A Flight of Angels

The season of Advent is awash with angels. Those mysterious messengers of God make announcements, appear in dreams, proclaim good news and interrupt our habitual ways of living. Angelic messengers guard, guide and always assure us of God’s abiding presence. While some messages bring comfort and joy, others can shock and challenge us to see the new life and fresh possibilities that God’s spirit is trying to birth in us and through us for the world.

This retreat, held in sacred silence, offers an opportunity to hear again the angels of Advent and their timeless messages. Music, art, poetry and the winter landscape itself will support our prayerful reflection as we seek to listen deeply for God’s hope-filled dream for the world and our place in it.

Leader: Rev. Carole Crumley is the retired senior program director of Shalem Institute and former canon educator and founder of the Center for Prayer and Pilgrimage at Washington National Cathedral. A sought-after retreat and conference leader, Carole continues to teach and lead pilgrimages to sacred sites in Europe, the Middle East, and the U.S.

Weekend retreats run Friday dinner through Sunday lunch. The silence begins Friday night after dinner when the leader opens the retreat and introduces the theme. The leader usually offers brief reflections with morning and evening prayers on Saturday. The silence ends after breakfast Sunday morning with a time of sharing and worship, followed by lunch and departure.

The cost for weekend retreats is $275.  A $125 deposit is required to register.

Dinner on Friday at 7 pm is the first official gathering. You are welcome to arrive and settle in between 3:30 and 6:30 pm on Friday. The retreat will end by 2 pm on Sunday.  Please plan to stay for the entire retreat.