Workshops & Classes
Every 2nd Saturday, 1:00 - 3:00pm
Chapter Room
A Time to Journal
Free (Donations Accepted)
This opportunity is for anyone who has previously attended a Progoff Intensive Journal Workshop and desires to strengthen his or her own work in the Journal. Call presenter Evelyn Wemhoff to register at (971) 273-0700.
Jan 11 • Feb 8 • Mar 14 • Apr 11 • May 9
Every 3rd Sunday (Oct-May), 7:00 - 8:00pm
Chapel
Taizé Prayer Service
Free (Donations Accepted)
Join us for our monthly Taizé Prayer Service in the Chapel. This special service features sung and chanted prayers, meditation and personal reflection. All are welcome!
Jan 19 • Feb 16 • Mar 22 • Apr 19
Every 3rd Saturday, 9:30am - 12:00pm
Agatha Hall
Monthly Book Talk
Free
Book Talk is led by Tim Nelson and Linda Jensen. Discussions take place in Agatha Hall. Click here to download the complete reading list.
Jan 18 • Feb 15 • Mar 21 • Apr 18
Every 2nd Friday (Sep-Dec, Feb-May)
7:00 - 8:00pm
Supervision for Spiritual Directors
$30 per Person
All spiritual directors are welcome to attend the monthly supervision meetings for on-going formation and education featuring lively discussions of pertinent spirituality topics, prayer and skills of the ministry.
Feb 14 • Mar 13 • Apr 10 • May 8
Every 3rd Tuesday, 3:30 - 4:30pm
Chapel
Prayer of the Heart
Free
All are welcome to join this contemplative prayer group. Meetings take place in the Chapel, located on the second floor of the Hospitality Center.
Jan 21 • Feb 18 • Mar 17 • Apr 21
Every 3rd Saturday (Sept - May)
10:00 am - 12:00pm
Dream Group: Language of the Soul
$20 per Person
Listening to dreams in a group can help us pay attention to God's presence in image and word in our awakened life. Presenter is Clara Jean Dawson. Discussions take place in the meeting room on the first floor of the monastery.
Jan 18 • Feb 15 • Mar 21 • Apr 18 • May 16
Retreats & Events
Progoff Intensive Journal Program Three-Part Series
A new year has arrived. A new decade in this century is here. A new story is unfolding in our personal lives and in the world at large. It is timely to stop and reflect. Ira Progoff describes the Journal process: “we explore the contents and resources of our life. The purpose and style of that exploration is to enable our life to disclose to us what its goals and its meanings are. Regardless of the diverse conclusions we may reach, we are impressed by the quality of the experience that comes to us as individual.” (At a Journal Workshop p.9)
The cost of each workshop is $185. A discount to attend all three workshops is $499.50. Each workshop is two days: 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM daily, and is held in the Shalom at the Monastery, 840 S. Main St., Mt Angel, 97362.
Jan 17-18: Life Context Workshop is the opportunity for you to learn how to use the Intensive Journal and is a prerequisite for the next workshop. You gain a perspective on your present life and a rich foundation to explore your life as whole. You will explore who you are most deeply and what your life is trying to become.
Jan 19-20: Depth Contact Workshop continues your Journal work. You will learn Dr. Progoff’s unique method to develop symbolic experiences and specific ways of working to develop a more meaningful life. With an emphasis of the quiet and deepening atmosphere, the workshop will build processes for future decisions and actions.
Jan 21-22: The Life Integration gives you the experience of working in the Intensive Journal Workbook as a whole. As you reflect on all the cumulative work, you get insights that can help you move from possibility to actuality.
Evelyn Wemhoff, the workshop leader, was introduced to the Intensive Journal by Ira Progoff, the founder of Dialogue House and the Intensive Journal. She has led the Intensive Journal for more than thirty years. She is a former Benedictine Sister, a retired Mental Health Counselor at Emmaus Counseling Center, Redmond, WA. and retired Director of WomanSpirit Center in Bellevue, WA. Presently Evelyn, a presenter of programs at Shalom at the Monastery in Mt Angel, works as a Spiritual Director, and is a leader in the Progoff Intensive Journal in various areas.
To register contact Evelyn Wemhoff : 971-273-0700 or Please send the registration fee: One workshop: $185, Two workshops: $370, All Three workshops: $499.50. Make checks payable to Evelyn Wemhoff. Mail to Evelyn Wemhoff, PO Box 21083, Keizer, OR 97303
For overnight accommodations and meals, please contact: Sister Rebecca Pirkl at 503-949-4935. Overnight $50 per night, Breakfast $7.50, Lunch $8.50, Dinner $9.50. If you are commuting, please call in advance to let Sister Rebecca know which meals you plan to attend. You are encouraged to register and to reserve space and meals early.
January 17-22, 2020 • 9:30a - 5:30p daily
$499.50 (Full Series)
$185 (Single Workshop)
$50 per night for overnight accommodations / meals available $7.50 - $9.50 each
The Burden of Judgement, The Joy of Compassion presented by Dean Schlecht
We have one choice to make above all others. Shall I approach my life from an attitude of control and separation or from a spirit of connection and affirmation? This is not a choice we can avoid. If we are not intentionally choosing our path, the culture will choose it for us. Depending upon which path we end up on, life will either be an unending struggle or an unfolding, nurturing wonder.
Those who are invested in control as a primary value, will be preoccupied with judgement. They will be continually making right/wrong, good/bad assessments about creation, others and themselves. This leads to alienation from nature, suspicion of those who are different, and shame when judgement is turned inwards. Fear is the hallmark of this path. Those who choose the path of connection inhabit an entirely different world. Theirs is a gentle world. It is filled with meaning, wonder, beauty, altruism and self-compassion. Uncaused joy is the hallmark of this path.
