Monthly Book Talk

Free • 3rd Saturday • 9:30 am - 12:00 pm

The group currently meets via Zoom. The next meeting is scheduled for September 18. Contact Sr. Dorothy Jean to join. Click here for a complete book list with meeting dates.

September 18, 2021 @ 9:30 a.m.

A Time To Journal

Free • 2nd Saturday • 1:00 - 3:00 pm

A Time to Journal (the Second Saturday of the month) and the Progoff Journal Workshops:  Please contact Evelyn Wemhoff if you would like to participate. Cell (971) 273-0700 or email her here.

August 14, 2021 @ 1:00 p.m.

Supervision for Spiritual Directors

$20 • 2nd Friday • 9:00 - 11:00 am

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.  Meetings taking place via Zoom.

September 10, 2021 @ 9:00 - 11:00 a.m.

Prayer of the Heart

Free • 3rd Tuesday • 3:30 - 4:30 pm

All are welcome to join this contemplative prayer group.  Meetings take place in the Chapel, located on the second floor of the Hospitality Center.

August 17, 2021 @ 3:30 - 4:30 p.m.

Dream Group: Language of the Soul

$20 • 3rd Saturday • 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

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.

September 18, 2021 @ 10:00 a.m.

The Creative-Spiritual Life Circle

Free • 3rd Saturday • 1:15  - 2:30 pm

A Benedictine-centered discussion group whose concept is simple: people who gather together on a regularly scheduled basis to share -- without interruptions or cross-talk -- whatever is gratifying us or amazing us or troubling us or puzzling us about the intersection of creativity and spirituality.

Click here to learn more and to register.

September 18, 2021 @ 1:15 p.m.

Taizé Prayer Service

Free • Returns Fall 2021

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!

Returns October 2021

September 10-11, 2021
Fri 7-8:30pm, Sat 9:30am - 3:30pm
Zoom Video Conference
$70
($25 non-refundable deposit)
Scholarships Available

"Pain, Suffering and Saying Yes to Life" presented by Dean Schlecht

Physical or emotional pain can often be a powerful driver of sadness, fear and anger, deadening our spirit and disconnecting us.  However, it can be a catalyst for spiritual and emotional growth.  Through lectures, Active Imagination and personal sharing, we will explore how to transcend our pain and live joyfully in the midst of it.

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.  Dean has offered numerous retreats and workshops at Shalom and elsewhere.

To register, call Benedictine Sisters, 503 845-2556 or send a check payable to Benedictine Sisters, attn.: Sister Dorothy Jean Beyer, 840 S. Main St., Mt. Angel, OR 97362, by September 3, 2021.

October 1-2, 2021
Fri 3:30-4:30pm, Sat 8:30am - 4:45pm
Zoom or In Person (TBD)
$85 via Zoom / In Person TBD
($25 non-refundable deposit)
Scholarships Available

"Our Pilgrim Search for God"
presented by Sister Gertrude Feick

We are all pilgrims in search of God. In fact, in the words of Cardinal Basil Hume, “life is a pilgrimage. We are on a march, and sooner or later we shall reach our destination. That destination we call heaven.” With the voice of Cardinal Basil Hume (1923-1999), from her book Cardinal Basil Hume: A Pilgrim’s Search for God (Gracewing, 2019), Sr Gertrude Feick presents Basil Hume, Benedictine monk, Archbishop of Westminster, pastor, preacher and resounding voice of Benedictine spirituality. Basil Hume continues to offer support and encouragement in our lives as pilgrims, and during difficult times. As Cardinal Hume aptly put it: “This pilgrim way is not easy … it can be pretty rough and uphill business as I try to make my way along it”, for the pilgrim “wanders through life, often limping, sometimes bewildered, at times quite lost; and the pilgrim is searching, often quite unconsciously, for something or someone to make sense of life, and certainly to make sense of death.”  Please join us for this time of prayerful reflection.

