In Image and Word: Listen to Your Life with Dr. Robbie Pinter
Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is.
In the boredom and the pain of it no less than the excitement and gladness:
touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it.
because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace. — Frederick Buechner, Now and Then, p.2, p. 4
Come join us as we “listen to our lives,” entering into the “holy hidden heart” of what matters. This retreat invites you to behold your life. To do that, we will engage in different kinds of life writing, such as the memoir, the journal, and the art journal.
Practicing different kinds of “life writing and imaging” can be a spiritual discipline in the same way that walking, sitting in silence, and praying are. These reflective, creative practices can open our minds to Presence. In the prayerful openness that St. Mary’s offers, we may receive images, nudges, or words.
As we see in word and image, we receive inspiration (literally “to breathe life into”) within the very act of creating. Often our writing offers other fruits when we reread it in a safe and protected space.
To open a journal and write or draw is an act of trust, of faith, of self-care.
We will write, reflect, and through creativity, use our past to imagine our future.
Each day will offer time for Centering Prayer, Spiritual Reflection, and Witnessing one another’s creativity.
During our time together, you are invited to remember and reweave the fragments of your lives as we honor life’s sacred center, full of “fathomless mystery.”
Lodging in Anna House (motel style room, private bathroom), meals, program fees and materials included
Meals, program fees and materials
After 72 hours of registration, a $100 cancellation fee applies. There are no refunds within 7 days of the program arrival date.
Scholarships are available. Contact Reservations@stmaryssewanee.org for application.
*A minimum registration is required for retreats to take place. If the program does not meet the minimum registration within 2 weeks of the event, there is the possibility of cancellation. If SMS cancels a retreat for any reason, any registered guest will receive a full refund of all payments.