This workshop will help participants discern how much their lives are influenced by these two different paths. Emphasis will be given on how to choose the path of connection. Tools will be offered to help participants learn to live in acceptance, appreciation and a spirit of allowing in their relationships with nature, others and themselves.
Lecture and discussion, Active Imagination, and various experiential exercises will be used to help facilitate a more connected and meaningful approach to life.
Presenter: Dean Schlecht, M.Div. is the retired manager of a 19-bed psychiatric crisis respite facility. He also was an LMFT with practices in Oklahoma and Texas. He currently maintains a private practice offering spiritual direction. He served as President of the Oklahoma City C.G. Jung Study Group from 1983 through 1988 and has offered numerous retreats and workshops.
To register and/or more information, call 503 845-2556 or send a check payable to
Benedictine Sisters, Attn: Sister Dorothy Jean, 840 S. Main St., Mount Angel, OR 97362, or email Please register by Monday January 22, 2020.
January 25, 2020 • 9:15a - 4:00p
$65
Includes materials and lunch
Hildegard of Bingen: Prophet of the Cosmic Christ presented by Stephen Harding Coffey, OSB.Cam
This retreat will focus on the spirituality of St. Hildegard, 12th century Benedictine abbess, who was named Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XVI. We will consider selected passages of her writings, and in particular her Scivias, to come to a greater awareness of her Christology, her cosmology and her monastic spirituality, as well as her "way of the heart" on the spiritual journey. In addition, there will be opportunities for visio divina on related "illuminations" by St. Hildegard, as well as time for listening to selections from her musical repertoire. Ample time for personal prayer and reflection will be provided. An hour-long video on this "unruly mystic" will introduce her to those new to her message.
Stephen Harding Coffey, OSB.Cam, an ordained monk of the Camaldolese community of California, resides at Monastery of the Risen Christ, San Luis Obispo, CA. He is engaged in extensive retreat ministry as well as spiritual direction for priests, religious, and laity. He formerly served on the staff of Shalom Prayer Center, Mount Angel, and together with Sister Antoinette Traeger, OSB, began the formation program in spiritual direction.
Second floor of the monastery
To register, email or call 503 845-2556.
February 21 - February 23, 2020
$199 Single Occupancy
$336 Double Occupancy
$95 Commuter
One-ing: Entering Through the Mystic’s Gate
Poets, saints and mystics tell us only one thing is needed: moment-by-moment connection to the divine. Why then is it so hard to quiet our anxious, muttering little selves, in order to receive the serenity and joy of the divine presence? This practical workshop explores the practice and experience that Julian of Norwich called "one-ing."
Presenter: Jodi Kilcup, Ph.D., Director of Development for Mount Angel Abbey, has been a Benedictine oblate since 2004. A trained facilitator and mediator, she offers retreats for monasteries, nonprofits, church groups, universities and boards.
To register and/or more information, call 503 845-2556 or send a check payable to
Benedictine Sisters, Attn: Sister Dorothy Jean, 840 S. Main St., Mount Angel, OR 97362,
or email Please register by Monday, April 20, 2020.
April 25, 2020
9:30am-3:30pm
Located in the Chapter Room
$55 includes materials
and lunch. All are welcome!
World Labyrinth Day: Take Steps Together for Peace
Come and celebrate World Labyrinth Day with the Benedictine Sisters at Mount Angel, Oregon! Let us take steps together for peace!
The Benedictine Sisters at Shalom at the Monastery invite you to walk with them their outdoor labyrinth on Saturday, May 2, 1 p.m. Please gather at the labyrinth at the west end of the Shalom building.
At 12:45 p.m., there will be a brief explanation of the Peace Walk on the labyrinth. We will then walk the 20-minute Silent Peace Walk, using the format of Benedictines For Peace. Following the walk, refreshments will be served in Benedictine Sisters’ Dining Room. All are welcome!
To register, call Sister Dorothy Jean Beyer, 503 845-2556 or email dorothyjeanb7@gmail. com
May 2, 2020
Free
Seeing The Environment Through the Lens of Spirituality
The Benedictine Sisters are pleased to announce the upcoming all day symposium on climate crisis/spirituality symposium, SEEING THE ENVIRONMENT THROUGH THE LENS OF SPIRITUALITY, scheduled for October 3, 2020 at Shalom at the Monastery. Panel presenters include: Peggy McGurn, Sister Dorothy Jean Beyer, Sister Joan Pokorny, and Evelyn Wemhoff. Cynthia Force will lead the closing prayer. Please mark your calendars now and plan to attend.
October 3, 2020
More details coming soon...
Everything Ablaze: Teilhard's Mystical Vision presented by Fr. Stephen Harding Coffey, OSB.Cam
This weekend retreat will serve as an introduction to the spirituality of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, scientist and mystic. Teilhard believed that a vibrant Christian life can set the world on fire. We will explore six key themes that are central to his vision: God in world and matter; a spirituality of evolution; love and loving; our inner depths; the cosmic Christ, and the Sacred Heart of the universe. Each conference will be followed by time for meditation and prayerful reflection. The format will follow David Richo's Everything Ablaze, a rich resource for meditating on our call to discover the universe's Sacred Heart.
Stephen Harding Coffey, OSB.Cam, an ordained monk of the Camaldolese community of California, resides at Monastery of the Risen Christ, San Luis Obispo, CA. He is engaged in extensive retreat ministry as well as spiritual direction for priests, religious, and laity. He formerly served on the staff of Shalom Prayer Center, Mount Angel, and together with Sister Antoinette Traeger, OSB, began the formation program in spiritual direction.
Chapter Room: Second floor of the monastery
To register, email or call 503 845-2556.