindful work, lectio divina, and contemplative free time.

Recommended Reading:

• ‘Wisdom Way of Knowing’ by Cynthia Bourgeault

• ‘Seeing Through the World’ by Jeremy Johnson

Retreat Leaders:

Heather Ruce, M.A. is a wisdom spiritual director with training in a neurophysiology based approach to understanding the nervous system. She loves working with individuals as well as facilitating groups and retreats focused on learning and practicing the Christian Wisdom Tradition.

Joy Andrews Hayter, Ph.D. is a spiritual director whose offerings include Centering Prayer and other contemplative practices of the Christian Wisdom tradition. These practices encourage us to lean into the Love that is constantly being offered within a relational web of Sacred Unity. As a scientist she sees in the physical world an expression of that love. 

Catherine Regan, Ph.D. is a spiritual director, retired psychologist, and adjunct staff member at Mercy Center, primarily serving on the Centering Prayer team. She has a special interest in participating in the reclamation of the Christian Wisdom tradition and fostering the contemplative practices so urgently needed at this time in our world.

Please register at www.mercy-center.org or telephone 650-340-7474

We are planning a spacious schedule so that you will have time to walk the beautiful Mercy grounds, and to do other deeply relaxing practices that we'll talk about. Bring a journal and pen if you like. There is a lovely craft room at Mercy Center but bring additional art supplies if you prefer. 

COVID Protocol is still in place at Mercy Center, and everyone entering the building must be fully vaccinated, and wear masks in all common areas indoors except when eating. For this reason, it is important to also include the following in your packing:

1)     A record of having been vaccinated

2)     At least one mask 

3)     Hand sanitizer is provided by the Center, but it helps if you will also bring your own.

For more information about Mercy Center’s COVID protocols, please click on the link below.

Guest Protocol - Mercy Center Burlingame (mercy-center.org)

These are unprecedented times. If finances are an issue, please email us at registration@mercywmw.org for a learning grant discount code. We want to make sure our offerings are available to everyone.

This event is organized by

Mercy Center Burlingame

A ministry of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. We provide opportunities for people to become more attentive to the presence of the Divine in their lives and in the world, and then respond with care for the Earth and service to others. http://www.mercy-center.org/

Find retreat schedule here

"Contemplation...is not a special gift. It is simply seeing from the perspective of oneness, or in other words, from the level of our spiritual awareness. It can indeed be practiced, and over time, with sincerity and persistence, it becomes an abiding state of consciousness.”     

― Cynthia Bourgeault, in Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening

Our contemplative practice opens up a new way of seeing and being, acknowledging our oneness with each other, with the world, and with God. As we consent to the Spirit, we consent to the help that is always being offered to us and to our world.

Our Centering Prayer is an important foundation in this, and yet it doesn't end when we get up off the cushion. In all of the times of our day we can continue to offer ourselves to Sacred Unity. Throughout our activity, and in the evening and at night - we are continually a part of this Oneness.

Join us as we offer our beloved being up to God, sitting together in the quiet, moving throughout our day, and entering the evening and night in prayer together. This retreat is suitable for people with a long-time practice of Centering Prayer, and will also provide guidance for those relatively new to it. We are planning a spacious schedule blanketed in sacred silence so that you will have time to walk the beautiful Mercy grounds, and to do other deeply relaxing practices that we'll talk about. Bring a journal and pen if you like. There is a lovely craft room at Mercy Center but bring additional art supplies if you prefer. 

Recommended reading (we will be presenting material from this book):

Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening by Cynthia Bourgeault

Retreat Leaders:

Joy Andrews Hayter, Ph.D. is a spiritual director whose offerings include Centering Prayer and other contemplative practices of the Christian Wisdom tradition. These practices encourage us to lean into the Love that is constantly being offered within a relational web of Sacred Unity. As a scientist she sees in the physical world an expression of that love.

Catherine Regan, Ph.D. is a spiritual director, retired psychologist, and adjunct staff member at Mercy Center, primarily serving on the Centering Prayer team. She has a special interest in participating in the reclamation of the Christian Wisdom tradition and fostering the contemplative practices so urgently needed at this time in our world.

Heather Ruce, M.A. is a wisdom spiritual director with a background as a therapist and training in a neurophysiology based approach to trauma resolution. She loves working with individuals as well as facilitating groups and retreats focused on learning and practicing the Wisdom Tradition.

Link to COVID Protocol: https://mercy-center.org/guest-protocol/

Contact Us: 650-340-7474

MC@sistersofmercy.org

For more information visit: www.mercy-center.org

These are unprecedented times. If finances are an issue, please email us at registration@mercywmw.org for a learning grant discount code. We want to make sure our offerings are available to everyone

This event is organized by

Mercy Center Burlingame

A ministry of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. We provide opportunities for people to become more attentive to the presence of the Divine in their lives and in the world, and then respond with care for the Earth and service to others. http://www.mercy-center.org/

“Be still and know that I am God.”

                                                                                 -Psalm 46:10

Come rest in the stillness of prayer with other contemplative companions, away from the busyness of daily life, and allow the mind, body, and spirit to surrender to God’s presence and action within.

This retreat offers two tracks simultaneously: Intensive I and Post Intensive. You choose the track that works best for you. For everyone, there will be 3 sets of three 20 minute periods of Centering Prayer daily. The Intensive I retreat will watch video talks from Fr. Thomas Keating’s Spiritual Journey, focusing on “The Human Condition and the Spiritual Journey”. The Post Intensive retreat has no videos and an additional hour of Centering Prayer each day.

Lectio Divina and a contemplative service will be offered daily, as well as optional individual meetings with the staff. Throughout the retreat, we will be in silence.

Pre-Requisite:

• A daily practice of centering prayer for 6 months or longer.

The retreat will be facilitated by Susan Turpin, Fr. Bill Sheehan, OMI, and TBD. Susan and Fr. Bill have served within the Contemplative Outreach network for many years and led many Centering Prayer retreats and workshops.

The Retreat begins Thursday afternoon, March 17th with check-in 3:00 -5:00pm, dinner at 5:30pm; ends after lunch on Friday, March 25th.

For more information, contact Susan Turpin at 541-324-1207 or slturpin@me.com