Sister Gertrude Feick, a Benedictine Sister of Mount Angel, Oregon, is a member of the Cistercian Monastery of Our Lady of the Redwoods Abbey, Whitethorn, California. In addition to the daily life of prayer, manual labor, and study, she publishes a “Daily Lectio” reflection on the Redwoods Abbey website, and writes book reviews for Cistercian Studies Quarterly and The American Benedictine Review. Sr. Gertrude holds a Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Rome.

To register, call Benedictine Sisters, 503 845-2556 or send a check payable to Benedictine Sisters, Attention: Sister Dorothy Jean 840 S. Main St., Mt. Angel, OR 97362, by September 27, 2021.

 

October 6-7,13-14, November 20-21, 2021

9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. with breaks

Zoom

$225 per session / $625 full course 

Progoff Intensive Journal Workshops
presented by Evelyn Wemhoff

This ongoing program enables individuals, to draw their life into focus and enlarge their capacities. The process is non-judgmental and non-diagnostic.  It honors privacy as well as the dignity of each person. The Progoff Journal is more than a Journal. It is an Inner Workbook.

In a deep and quiet atmosphere, you will learn techniques to enable you to use the Intensive Journal workbook. The workbook is the active instrument of the program. Its structure makes it a dynamic vehicle for journal feedback techniques The Journal clarifies and helps to self-adjust the needs and potentials of your life. There are Three Workshops:

Life Context provides the means of focusing our life and beginning to shape a perspective of our full life history. We learn basic techniques for using the Journal, focusing our life, and beginning to answer the question, “Where am I in the movement in my life?” This workshop is a prerequisite for any of the two workshops. October 6-7

Depth Context gives us opportunities to draw upon our unconscious depths of dreams and imagery for active feedback procedures   The focus is the more than personal and is grounded in process meditation. It can give energy for personal change and consideration of inner directions. October 13-14

Life Integration (Prerequisite: Depth Contact) gives opportunity to use integrative techniques to build a momentum and energy to generate unpredictable insights. It promotes connection between the areas of your life. November 20-21

Program Presenter: Evelyn Wemhoff has a history of working with individuals and groups in a great many situations of teaching, leadership, spiritual direction, consultation and discernment. She has led Intensive Journal Programs for more than 30 years.

To register, contact Evelyn Wemhoff 971-273-0700  Mail: PO Box 21083 Keizer, OR 97303 Email: evelynhwemhoff@comcast.net.

November 5-7, 2021
Fri 3:30-5pm - Sun 1:00pm
Zoom Video Conference
$99
Scholarships Available

"Ammas, Monks, Archetypes" presented by Father Stephen Harding Coffey, OSB Cam

This retreat will take a look at 4 monastic figures: Amma Syncletica, St. Benedict, St. Hildegard, and Thomas Merton and their corresponding archetypes: the warrior, the sage, the visionary, and the inner monk.  It will include an introduction to the figure, lectio divina on the theme, visio divina of an icon of the figure, and personal reflection on the archetype and its shadow through mandala making. Let figures from our sacred tradition become relevant to our lives as they help us to illuminate parts of ourselves that need further development to grow in wholeness and in our relationship to God

December 4, 2021
9:30am - 3:30pm
On-Site or Zoom, TBD
$50
Scholarships Available

"The Story of Ruth and the Season of Advent" presented by Nancy Hendricks

Advent is a time to prayerfully direct our minds and hearts to Christ’s coming at the end of time and to Christ’s presence in our everyday lives. During this retreat, we will spend time with the Book of Ruth, meditating on how to live under the impulse of the Spirit and how to participate in God’s creative power. We will use Joan Chittister’s book The Story of Ruth: Twelve Moments in Every Woman’s Life. Sister Joan describes those moments as: Loss, Change, Transformation, Aging, Independence, Respect, Recognition, Insight, Empowerment, Self-Definition, Invisibility and Fulfillment. Ruth is mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew.

