Retreats/Quiet Days
Lisa enjoys collaborating with individuals and groups to create the perfect Retreat or Quiet Day to meet your needs. Here are some samples:
- Fred Rogers as Soul Friend
Lisa was privileged to work for several years at Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Eventually, Fred, a Presbyterian minister, served as one of her sponsors to ordination. Clips, personal stories and of course, singing Fred’s songs, help participants understand Fred’s work from a theological perspective and tap into their own creativity.
- A Quiet Day or Retreat with the
Medieval Mystic of Your Choice
Some of Lisa’s best friends are mystics, including Julian of Norwich, Teresa of Avila, Richard Rolle, Hildegard of Bingen, George Herbert, the Beguines -- and she’s happy to work with your favorites as well. Activities are in keeping with the mystic’s life and work; for instance, a day with Julian incorporates meditations on her Revelations of Divine Love, and time with George Herbert includes singing Come My Way, My Truth, My Life, for which he penned the lyrics. If you choose a mystic from Lisa’s spiritual biography video series, Pioneers of the Spirit, the DVD can be included.
- Journaling as a Spiritual Practice
“We know ourselves by the stories we tell about ourselves,” says Native American novelist, short story writer and poet Leslie Marmon Silko. Lisa amends this, believing that we know ourselves by the stories we tell about ourselves – and our relationships with God and with others. She retools writing exercises such as “what ifs” and prompts to connect with God in addition to yourself and others. A sample exercise is to write your own obituary with clouds of witnesses instead of the living as the audience.
- Looking Deeply
Borrowing from Henri Nouwen’s meditations on Rembrandt’s Return of the Prodigal Son, Lisa, with the help of a Power Point presentation, leads participants through meditations on artwork with Christian themes, who may choose to respond via journaling, drawing or simply praying. She’s happy to include favorite artwork from any period along with masterpieces such as Campin’s Merode Altarpiece.
- Listening for God
Lisa holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English, and she enjoys nothing more than discovering religious themes in the work of a group’s favorite authors. Her favorites include Flannery O’Connor, Raymond Carver and Ernest Hemingway.