We have updated our Covid: Churches without Walls page to include some excellent new online resources, including a twice-weekly live ecumenical Zoom meditation session, available from anywhere in the world, and a deeply moving requiem Mass for all who have died in the pandemic.

You may also like to check out our Online Retreats and Courses page. Along with some excellent online retreats, there is what sounds like a very interesting free online Scripture conference on Saturday next, 21st November.

Website of the Week 22nd November

Online Advent Retreats

The Journey of the Magi. Stefano di Giovanno Sassetta (painted c. 1433-5). Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum.

Next Sunday marks the beginning of Advent. We should remember that Advent is a season, not a quick trip. It is a progressive journey to Bethlehem. The American Presbyterian theologian and writer, Frederick Buechner, points out that Bethlehem is not an end but a beginning. It is not home but the place through which we must pass if ever we are to reach home at last.

But first, we must reach Bethlehem. It may appear like a long and uncharted journey, as it must have seemed to the Magi. Like them, we need some help along the way. This week, we introduce a range of varied and valuable online Advent retreats to light our Advent journey.
Some are one day events and some continue through the four weeks of Advent.

NOTE: if you experience difficulty in accessing any of the following, note the start date! Some do not begin until next weekend.

'Many of us are in an ideal place to begin Advent, but we don’t know it. It can be tempting to think that, because we are struggling these days, we can’t enter into Advent without a big change in our mood or without distancing ourselves from our real experience. Nothing could be further from the truth​. Advent is about letting God come to us. We do the letting and God does the coming.' This is the introduction to a series of daily prayers for the four weeks of Advent, from Creighton Jesuit University's online ministries.

This half-day retreat, arranged by the Church of Ireland,  takes place on 28 November from 9.30 am to 1 pm. The speaker will be the Revd Ruth Patterson who is a Presbyterian minister, and for the last 29 years has been Director of Restoration Ministries, a non–denominational, Christian organisation committed to peace and reconciliation.
To register for this free event, contact catherine.smith@rcbdub.org

This online Advent course will be available from 23 November.
There are six talks and a webinar. Topics are:
Praying the Psalms in Advent: Honest prayers when life is hard
Reading Mark in Advent: Wakefulness in winter as we attend to the gift;
Learning from Paul: Holding on to the Word of life.
The course will be led by Biblical scholar and Augustinian friar, Fr Kieran O'Mahony.
Click here for more information.

Mary Lou Kownacki, who facilitates this eRetreat is a Benedictine nun and long-time peacemakr. Her wilderness is the inner city of Erie, Pennsylvania, surrounded by poor families trying to survive and keep hope alive amidst drugs, violence, and despair. From this outpost on the margins, she observes the world in poetic meditations, written with the passion of a prophet and the heart of a mystic. “I think poetry, music and art are the truest companions for our Advent journey of wonder and hope,” she says. During the four weeks of Advent, participants will receive a poem, a work of art, and a musical selection to reflect on, along with a writing prompt.
Note: there is a fee of $20 for the retreat. A free membership account is required at the Benedictine online movement, Monasteries of the Heart to sign up.

Lissy Clarke is an American, living in the UK. Coming from the Protestant tradition, she draws upon Ignatian spirituality and Lectio Divina for her guided meditation podcasts. Her Advent retreat on Zoom will run from 1st December every Thursday evening from 7.30-9.15 pm GMT. Using poetry, scripture and wisdom from the contemplative Christian tradition, she will explore topics including Letting Go, Waiting, Saying Yes in the Dark, and A Path in the Desert.

There is a suggested fee of £30, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Click here to find out more.

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