Day of Reflection Prayer Retreat

Monday, Sept. 20, 9am - 3pm

The Center for Christian Spirituality will offer a Day of Reflection at the Cenacle Retreat House in Houston. This retreat day is an opportunity for persons to pray, reflect and connect with God in a setting of beauty and stillness.

Wick Stuckey will facilitate the prayer retreat, guiding the day around Jesus’ parable of the vineyard. The day will include periods of guidance provided by Wick, silence for prayer and reflection, and group interaction. We will enter this holy rhythm and listen for God in all the nuances of the day.

The Cenacle Retreat House (420 N. Kirkwood) is a ministry of the Cenacle Sisters, located on 9 wooded acres in west Houston. We will have access to the grounds for the day of our retreat, which include outside spaces for reflection, a prayer labyrinth, hammocks for resting, and an occasional peacock. The noon meal is prepared on site and served buffet-style in the Cenacle dining room.

You may register for this Day of Reflection by contacting Nancy Sterling (nsterling@chapelwood.org or 713/354-4458). Cost for the day is $40 which includes materials, use of the grounds, and your noon meal.

Contemplative Days of Quiet and Centering Retreats

Monday, Oct. 18, 9:30am - 3pm

Monday, Nov. 15, 9:30am - 3pm

These are day retreats in which we give ourselves to prayer and reflection in a peaceful setting. Days will be comprised of a rhythm of centering prayer, walking meditation, and free time for reflection. On these day retreats there is very little teaching or speaking. Meals are most often taken in silence.  Cost for each retreat is $40, which includes use of the space and the noon meal. To register for all retreats, please contact Nancy Sterling at nsterling@chapelwood.org. Your registration for a retreat will not be complete until payment has been made. Partial scholarship assistance may be available on a case-by-case basis.

Advent Prayer Retreat

Monday, Dec. 6

9:30am - 3pm

This retreat will be a day given to focusing on the season of Advent. Those attending will be guided to consider Advent through Scripture readings, poetry, and visual images, which will become material for our prayer and reflection.

This retreat will be held at Ruah Retreat Center (in the Villa de Matel at Wayside and Lawndale). The retreat willbegin promptly at 9:30 a.m. and conclude by 3:00 p.m. Cost for this retreat will be $40, which includes use of the space and the noon meal.

To register, please contact Nancy Sterling at nsterling@chapelwood.org.

Retreats are settings of holy leisure. They invite us to heed the words of the Savior: Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest (Mark 6:31). For centuries those seeking God have found that spiritual retreat is a way to connect with God in life-transforming ways. The practice of setting aside a few hours or days to spend in God’s presence, listening to his voice and attending to his gentle heart-nudgings, typically brings renewed vigor to one’s relationship with God and provides fresh energy for the spiritual journey.

Retreats take place in settings of prayer and peacefulness. There is something refreshing about time spent in settings of natural beauty and devotion to prayer. Some places designate themselves as retreat centers. Their primary ministry is one of hospitality toward those who come seeking God on retreat. Some people make a habit of attending prayer retreats with a group, finding profound spiritual energy through praying in sacred space with others who seek God in the same setting. Others find they need time alone to retreat, when there is no group agenda to follow. Both play a vital role in spiritual formation.

Many times persons attend a retreat with expectations of what the retreat will be like or with a preconceived notion of how they will encounter God during the retreat. They may come looking for particular answers or to find direction for life-situations they face. These are legitimate reasons to retreat; yet, most always the retreat experience is different from what the retreatant anticipates. God meets us and sustains us in ways we do not expect. Those experienced in spiritual retreat learn to go on retreat with a spirit of openness, ready for whatever God wants to do and open to however God wants to lead us on our spiritual journey. This spirit of receptivity to whatever God brings will serve us well in all of life as we learn to listen and respond to the many-faceted call of God upon us.