AUTUMN TERM 2008
Dear Friends,
As you will see the Autumn programme is unusually full—we couldn’t resist following up your many and varied ideas for speakers! If you would like an extra copy of the programme for friends and neighbours please let us know as we would love to see even more new faces at these days.
I would like to draw attention to our two year programme ‘Personal and Spiritual Development’ that begins again in January ‘09 with a taster evening on September 25th. If you are interested or know of anyone who might be, do please pass on the details. It is a wonderful way of deepening your relationship with God and can serve as a good underpinning for Spiritual Direction training for those who are interested in doing that.
Another date for your diaries is a two day retreat on Anthony De Mello of ’Sadhana’ fame, led by Father John Callanan SJ on 9th and 10th January 2009.
Thanks to the support of the ‘Friends of St Bede’s’ we have managed to fundraise sufficiently for Linda Pearson to continue on our staff and to run the Friday drop-in ‘A cuppa and some peace’ every week. She is also offering Easy Arts on a regular basis—do investigate it if you have the time - and please let anyone you know who might like a bit of space and support know about the drop-in.
Finally very advance notice to say that next year begins the 400 year jubilee of the Congregation of Jesus and we are beginning it with a huge Mass and celebration at the Minster on January 29th 11.30—Please do come if you can, we would love to share the day with as many of our friends as possible.
With best wishes for a restful and enjoyable summer—and a reminder that St Bede’s closes for the whole of August.
Cecilia CJ
COURSES
Journalling
So often we are aware that our life is both rich and multilayered - but we are busy. We have too little time to stop, to absorb its goodness and meaning and to untangle the muddles. This workshop provides an oasis each week to notice and integrate our life and our spiritual longings and tools for future use. Based on the work of Ira Progoff, each session will consist of input, time for writing and personal reflection. Please bring a file & paper or a large notebook and pen with you to each session. Over two terms.
Sr Cecilia Goodman CJ
‘Grow old along with me ... The best is yet to be’....?
with Sr Thomas Williams CJ
A quiet day in which to reflect on the experience of growing older and to give thanks for its blessings. We take time to look at some of the unexpected joys to be savoured in advancing years. A great many incidents in both the Old and New Testament provide wonderful examples of this.
Wednesday October 1st 11a.m - 3.30 p.m You are most welcome to come for coffee at 10.30.
‘Twenty-nine more shopping days to Christmas....’
What about spending one of those days in quiet thanksgiving for the year’s blessings, and in preparation for the busy times to come? Just relax for a little and ‘Let go, Let God....’ You may be in for a surprise!
Wednesday November 26th 11a.m—3.30p.m You are most welcome to come for coffee at 10.30.
Sr Thomas Williams CJ
Aspects of Jewish - Christian Relations with Marion Tulloch 2-4pm
Some people regard Christianity as a daughter religion of Judaism. Without knowledge of the mother the child has an incomplete picture of itself. It is hoped that this series of four talks will give a further glimpse into Judaism for Christians who wish to expand their understanding of their faith in this direction. Each talk in this series, like in the previous ones, is an independent unit.
5th November—The Jewish Jesus
12th November—The Jewish Response to the Holocaust
19th November—The Christian response to the Holocaust
26th November—Christmas and Hanukkah
INDIVIDUAL EVENTS
The Carved Figures on St. William’s College: a Medieval Detective Story - Edna Mallett Thursday 18 September
Edna invites you to be a detective in interpreting these ancient carvings. Edna, once a senior lecturer at St John’s College is now retired and volunteers at York Minster Library.
'The Cloud of Unknowing and the tradition of wordless and imageless prayer’
Santha Bhattacharji Saturday 4 October
The day will consist of three talks as follows:-
1) The beginnings of the apophatic tradition: Gregory of Nyssa and Dionysius the Areopagite on 'not knowing' God.
2) How the tradition came to the West: the Victorines and St. Bonaventure.
3) The Cloud of Unknowing: the English contribution.
Santha Bhattacharji, M.A.,
Ph.D., has taught Old and Middle English at Oxford University for nearly 20
years, and is currently Senior Tutor of St. Benet's Hall. A former nun in an Anglican contemplative
community, she now speaks and writes regularly on the medieval mystics and
medieval liturgy.
Four talks on St Paul
Fr Henry Wansbrough Tuesdays 14 & 21 October
This is the Year of Paul. The series will be four talks on St Paul, the first theologian of the Christian Church, introducing his letters, and in particular Paul’s understanding of the saving work of Christ and of the Church.
