The Eight-Day Centering Prayer Intensive Retreat offered from Sunday, May 17 to Sunday, May 24, 2020, provides an opportunity to deepen the practice of Centering Prayer in an atmosphere of silence and community support. This retreat follows the Contemplative Outreach guidelines for an Intensive Retreat including six 30-minute Centering Prayer periods daily. Following Fr. Thomas Keating’s guidelines the prayer is supported with viewing and faith sharing on his Human Condition teachings from the updated Spiritual Journey series. Retreat leaders are available for soul-friending. During the retreat, one will experience integrating contemplation and action through silence, solitude, community and the rhythm of this Episcopal Benedictine monastic community’s worship and prayer life including daily Holy Eucharist. An established practice of Centering Prayer for at least 6-months is highly recommended. Anyone who has participated in a Contemplative Outreach Intensive in the past may attend and make this a Post-Intensive by not viewing the videos.
Check-in is from 2:00 to 5:00 pm Sunday, May 17. Vespers begins at 5:00. Dinner then follows. Orientation begins at 7:15pm. The retreat concludes with noon meal Sunday, May 24. (Daily Holy Eucharist is available at 9:00 a.m.). Cost for the retreat is $755 (including a non-refundable $100 deposit). The retreat fee includes a single room and all meals. Shared single occupancy bathrooms in the hallways.
Leslee Anne Terpay is a retired entrepreneur and now spends her days sharing Fr. Thomas Keating’s teachings on the contemplative dimension of the gospel, the Christian Contemplative Journey, Centering Prayer, and Lectio Divina. She is a Contemplative Outreach commissioned presenter. She is part of the service team who defines workshop teachings and retreat experiences. Leslee is a spiritual director in Lone Tree, Colorado and a graduate of The Centering for Action and Contemplation Living School.
The Rev. Robert Bacon is the Rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Lynnfield, Massachusetts where he leads a weekly Centering Prayer group. Rob has been practicing Centering Prayer for 30 years, and has been a priest for 20 years. He is a Contemplative Outreach commissioned presenter, a member of the Contemplative Outreach of Boston leadership team, a retreat leader, and a spiritual director. Before entering the ministry, Rob served as both a Surface Warfare Officer and a Deep Sea Diving Officer in the Navy. He lives in Lexington, MA with his wife Sonia; they have three grown children.
Br. Bernard Delcourt, is the Prior of Holy Cross Monastery. His function as a Prior of the monastery calls on his pastoral, managerial, administrative, financial and leadership skills. Bernard is a Contemplative Outreach commissioned presenter. Bernard has been a monk since 2004. Before becoming a monk, he was an investment banker and then a life and business skills coach. He is a spiritual director and regularly visits General Theological Seminary in New York to offer spiritual direction to students and staff.