Drawing from the Well of Christ
Contemplatively
Actively

HOME
DAY EVENTS
PILGRIMAGES
PROGRAMS
CALENDAR

PEOPLE/STAFF
WRITINGS
RESOURCES
WAYS TO GIVE

ABOUT US
FAQS
TESTIMONIALS
CONTACT US
LINKS

"Springs of water will burst out in the wilderness, streams flow in the desert. Hot sands will become a cool oasis, thirsty ground a splashing fountain."

Is. 35:6-7, The Message

Contemplative Living:

The Spirituality of Daily Life

A Year-Long Program

in Deepening Daily Life

through Contemplative Practice

October 2010

to May 2011

Beneath the activities and busyness of our lives is a yearning to live more deeply into this truth, to live so we truly know we have our being in God.

The new Oasis program for spiritual formation, Contemplative Living: Spirituality of Daily Life, invites us to explore living contemplatively in the middle of life's busyness, not only through special set aside devotional times.  Indeed the spiritual life is not what we do when we stop our busy lives and sit quietly in a practiced prayer form; it is how we infuse our hours and days with an awareness of God's presence.  We believe that true contemplative living integrates our lives.

The focus of Contemplative Living: The Spirituality of Daily Life is on the life of the participant.  The goal of the program is to open more of our individual lives to contemplative awareness.

Although some core prayer practices will be included, the focus will be on the experience and process of the individual in deepening his/her life in God.  In addition to the shared core curriculum, parts of the program will be shaped by the participants and leaders to honor each person's unique life situation.

• Do you desire to root your life more deeply in God?
   

• Do you hope to encounter God’s “extra”-ordinary in your ordinary days?
   

• Do you want to journey in community with others who share the desires of your spirit?
  
   

• Our holy longing
   

• Paying attention and being mindful
   

• Embodiment—God of the physical world
   

• The need for spiritual practices—rhythms and rituals
   

• Times of darkness and fear—growing into trust
   

• Prayer and the creative spirit
   

• Daily relationships (work, family, community)
   

• The opportunities of our working lives
   

• Justice and mercy—the overflow of contemplative living
   

•  The opened heart—healing, gratitude and freedom

Contemplation is being with what is.
Gerald May

Prayer is paying attention.
Simone Weil

Leaders:

Nancy L. Bieber, M.A., M.S., has been on staff at Oasis Ministries for thirteen years, and serves as a lead teacher for the Spiritual Direction program and the Contemplative Living program. Nancy is a clinical psychologist but focuses now on retreat leadership and spiritual direction. She is the author of Decision-Making and Spiritual Discernment: The Sacred Art of Finding Your Way (September 2010).

Marc Oehler, M.Div., LCSW, has been on staff at Oasis Ministries for six years serving as a leader in the Spiritual Direction program and has served over ten years as Associate Pastor for Congregational Life at the Presbyterian Church of Chatham Township. Marc leads retreats, does individual and group spiritual direction and is a licensed social worker.

Melissa Stock received her training at Oasis through Spiritual Direction for Spiritual Guides. She also completed three years of Spiritual Formation and two of Ignatian Spiritual Direction Training at the Kairos School of Spiritual Formation. Melissa is active in retreat leadership, spiritual direction, and Taize worship.

To learn more about our leaders and teachers, visit: www.oasismin.org/People.html

Contact us today

No pre-requisites...

All are welcome!

[return to top]

Dates

OPENING RETREAT
10:00 a.m., Thursday, October 7, 2010 through 3:00 p.m., Friday, October 8, 2010

MONTHLY SESSIONS
10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Thursdays
November 11, December 16, 2010
January 13, February 10, March 10, April 14, 2011

CLOSING RETREAT
10:00 a.m., Thursday, May 12, 2011
through 3:00 p.m., Friday, May 13, 2011

Mariawald Renewal Center

1094 Welsh Road
Reading PA 19607    

Phone: 610.777.0135

www.mariawaldrenewal.com

Tuition

TUITION: $1,550

Plus an Application Fee of $200 (non-refundable after program begins*) sent with application from brochure.

If application received by May 30:

                 discount $50 from application fee

If application received after August 30:

                 add $50 to application fee

Tuition is to be paid in five equal installments of $310 due upon acceptance into the program (by August) and on class meeting days in October, December, February, and April.

Participants are asked to pay for and attend all sessions.  Payments by Discover, MasterCard & Visa are welcome.

 *If you withdraw from the program prior to September 1, 2010, we will refund your application fee less $50.
 

SCHOLARSHIPS

Some scholarship help is available. The amount of help depends on the number of requests we receive and the amount of money in our scholarship fund.  Contact us after seeking assistance from other local sources of funding (like your church or denomination).