Advent Spirituality Center

Events


Dealing With Loss:
When the Journey Takes Us Through the Dark Forest
November 14-16,2008
High Pastures Retreat Center, Burnsville, N.C.

The messengers of loss include death, illness, divorce and unemployment. The experience of loss can be profoundly disorienting, for it challenges our idea aobut what we think our lives can and should be. This retreat will support particpants to move through the spiritual, emotinal and psychological impact of their shattered expectations. Through the use of practices including guided meditation, movement and art, retreatants will be guided to deepen their capacity to hear the voice of Spirit so they may better align themselves to the new reality that is God's loving plan for their lives. Personal time will be allotted, with opportunity for quiet reflection, walking in nature, and safe and confidential disucssion.

Program Leader
Irene J. Libretto, LCSW, is a psychotherapist and ordained Interfaith minister. For the past 20 years she has helped others discover and more fully use their gifts in the service of love. She maintains a private practice in Mars Hill, N.C.

Registration fee: $60, due October 17, 2008
Housing and meals fee: $110, due October 31, 2008


Centering Prayer Retreat
2009 date will be scheduled soon!


Contemplative Day Apart
April 17, 2009
Location in Charlotte area to be announced soon!


The Gathering
 June 3-6, 2009
Location to be announced soon!

This annual gathering of spiritual seekers has a rich history spanning more than a decade. The Gathering welcomes all those desiring to deepen their spiritual life. Those seasoned in the contemplative life share time with novices, giving encouragement and support for the life of prayer. Participants will practice corporate and personal silence during the retreat.

The Gathering begins on Wednesday with check-in at 3 p.m. and ends with Saturday lunch. Morning prayer starts each day and night prayer closes the day. Presentations, time for reflection, experiential prayer practices, afternoon options, and fellowship flow easily in between.




Mars Hill Area Events

Christian Harmony Sing
February 28, 2009
10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Center Community Center, Marshall, N.C.

Join us as we praise God using shape-note singing in the tradition of William Walker’s Christian Harmony. We will begin the day with a brief “singing school” where shape-note singing will be introduced and reviewed — depending on your experience. Then, in four-part harmony, which is surprisingly easy to follow, we will fill the day with beautiful hymns of devotion, praise, lamentation and hope. Participants are invited to bring a covered dish for the mid-day meal and to make a financial contribution to cover expenses.

Program Leader
Dan Huger of Asheville, N.C., who has been immersed in shape-note singing and leading for 20 years, will teach the singing school and facilitate the singing that follows. Dan was one of a group of committed shape-note singers who cooperated to make the 1994 edition of Christian Harmony, originally published in 1873, available to a new generation of singers.