COCP : Contemplative Outreach of Central Pennsylvania

2018/2019 Retreats & Workshops

Red Leaf

5 Day, 4 day, and Weekend Contemplative Prayer Retreat
December 5 - 9th (Wed. to Sun.)
December 6 - 9th (Thurs. to Sun.)
December 7 - 9th (Fri. to Sun.)

Bethany Retreat Center is providing an opportunity for Centering Prayer practitioners to deepen their practice and relationship with God by joining with others in a silent community and the experience of immersion in Contemplative Prayer apart from our ordinary life. This retreat will include three periods of prayer, daily Mass and one video conference each day. The rest of the retreat will be in deep silence and solitude.

Prior Centering Prayer experience is required.

Arrival EACH day is after 4pm in time for 5:30pm Supper.

Offering: 5 Day Intensive - $330
4 Day Intensive - $250
Weekend Intensive - $180

Deposit: $75 non-refundable

11th step retreat
March 19-21, 2019

Presenters: Nancy Cord-Baran, Carolyn Yankovitz & Michael Gidlewski

This retreat is for people in 12-Step Recovery programs to introduce or expand and deepen the experience of Contemplative Prayer as part of a daily 12-Step Practice.

Centering Prayer is a simple method of prayer rooted in ancient Christian practice that opens us to God's presence and divine healing. It is simply moving deep within ourselves, in silence, saying nothing, asking for nothing, just being and allowing our Higher Power to be with us.

The retreat will offer an environment of solitude and silence in community with time for reflection, fellowship, and a 12-Step Meeting. For those new to Contemplative Prayer, the retreat is an Introductory Workshop on Contemplative Prayer in the context of 12-Step recovery.

Retreat staff have been active in 12-Step programs for many years. They have completed the Formation for Contemplative Service process of Contemplative Outreach as well as the Formation Training for Presenting and Leading Retreats for Contemplative Prayer and the 12-Steps. Brochures available.

SPACE is LIMITED
Offering: $190 per person
Deposit: $75 non-refundable
Make Checks payable to: COCPa

Welcoming Prayer Retreat
May 3-5, 2019

Presenter: Sr. Rita Panciera, RSM

The Welcoming Prayer is a method of consenting to God's presence and action in the events and situations in daily life. It provides a method of being aware of our physical and emotional reactions and a method of dealing with them prayerfully in the midst of daily life.

The Welcoming Prayer helps to dismantle the emotional programs of the false-self system and to heal the wounds of a lifetime by addressing them where they are stored - in the body. It contributes to the process of transformation in Christ initiated in Contemplative Prayer.

The time together will be both retreat and workshop, with opportunity for silence and Centering Prayer in community. Also, participants will be introduced to the actual method of the Welcoming Prayer and provided with opportunities to practice. Discussions will include the human condition and the false-self system as the conceptual background of the Welcoming Prayer practice. There will be time for focusing, working with what is happening in our bodies and practicing the prayer. Brochures available.

Sr. Rita Panciera, RSM is a Sister of Mercy and Director of the House of Prayer in Erie, PA. She has been an experienced practitioner of Centering Prayer for many years and has facilitated many Centering Prayer retreats and programs, both at Bethany Retreat Center and elsewhere.

SPACE is LIMITED
Offering: $190 per person
Deposit: $75 non-refundable deposit due by April 22
Make Checks payable to: COCPa

8-Day Intensive ContempLative Prayer Retreat
The Gift of Life ~ Death & Dying, Life & Living
June 9 - 16, 2019 (Sun. to Sun.)
August 4-11, 2019 (Sun. to Sun)

Facilitators: Sr. Rita Panciera, Sr. Ruth Ann Madera, & Fr. Philip Billotte

Bethany Retreat Center is providing an in-depth retreat for those with experience with Centering Prayer who wish to enter into a more profound level of spiritual practice. Gift of Life ~ Death & Dying, Life & Living continues and builds on the works of Fr. Thomas Keating over the past 30+ years. It offers a a vision of hope and a view of reality that counter the cultural norms that view death as a tragedy, or the end of living, or an entry into harsh judgment and retribution. Fr. Thomas sat with Fr. Carl Arico in an intimate conversation focused on the transformative process of death and dying as part of, rather than the end of, life's journey.

Requirements:

Contemplative Outreach, under whose auspices these retreats are given, require that those who participate in the Intensive Retreat be regular practitioners of Centering Prayer.

(Massage Therapist available - not included in the cost.)

Arrival: 5pm & Supper at 6pm ~ Departure: 11am, Sunday
Offering:
$490 for Private Room
$550 for Private Room w/Bath (Limited)
Deposit: $150 non-refundable

Limited Scholarships Available

8 Day POST Intensive Contemplative Prayer Retreat
June 9 - 16, 2019 (Sun. to Sun.)
August 4-11, 2019 (Sun. to Sun)

Facilitators: Sr. Rita Panciera, Sr. Ruth Ann Madera & Fr. Philip Billotte

The purpose of the retreat is to assist the participants in entering into a more intimate silence in a nurturing, supportive environment that combines both solitude and community. The Post Intensive is a next step into a profound silence and stillness in order to facilitate a more intimate union with God.

Requirements for Making the Post-Intensive Retreat

Be regular practitioners of Centering Prayer
Have made an Intensive Retreat prior to making the Post-Intensive Retreat

(Massage Therapist available - not included in the cost.)

Arrival: 5pm & Supper at 6pm ~ Departure: 11am, Sunday
Offering:
$490 for Private Room
$550 for Private Room w/Bath (Limited)
Deposit: $150 non-refundable

Limited Scholarships Available

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