Fr Henry is a monk of Ampleforth, former chairman of the Oxford Faculty of Theology and member of the Pope’s Biblical Commission. During the summer he will be lecturing in Israel, Australia and Kenya.
A Walking tour of York City churches - Sophie Weston - Saturday 25 October
A walking tour of York City centre churches to explore the medieval stained glass. Although designed primarily as a follow-on to the stained glass day in April, no previous knowledge is needed to enjoy this day - just an interest in Christian iconography. Starting at St. Denys, Walmgate with some of the earliest glass in York we will move onto All Saints, Pavement, St Martins, Coney Street, Holy Trinity, Goodramgate and end up at St Michael-le-Belfrey.
A break for lunch at 12.30 will be taken at the Spurriergate Centre.
What is Godly Play?
Richard Burge Wednesday 29 October
Godly play is a
way of telling Bible Stories and enabling people to engage with the story and
respond to it. The heart of Godly Play is that it does not depend on
knowledge, but on personal response and spiritual engagement with God's word
within a supportive, safe community of friends. Consequently it works with all
ages, including 
adults,
and it works well in groups with a wide age or ability range.
Richard Burge....
is the Children and Youth Team Co-ordinator and Children's Adviser (5-11years) for Wakefield Diocese. He has
been using Godly Play for over seven years and is an accredited Godly Play
Teacher. He works in churches, in schools, with adults, with children and teenagers,
in small and in large groups. "I
use it at every opportunity, and I would say that it has changed everything I
do!”
Discernment in Direction
Andrew Walker Saturday 1 November
A further exploration of this vital aspect of the ministry of Spiritual accompaniment.
Andrew Walker is director of the London Centre for Spirituality, co-director of the Ignatian Spirituality Course and a psychosynthesis counsellor and supervisor. His publications include Journey into Joy (Paulist press) and Spirituality in the City (SPCK). He enjoys gardening, cooking, fiction and the cinema.
Inscape and Landscape: Exploring the Wilderness
Sharon Whittington Wednesday 12 November
Jim Crace is a contemporary novelist and atheist. Gerard Manley Hopkins was a Victorian Jesuit priest and poet. Both writers explore the terrors, joys and unexpected gifts of journeying through wilderness. During the afternoon we will use these and other writings as a starting point for contemplating our own understandings of wilderness, physical and spiritual.
Sharon Whittington is a priest working in York, and has a background in studying and teaching Literature. She is the mother of three sons, and is currently researching a study on the theology of graffiti.
PREPARE YOURSELF by taking time to pray and reflect on the wonder and mystery of Christmas as we move into ADVENT
You are invited to make a RETREAT IN DAILY LIFE which is a special kind of prayer journey interwoven with your daily life and work, in your own home, at your own pace, meeting weekly with a trained companion, at a mutually convenient time .
The retreat will begin at St Bede’s Pastoral Centre, on Wednesday, 12 November 7.30-9.00pm with an introductory meeting when you will meet your prayer companion. The closing meeting, also at St Bede’s, will be on Wednesday, 10 December 7.30pm. To book please send a SAE to St. Bede’s.
The Gospel of Falling Down
Mark Townsend Tuesday 18 November
We are all easily enthralled by success but Mark challenges us to recognise our true giftedness, as he believes Jesus did, in the opposite direction. As he says: ‘We often feel that climbing the so-called ‘ladder of perfection’ is what faith is about, but in reality it is in falling from that ladder that we discover our greatest gift - which is the magic of our truest self.’
Mark’s quiet days have enabled many people to recover a long lost sense of their own inner value and beauty. His work is relevant to people of all faiths and beliefs.
Christ of the Celts: The Healing of Creation
J. Philip Newell Friday 21 November
An evening talk by author J. Philip Newell launching his recent publication Christ of the Celts: The Healing of Creation, in which the ancient insights of Celtic Christianity are applied to the new earth awarenesses of today.
'I explore the Celtic image of Christ as the Memory of what we have forgotten. He remembers the dance of the universe and the harmony that is deep within all things. He is the Memory also of who we are.' (from The Prelude to Christ of the Celts)
Formerly Warden of Iona Abbey in the Western Isles of Scotland, Dr J. Philip Newell is a poet, scholar, and teacher who has played a leading role on both sides of the Atlantic in the recovery of Celtic spirituality for today. Philip has written many books including The Book of Creation, Celtic Benediction and Listening for the Heartbeat of God.
