Present: Chris Hagen, Jan Simpson, Diane Oldfield, Nichola Riggle, Kathy Mendoza, Deborah Lewallen, Rick Martin, Susan Wheeler, Mary Williams, and Linda Dollins.
Mary opened the meeting at 9:30 AM with a10-minute period of Centering Prayer.
Reports:
COSD Update: During Lent, COSD hosted "Transforming the World with Centering Prayer," a 40-day practice in which participants met every day (except Sunday) from 9:00 - 9:30 AM for a short reading followed by 20 minutes of Centering Prayer. Each session ended with an invitation for brief intercessory prayers.
Between 25-30 people attended each day. Ardy Woodmannsee mentioned that they were inspired by the "Six at Six" session offered weekly in the Meditation Chapel. More people attended these Lenten sessions than were expected. This is something to consider again for future liturgical seasons, especially Lent and Advent.Financial Report: We have $17,733.17 in available funds. Recent donations include $5350. CONSD has provided $3470.00 for retreat scholarships. A recent deposit of $350 was issued to the Mission San Luis Rey for a day-long retreat scheduled for July 22.
Facilitator Enrichment: Contemplative Outreach, Ltd now offers Facilitator Enrichment gatherings on Zoom 2 or 3 times a year. The most recent on on February 11 focused on "Holding Space," the art of being present, open, allowing and protective of what another needs in the moment. Facilitators later received a recording of the event, along with informative handouts. Mary will continue to inform local facilitators of these events; she also suggested that facilitators sign themselves up as volunteers at the CO Ltd. website so that they will receive updates about these events directly. In light of these CO Ltd offerings, Mary wondered how often we should host local facilitator gatherings. Nichola suggests that we have in-person gatherings for facilitators. Rick agrees and suggested we have a local gathering at least once a year. These gatherings might include summaries and reflection/discussion time that explores the offerings at one of the CO Ltd enrichment days.
Registration: No recent news on registration as we have not yet had events to register people for. The Intro Team is handling its own registration for the upcoming Intro Program in May. Susan Wheeler was grateful for the support of Nancy Bachelier and Marilyn Clements at the in-person Fr. Pizzuto event in November 2022. She will be ready to register people for our upcoming events in June and July.
Communications: The May 2023 Newsletter is forthcoming and will include articles on the St. Peter's prayer group, the recent United in Prayer Day, a Wisdom School retreat with Cynthia Bourgeault, as well as flyers and "save the dates" on upcoming CONSD events.
Mary had a Zoom meeting with Colleen Thomas, who serves with CO Ltd's Diversity Initiative and 40's and Under Initiative. Colleen is also the co-host of CO's new podcast, "Opening Minds, Opening Hearts." In seeking ways to reach out to younger contemplatives, Colleen has been visiting chapter websites and considering ways to make them inviting for more people. She has linked up techie volunteers with chapters needing assistance with website format. Mary will welcome this assistance when it is available.
Events/Workshops, Recent and Future:
· ➺ CONSD's Intro to Centering Prayer Weekend Retreat on Zoom, May 5 - 7. This will be offered in a series of 90-minute to two-hour segments spread over the course of one weekend--including the Intro Workshop and six follow-up/continuing sessions, which will incorporate the more recent series of videos featuring Carl Arico and Fr Thomas Keating. This is an experiment of sorts. The hopes are that offering an Intro Program all in one weekend will enable more people to attend all of the follow-up sessions. Kathy Mendoza, Patti Smith, and Mary will be presenters; Jan Simpson and Rick Martin and possibly Patti and Mary will co-facilitate the follow-ups.
➺ Chris Hagen's "Seek and You Will Find" retreat on June 17, 2023, 9:00 AM to 12 Noon. Chris plans to host a morning on Zoom that will be a bit lighter on conceptual content and offer more reflective opportunities. By having a briefer (10-minute) period of Centering Prayer and a longer (3-hour) span than with Chris' presentations from the past two years, the hopes are that we will actually have more than enough time in our morning so that Chris will not be rushed to finish. This event will be recorded.
➺ Kathy Mendoza facilitating a day retreat at Mission San Luis Rey, July 22, 9:00am - 3:00pm. We will be meeting in the Mission's Guadalupe Room, with capacity for 40 people. Lunch will be included. Pre-registration will be required for this event and people will not be able to attend as walk-ins. The content for this event is still in the formation stage. Mary will provide any assistance that is needed. Nichola and Diane Oldfield also volunteered to assist with this retreat.
➺ CONSD's Fall Retreat at Prince of Peace Abbey, Oct. 20-22. Susan Wheeler has offered to assist at this event, which will be facilitated by Mary Williams. We will need help with storing and transporting retreat materials (the environment and various TV trays, candles, etc) from Linda Dollins' home. Linda will not be assisting with the retreat this year. Last year, we were able to do most of the room set-up the day prior to the retreat.
➺ Elena Bertran Retreat in November or December. Elena will be in contact with Mary later about this possible Zoom offering.
➺ Future Possibilities: Mary attended a week-long Wisdom retreat with Cynthia Bourgeault in February and got to sit next to her at breakfast one morning. Their conversation culminated with CB saying, "I've got to get back to San Diego some time." Cynthia is finishing up a book on Fr. Keating's final 30 years; this might provide a good topic for a CB presentation in 2024--or whenever her schedule allows; she is busy. Mary has noticed how some US chapters have started co-sponsoring events with other chapters and contemplatively-rooted organizations. CONSD might consider hosting an event with COSD and with the local Wisdom community. Nichola suggested St. Peter's as a venue. Deborah suggested St. Bart's -- it is a central location. Chris mentioned that when St. Bart's hosted a CB event in 2005 or so, 100-200 people attended (which was held in the sanctuary/nave). Mary suggested St. Paul's Cathedral as another possibility.
Additional suggestions for speakers / presenters: Fr. Stephen Coffey, Rev. Susan Latimer, Heather Ruce (local Wisdom spiritual director).
Needs: Mary notes that there is a need for a Retreats Team (for occasional planning, set-up, selling books, etc.) and a Communications Team (to help procure content for the website and newsletter). Mary is shy about using the phone to connect with facilitators & volunteers, but will try to do better with that. CONSD also needs a new laptop dedicated for chapter use with better sound & recording capability. (Thus far we have relied on Mary's laptop for Zoom meetings & recordings, and the sound is not the best). Suggestions included: shopping at CostCo or Best Buy for a MacAir, Macbook Pro, Microsoft Surface Pro or other PC. Rick also suggested purchasing an auxiliary camera and microphone -- to not rely on what is built in to the laptop. Susan Wheeler made a motion to use CONSD funds to procure a new laptop, camera, and microphone. Deborah seconded the motion. We voted unanimously in support of this motion.
Calendar Items: We will have our next SLT meeting on July 8, 2023.Other concerns: St. Benedict's Monastery and Retreat Center in Snowmass, CO, will be closing in late June. There will be no more private or group retreats after June 2023. The Trappist Order and the six remaining monks at the monastery are in discernment about next steps; the future is still unfolding. We know that many in Contemplative Outreach are sad about this development -- Snowmass has figured so prominently in the CO organization's history and development. Let us continue to hold this situation in prayer, with deep gratitude for all the ways we have been blessed through Snowmass--the mountains, the monks, the volunteers, the bookstore, and the Centering Prayer retreats.
Closing prayer: graciously offered by Diane Oldfield.
The meeting ended at 10:55 AM.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Williams
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