Northeast Guild's 2015 Weekend Programs, "Seeds of Contemplation"

Cynthia Bourgeault & Paulette Meier:
Letting Go

Retreat, June 5-7, 2015

In honor of Thomas Merton (1915-1968) on the centenary of his birth, our theme this year is Seeds of Contemplation. For Merton, each moment and each event of our lives offer "seeds" by which God invites us to awaken to a deeper, living dialogue in our hearts on the “ground” of freedom, spontaneity and love.

This year's programs encourage us to slow down and listen to that dialogue, to the holy whispers at our deepest Center.

The second century writer Irenaeus wrote, "The glory of God is the human being fully alive." For Merton, to be fully human is to accept the holy invitation to "forget ourselves on purpose, cast our awful solemnity to the winds and join in the general dance" at the heart of the world. These programs are ways of saying "Yes" to that invitation.

A Retreat devoted to contemplative self-emptying or kenosis, through the refreshing practices of centering prayer and sacred chant, into the distilling Silence for which Quaker tradition is renowned.

Centuries of monastic life have shown sacred chant to be a powerful complement and catalyst to sounding the depths of contemplative prayer. Both the Day of Teaching and Retreat will be devoted to the convergence of these two streams: opening our hearts and minds through the classical practice Cynthia calls the “core, sacred gesture” of prayerful self-emptying, while giving voice to Paulette’s beautiful and evocative Quaker chants, leading to our divine Center.

(This weekend is very much in the spirit of a contemporary spiritual classic of constant prayer, A Testament of Devotion, by the Quaker writer Thomas Kelly. He emphasizes our relationship to our deepest Center through our Presence to a “continuously renewed immediacy.” If you are not familiar with this little gem, we commend it highly!)

Cynthia Bourgeault is an Episcopal priest and an internationally esteemed retreat leader. The author of several books, the two most pertinent to our practice this weekend is Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening and The Wisdom Jesus.

Paulette Meier is a singer, musician and teacher. She is the composer and vocalist of Timeless Quaker Wisdom in Plainsong, a CD of chant-like songs based on aphorisms from classical Quaker writers such as George Fox, Margaret Fell and John Woolman.

Place: Pacific Hall, West Tremont, Maine
Time: Friday, June 5, 7 pm – Sunday, June 7, 12 pm
Costs: Tuition before May 15: $150; after May 15: $170
           (Optional catered lunch and supper on Saturday: $25)

Please note that all three of the Northeast Guild’s weekend programs this year consist of a Day of Teaching on Friday and a Retreat from Friday evening or Saturday morning to Sunday noon. For each weekend, the Day of Teaching and the Retreat are distinct events with separate fees; you may sign up for either one or both together.

All programs will be held at Pacific Hall in West Tremont, Maine.

Lodging: The Alcyon Center, a small residential retreat center on Mount Desert Island, fills quickly (housing form available as docx and PDF). However, there are many options for lodging on island, including the following three inns: The Bass Harbor Inn (www.bassharborinn.com or 207.244.5157), Bass Harbor Cottages (www.bassharborcottages.com or 207.244.3460) and Bass Harbor Gables (www.bhgables.com or 207.244.3699). All offer a range of accommodations and are within a ten-minute drive of the site of our programs. If none of these appear to suit your needs and you would like further recommendations, please contact Eric Erickson, Guild Coordinator, at eric@northeastguild.org or 207.244.5168.

Meals: Meals are optional. If you choose to have meals, our events include optional purchases to cover Lunch on Fridays for the Day of Teaching and (separately) Lunch and Dinner on Saturdays for the Retreats. (It does not cover breakfast meals, and we do not offer lunch on Sunday.) All meals will be served at Pacific Hall, the site of our programs this year.

We offer vegan and gluten-free options at all meals.

Airports: The Hancock County-Bar Harbor Airport (BHB) is closest, just before the bridge to Mount Desert Island (http://www.bhbairport.com). Further away but with more daily flights is Bangor International Airport (http://www.flybangor.com). The Bar Harbor Shuttle Service (http://www.barharborshuttle.net) makes runs for both Bar Harbor and Bangor. It’s run by Helen Witham, who may be reached at info@barharborshuttle.net or 207.479.4560.

Our refund policy:  In cases of cancellations, the Northeast Guild will return payments in full when notified prior to one (1) month before an event, and fifty percent (50%) of payments when notified prior to two (2) weeks before an event. Unfortunately, we are not able to return any payments in the final two-week interval prior to an event. A $25 administrative fee is charged for all refunds. Please understand the Guild incurs administrative costs and other expenses when cancellations occur.