"Real Presence and Seeming Absence."
Bishop David Smith Thursday 4 December
There
are times when God seems far away. If we put great store on feelings in
religion these can be times of 
despair. Yet the
emphasis of many teachers and spiritual guides is on the unseen but real
presence of God in us at all times. The journey to find God is a journey
"inwards" when we discover that God has already found us, that we are
liked as well as loved and that we can carry on in this "exploration"
with faith and hope.
Ordained priest in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1960 and spent 28 years in that diocese in town and country parishes and finally served as Archdeacon of Lindisfarne. Retired to York. Many books on prayer are written by Religious. I am concerned with relating their insights to laity and clergy who do not live in a context based on silence. David is married with two children and three grandchildren.
Advent Quiet Day
Fr Joe Smith Thursday 11 December
An afternoon of prayer and reflection looking at some of the readings at Christmas and Epiphany. We would read them with a view to celebrating the feasts with more understanding and prayer.
I am a priest of the Diocese of Leeds and at the
moment I work in Saints John Fisher and Thomas More in Burley –in-Wharfedale. I am interested in sharing the scriptures
with people and receiving their insights into well known readings so that
together we can deepen our understanding of them.
A cuppa and some peace
Linda Pearson every Friday until 12 December
Is your life asking a lot of you? Caring for someone or yourself? Feeling low? Just coping at work?
Come along to rest, meet others, learn creative skills, have a hand massage, learn relaxation and meditation techniques. We meet on Fridays anytime between 12 and 3pm at St Bede’s Pastoral Centre. Cost is by donation - drinks provided. Hope to see you.
5 & 12 September Making Felts
19 & 26 September Have a go at Batik
3 & 10 October Expressive painting and collage
17 & 24 October Making cards
31 October & 7
November Sugar craft * date to be confirmed
EASY ARTS (Express and Surprise Yourself)
with Linda Pearson Wednesdays 24 Sept.,22 Oct., 3 Dec.
The days are for those who would like to explore life themes creatively, share ideas and their experience of art materials and techniques with others in the group, and enjoy exploring how they might express themselves creatively. No previous experience of making art is required, and the days aren’t really about becoming artists (although we will inevitably get better as we practise). Rather, they are about releasing our creativity.
24 September Going through the wringer - Felt making
22 October Re-calling treasures
3 December Inside Out.
Please see flyers for more details
Regular groups AND PRAYER MEETINGS
To find God in all things: discovering the Ignatian way of praying the scriptures, with Sr Louise CJ. £1 per meeting.
Tuesdays 7.30-8.45pm: 9 & 23 Sep, 7 & 21 Oct, 11 & 25 Nov, 9 Dec
Julian Meetings: All are welcome to join Sr Thomas CJ and the small group that meets for a quiet time of prayer and reflection. Sr Thomas CJ. £2 per meeting.
Wednesdays 2.30-3.30pm: 10 & 24 Sept, 8 & 22 Oct, 5 & 19 Nov, 3 Dec
York Justice and Peace Group: a group interested in a wide variety of justice issues. Usually 7.30pm on the second Monday each month.
Contact Nan Saeki 01904 783621
Christian Meditation: an ancient form of contemplative prayer, seeking God in stillness and silence. Every Wednesday 8pm and first and third Thursday 1-2pm. Contact St Bede’s for more details.
City Prayer: a group of enthusiastic people who meet to pray and sing together. Mondays, 7.30pm. Contact David Copeland 01904 330 608
ONGOING SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT SPIRITUAL
ACCOMPANIMENT SUPPORT (SAS).
A
group for people who work in spiritual accompaniment, for on-going training and
support. Please
contact Cecilia Goodman CJ (Cecilia.goodman@virgin.net or phone 01904 464900)
PERSONAL AND SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT COURSE JANUARY 2009 – DECEMBER 2010
This course is experiential and broadly based on Ignatian spirituality. The aim is to find a greater integration of our lives and our relationship with God through personal reflection and by exploring different ways of praying. The course will be helpful to anyone wishing to deepen the life of prayer and begin to explore the ministry of spiritual accompaniment.
MASS IS SAID AT NOON IN OUR CHAPEL ON MOST MONDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS IN TERM TIME AND AT NOON IN THE BAR CONVENT ON FRIDAYS, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CHECK WITH OFFICE BEFOREHAND
