The POETRY OF PRAYER

The language of prayer is the language of poetry, which leads us beyond the limits of rational dualistic thought, to a place where words do not manage or define but invite and evoke. Like prayer, the language of poetry opens doors to an alternative mode of consciousness in which what is normally hidden becomes a little more accessible to our conscious awareness. It’s often in that shadowed land that we most movingly meet God. In this retreat we’ll experience poetry as a form of prayer, explore the practice of sacramental imagination, and experience both reading and writing as spiritual discipline. It’s not expected that participants “know a lot about poetry” or “be a good writer.” This is not a writing workshop, but a prayer retreat. Together we will enter into a sacramental practice of reading our lives and writing as prayer to deepen our relationship with the Mystery Who Loves Us. Steve Garnaas-Holmes is a poet, songwriter and pastor of St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church in Acton, MA. He writes daily reflections at unfoldinglight.net. From 1973 to 2012 he wrote and performed with the Montana Logging and Ballet Company, a quartet that performed music and comedy around the country and occasionally on NPR’s Weekend Edition. For more information or registration: http://www.rollingridge.org/programs/day-apart-retreats/