July 28 - August 3, 2008

Registration fee: $250 + housing + meals / Commuter fee: $250 (no meals included)
After May 20: $350 + housing & meals / $350

NOTE: Participants in this course will not be housed at Casa del Sol.

The Casa del Sol Prayer of Jesus expresses the vision and commitments of the young Community of Casa del Sol and its spirituality center in the high desert of New Mexico. One of the prayer’s phrases, "Do not forsake us in our time of conflict," speaks of the pain of our brokenness as an earth community and our desire for peace and commitment to relationship. This integrated week between Casa del Sol and the Ranch (allowing for up to 50 participants) will consist of meditative prayer at the beginning and end of each day, of teaching and sharing in the Agape Center in the mornings, of rest and silence in the afternoons, and of further reflection and embodiment of our week’s theme in the evenings.                  

The week will be led by J. Philip Newell (Companion Theologian for the Community of Casa del Sol), Alison Newell (Teacher of Spiritual Direction in Scotland).  Rabbi Nahum Ward-Lev of Santa Fe, NM, will be joining us, as well as a representative of the Islamic Community of New Mexico.

J. Philip Newell is a poet, a scholar and a teacher. Formerly Warden of Iona Abbey in the Western Isles of Scotland, he is currently Writer Theologian for The Cathedral of The Isles on Cumbrae and Companion Theologian for the Community of Casa del Sol. He is internationally acclaimed for his work in the field of Celtic spirituality, including his best known titles Listening for the Heartbeat of God and his poetic book of prayer Sounds of the Eternal. For more information see www.jphilipnewell.com.

Ali Newell is a Church of Scotland minister who works as a spiritual advisor for the Ignatian Center of Spirituality in Glasgow. She and her husband have four children and live in Edinburgh.

Nahum Ward-Lev, Santa Fe, NM  Nahum is a rabbi who has taught scripture at synagogues, churches, and retreat centers across the country, including Ghost Ranch.  He is also the Scholar-In-Residence at Temple Beth Shalom, Santa Fe.

Guest leaders