About the Presenter
After a career farming vegetables and berries for over thirty years, Nancy Hendricks discerned to shift from feeding people’s bodies with food to journeying with people on their spiritual paths by leading retreats. Nancy received her Master’s in Pastoral Ministry in 2020 from the University of Portland. Nancy has been attending retreats at Shalom since the 1980s and is happy now to be able to lead retreats on a variety of topics.  
Note: This retreat is in memory of Janet Alsever, a friend of the Benedictine Sisters’ retreat ministry.

To register and/or more information, call 503 845-2556 or send a check payable to Benedictine Sisters, Attn. Sister Dorothy Jean Beyer, 840 S. Main St., Mount Angel, OR 97362, or email dorothyjeanb7@gmail.com.  Please register by Wednesday, December 1, 2021.

January 8, 2022
9:30am - 3:30pm
Chapter Room
$65 includes lunch and materials
Scholarships Available

"The Spirituality of Pope Francis and Its Implication on Our Lives" presented by Owen Cummings

This retreat will focus on the spirituality of Pope Francis, and especially his understanding of “accompaniment.” To achieve this purpose, we will present a biographical context for the Pope, and some understanding of his key encyclical letters. The Catholic blogosphere shows some criticism of the Holy Father and even at times some outright hostility. The retreat will attempt in charity to understand such positions also. By the end of the retreat day the hope is that all participants will embrace Pope Francis as the Catholic leader needed for our times.

Presenter: Deacon Owen Cummings, the Regent's Chair of Theology at Mount Angel Seminary in Saint Benedict, Oregon, is a native of Glasgow, Scotland.  Author of numerous spirituality/theology books, he received a doctor of divinity degree during the course of his studies in theology in Dublin, Ireland.

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To register and/or more information email us or call (503) 845-2556.  Send a check payable to Benedictine Sisters, Attn: Sr. Dorothy Jean, 840 S Main St., Mt. Angel, OR 97362.  Please register by January 4, 2022.

February 12, 2022
9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Chapter Room
$70
Includes Colvin's new book, materials and lunch
Scholarships Available

Making Contemplative Prayer Your Own Practice
presented by Geoff Colvin, Ph.D.

Contemplative prayer is a unique form of meditation, dating back many centuries, that focuses on an inward journey in silence to rest in the presence and action of God already dwelling within us.  Information and training will be presented on practical details for developing a personal practice with special emphasis on how contemplative prayer is to be lived throughout the day even for busy people. 

Presenter: Geoff Colvin, Ph.D., is a retired research associate and instructor from the University of Oregon in the Department of Education.  He now devotes his time to spiritual writing, conducting retreats, leading gatherings on contemplative prayer, and enjoying retirement.

Note:  Please bring materials for note taking.

To register, call 503 845-2556 or send a check payable to Benedictine Sisters, 840 S. Main St., Mount Angel, OR 97362, Attn: Sister Dorothy Jean Beyer, by February 7, 2022.

April 23, 2022
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Agatha Hall
$30 includes lunch
Scholarships Available

Seeing the Environment Through the Lens of Spirituality

The Benedictine Sisters are pleased to announce an upcoming all day symposium on the environment and spirituality to be held in Agatha Hall.  Starting at 9:00 a.m., staff members from Shalom at the Monastery will present their appreciation of nature’s ability to enrich and empower their spirituality.  In the afternoon, responders working within the environmental resources will discuss the bountiful gifts that their work safeguards.  Participants will be invited to dialogue within the topic.

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To register or for more information, email us or call (503) 845-2556 by April 15, 2022.

May 7, 2022

1:00pm

Outdoor Labyrinth, West End of Shalom Building

FREE

World Labyrinth Day: 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 7, 2022 at 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 the Benedictine Sisters' dining room.  All are welcome!

To register, call Sister Dorothy Jean Beyer, (503) 845-2556 or email her here.