Sabbath as Life Abundant with Rev. Anita Amstutz – G24060501
Suffering is real and perennial, but so is soul and body nourishing love and connection!
In this retreat, experience how Sabbath can come alive as we share together, re-filling the wells of our souls with Living Water—alongside the “slow heartbeat” of nature.
Our communal time together will include shared Sabbath meals, guided group process, art and worship. There will be rich time for personal contemplative practices, such as walking, journaling, art and solitude—all set in the soaring beauty and intimate canyons of Ghost Ranch.
We will explore themes of meaning and purpose, suffering and grief, joy, healing, stillness, prayer, and “What Makes Your Heart Sing”? A special and unique meditation process with art by Maureen O’Neill will be woven into our Sabbath time— geared towards Sabbath mindfulness and entering the ’thin place’ that the Celtic Christians knew.
There will also be a day at Christ in the Desert Monastery, to visit with the resident hermit, Brother John, who will engage us in the “Biblical notion of the heart as the deepest center and the place of encounter and dialogue (prayer)”.
Sabbath is the least kept ten commandment, yet also the jewel that can bring us into this “palace in time” that Rabbi Joshua Abraham Heschel writes about in his classic work, Sabbath.
So, slow down, come and tend your soul for awhile, listen for The Lord of the Sabbath” who invites us to come and drink our fill of the Living Water, experience healing and know shalom.
Sabbath Abundance is based upon the book, Soul Tending: Journey into the Heart of Sabbath, by Rev. Anita Amstutz. She is a high desert dweller, herbal and pollinator enthusiast, contemplative, ordained minister, writer and spiritual companion ( https://afamstutz.com/sabbath-circles/wisdom-ways-of-being/).
This event is co-sponsored by the Rising Day Ministries of the Lord’s Day Alliance, which promotes Sabbath Spirituality.
Instructors
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Maureen T O'NeillMaureen O’Neill grew up in Holyoke, Massachusetts and received her B.F.A. in Painting from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and her M.F.A. in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, RI. She is the director of exhibitions and educational programming for the Barton College Art Galleries and Assistant Professor of Art in the Department of Art, Barton College. She was the recipient of the Lincoln Financial Faculty Member of the Year Award in 2021. In addition to her classes at Barton College, Maureen leads workshops in drawing meditation and pastel drawing at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, the Wilson Arts Center in Wilson, NC and Saint Anne’s Chapel in Tarboro, NC.
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Rev. Anita AmstutzRev. Anita Amstutz, Mennonite minister with 17+ years of congregational ministry, currently offers on-line counseling and spiritual companioning with Wisdom Ways of Being, teaches practical soul care, based upon her 2018 book, Soul Tending: Journey into the Heart of Sabbath, and contemplative courses at the Center for Action and Contemplation. As a beekeeper, Anita founded Think Like A Bee, an education/advocacy organization for pollinator protection and healthy food in New Mexico.