Welcome to our listing of upcoming regional events sponsored by Contemplative Outreach Chicago and other Contemplative Outreach chapters. Please click on the Registration link to register.
Saturday May 3 via Zoom
An Ancient Flowing Stream
How African Origins, Heritage, Culture and
Music Power the Christian Contemplative Spirit
With Michael Battle and Julian Davis Reid
Saturday May 3 via Zoom
Combining the wisdom and talents of two great teachers, this creative workshop will use storytelling, music, art, and poetry to bring alive the many contributions to contemplative life that flow from Africa and the Black experience.
The instinct to search for and find a path to God flows like an ancient river through every human heart. It is universal, and like the human race itself, it has its source in Africa. Over time, the river of contemplation has been fed by streams from every continent, and experiencing this diversity of influences has great transformative power.
Here in the West, one stream of influence – white and European – has been the dominant approach to Christian contemplation, while alternative worldviews have tended to be neglected and silenced. But this is changing.
In Centering Prayer and other contemplative practices, diverse persons find a path that opens into communion, and so contemplative communities, often without recognizing it, yearn for access to the full range of human spiritual experience. At the same time, let us seek the grace to extend a warmer and more authentic welcome to people of all backgrounds, and to be transformed by what they can teach us. In doing so, we are transformed in Christ as we touch the common Divine Presence in a variety of unique expressions, discovering opportunities to deepen our awareness of God’s presence and action within ourselves, our communities, and our world.
As we open to a greater and more connected state of awareness, it is essential to do so communally, rather than just individually — to share our being more openly with others, including others of diverse backgrounds.
We invite you to swim in an ancient stream toward sacred Communal Contemplative Spirituality. This workshop will invite you into transformation as much as it invites you to learn about the African underpinnings of all contemplative practices, and Black American contemplative practices in particular.
Workshop Sponsors: Contemplative Outreach Chapters – Chicago, Atlanta, Colorado, Maryland/Washington DC; Awakenings; Closer Than Breath; Centering Prayer USA, the World Community for Christian Meditation; the Theosophical Society in America
Click here for more information, presenter bios and registration
Introduction to Centering Prayer
Saturday, May 17, 10am-3pm
Mary, Seat of Wisdom Chapel
Clark Ministry Center
1335 S. Clifton Ave, Park Ridge, IL
Are you looking for a way to explore or deepen your relationship with God?
Centering Prayer is a gentle and silent method of consenting to God’s presence and healing action within us. This program will provide the basics of a centuries-old method of meditation that consists of simply sitting in silence with God while opening our minds and hearts in wordless communion.
Phil and Heath Jackson, commissioned presenters, will lead the workshop. Phil has been a member of Mary, Seat of Wisdom since 1986 and has been active with Contemplative Outreach of Chicago for over 30 years.
More information and registration
Registration closes on May 16th.
All participants are welcome to attend follow-up Centering Prayer sessions at Mary, Seat of Wisdom or other locations in the area.
One-Day Retreat
Healing Gardens at Stone Hill Farm
Saturday, June 28, 2025; 10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
37W249 Dean St, Saint Charles, Illinois
Join us for a one-day retreat at the peaceful and beautiful Healing Gardens at Stone Hill Farm in Saint Charles, Illinois, on June 28th. In the morning, Alan Krema will lead us in several communal practices for transformation in Christ. We will open to the Presence and Action of our divine nature through Centering Prayer, simple body movement, chant, and the communal holding of the significant relationships of our lives.In the afternoon after lunch, we will immerse ourselves in nature with Forest Bathing, led by Tammy Minuti. Forest Bathing, also known as Shinrin-Yoku, is a slow wandering through a forest or nature area. This practice is suitable for all.
Seven-Day Intensive and Post-Intensive Centering Prayer Retreat
Siena Retreat Center Racine, Wisconsin
one will find oneself in the heart of everyone else.
– Fr. Thomas Keating
The Intensive Retreat provides an opportunity to deepen the practice of Centering Prayer in an atmosphere of profound silence and community support. There are up to six 30-minute Centering Prayer periods daily. This prayer is supported with viewing a selection of the Spiritual Journey video series by Fr. Thomas Keating. Soul friending with the retreat guides can be scheduled.The Post-Intensive Retreat provides an opportunity to deepen the practice of Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina in an atmosphere of profound silence and community support. There are up to seven 30-minute periods of Centering Prayer daily.
Prerequisite: Previous participation in an Intensive Retreat.