Drawing from the Well of Christ
Contemplatively
Actively

 

Contemplative Living: The Spirituality of Daily Life

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"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 2008

to May 2009

 

 “In God, we live and move and have our being.”  (Acts 17:28)

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.


Monthly Gatherings:

Program participants gather for an opening and closing retreat and for six monthly sessions in between.

Each month will include:

 Engagement with the themes through

  •  presentations by staff

  •  dialogue among participants

  •  inner reflection

Time for personal retreat & solitude

Sharing & mutual support among participants

Prayer & worship experiences

 

Is this program for YOU?

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

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

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

Session Themes Include:
  • 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

     

Leaders:

Nancy L. Bieber, M.A., M.S., has been on staff at Oasis Ministries for eleven years, serving presently as a lead teacher for the Spiritual Direction program as well as in the Contemplative Living program.  Nancy has been a clinical psychologist for 25 years but focuses now on retreat leadership and spiritual direction.  A Quaker and a graduate of Shalem Institute, Nancy leads retreats each summer at Pendle Hill, the Quaker
Study Center, and has taught classes on prayer at Lancaster Theological Seminary.  Besides her ministry, Nancy's joys are in her garden, her involvement in Lancaster Quaker Meeting, traveling with her husband, Larry, and spending time with their four small granddaughters. 

Marc Oehler, M.Div., LCSW, has been on staff at Oasis Ministries for four years serving as a leader in the Spiritual Direction program and has completed over ten years service as associate pastor at the Presbyterian Church of Chatham Township.  Marc leads retreats, does individual and group spiritual direction and is a licensed social worker.  He graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary, from the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Work, and trained with Oasis Ministries' Spiritual Direction program.  Marc and his wife Nicole have two young children, and his joys include playing with his children, reading at the beach, singing with two bands, and watching the Yankees play.


Interested?

Contact us today

No pre-requisites...

All are welcome!

 


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Dates

OPENING RETREAT

10:00 a.m., Thursday, October 2, 2008

through 3:00 p.m., Friday, October 3, 2008

 

MONTHLY SESSIONS

10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Thursdays

October 30, December 11, 2008

January 15, February 12, March 12, April 16, 2009

 

CLOSING RETREAT

10:00 a.m., Thursday, May 14, 2009

through 3:00 p.m., Friday, May 15, 2009


TO APPLY, OR,
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
:

  • Click here to download and print a PDF version* of the 2008-2009 Contemplative Living brochure and Application form.
  • Call 717-737-8222 to request a copy of the program brochure.
  • Email your request to oasismin@oasismin.org.

* Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view and print the brochure. If you do not have the software, a free copy can be downloaded by clicking

Adobe Logo

Location:

Mariawald Renewal Center

1094 Welsh Road, Reading PA 19607    

Phone: 610.777.0135

www.hometown.aol.com/mariawald

 


 

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 MasterCard & Visa are welcome.

 

 *If you withdraw from the program prior to September 1, 2008, 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).

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