ST. COLUMBA'S
WRITING & SPIRITUALITY SERIES
Practicing Trust in Times of Transition:
Writing for Healing and Living into Grace
with
Marilyn McEntyre, PhD
AN IN-PERSON WRITING RETREAT
Thursday, February 20 4pm through
Saturday, February 22 3pm
Transitions can be both precarious and precious times of spiritual growth. Major (or minor) changes in life patterns can reveal new opportunities. Seizing those openings may be easier if we can be prayerful about what is holding us back and help us foster an awareness of the surprises the Spirit brings.
Part of our reflections include a look at writing that has emerged from contexts of suffering and how writing may become an instrument of healing. We will dedicate time for exercises in personal writing that may help in the work of healing, preparing our approaches to transition and living in and by grace. We will reflect on practices that help us hold a balance between planning and goals and openness to the surprises the Spirit brings.
Ample time for quiet individual writing and opportunities for small group sharing and support are fostered by the Retreat House’s comfortable small sitting rooms with beautiful views and, if weather permits, outside benches among the trees. Located in the beauty of the National Park and Tomales Bay, St. Columba’s is the ideal location for reflective writing and inspiration.
Following her successful St. Columba’s 2023-2024 workshops on "Writing into the Unknown" and “Approaches to Writing your Spiritual Autobiography” and "Writing from the Inside Out", Marilyn will continue her focus on personal writing as a spiritual practice—journal, memoir, poetry or personal essay and how it can at times become an important dimension of prayer.
Marilyn McEntyre After years of undergraduate teaching, Marilyn now teaches for New College Berkeley, Western Seminary, and in the Forest Dwelling Program at the Oblate School of Theology. She leads retreats and workshops, and lectures on topics related to language, spirituality, and the common good. Marilyn’s books include Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies, Speaking Peace in a Climate of Conflict, When Poets Pray, Word by Word, and Make a List: How a Simple Practice can Change our Lives and Open our Hearts. She can be reached through her website: www.marilynmcentyre.com.