Gifts of Gratitude
Cultivating Spiritual Practices
Thursdays, May 6th - May 27th 5:30-7:00 PM
Online Workshop
Cultivating Spiritual Practices
Thursdays, May 6th - May 27th 5:30-7:00 PM
Online Workshop
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Join Rev. Dr. Kelly Murphy Mason and Ferry Beach Retreat and Conference Center for a four part online workshop on finding your own way of gratitude and learning some practices to make you glad in the days to come.
Description: How can we bring the gifts of gratitude into our own lives? The answer is simple, but not easy: by opening our hearts, minds, and hands to receiving the goodness that is abundantly available to us. We can cultivate spiritual practices that attune us to a powerful reality and make us more ready to receive from our world. This month-long course meets for 4 consecutive weeks, and our primary text is the Rev. Dr. Galen Guengerich’s The Way of Gratitude: A New Spirituality for Today; we’ll be discussing a fair amount of poetry, as well. The hope is that by the end of this course, you will have found your own way of gratitude and adopted some personal practices that make you glad in the days to come. More Details: In his book, Guengerich recommends a monthly, weekly, and daily gratitude practice. The monthly and weekly practices involve fasting from food and media, respectively. The daily practice is meant to be done first thing in the morning; it can span from 5 to 15 minutes. The “First Light” ritual ask people to do three things: pause, ponder, and pray. Consider your life appreciatively in all three tenses, Guengerich suggests: “The arc of gratitude always moves from what’s past, through what’s present, and towards what’s possible.” His own morning prayer states: “I receive the gift of this day with gratitude. I seek to accept all that is past. I seek to embrace all that is present. I seek to realize all that is possible…” You may use that or another prayer of thanks and praise that you prefer. You may want to use a prayer that you write yourself; you’ll be asked to draft one here. One of your gratitude practices additionally include a gratitude journal. Some possible prompts — adapted from writer Erica Garza — are: What things am I glad to be? Who or what has inspired me? Who or what has made a positive impact on me? What am I happy to have done? You might also just want to catalogue a few things you are grateful for each day in a notebook you keep. Last Thanksgiving, The New York Times challenged people to say what they were grateful for in six words or less; you may consider giving yourself a word count. Below is an outline of all four of our sessions. Each starts at 5:30 p.m. with Musical Mediation and ends at 7:00 p.m. with us Closing the Circle: Workshop Weekly Schedule: 1st Session: Course Overview & Individual Introductions 2nd Session: Gratitude as Gateway to Meaning — read Guengerich’s Prologue & Part I; possibly Emmons’ Ch. 1 & 2 — present a poem or passage about gratitude that speaks to you, personally. 3rd Session: Gratitude as Mode of Connection — read Guengerich’s Part II; possibly Emmon’s Ch. 4 & 5 — formulate your own “Gratitude Goals”, with anywhere between 3 and 9 on the list. 4th Session: Gratitude as Spiritual Practice — read Guengerich’s Part III and all his appendices; possibly Emmons’ Ch. 6 & 7 — write your own prayer of praise & thanks to share. You may want to review a couple of my prayers to get a sense of commons forms. Benefits from Workshop: Stay connected with others. Build a community online. Find your own way of gratitude and learn some practices to make you glad in the days to come. About the Instructor: |
Pricing:
Workshop Fee: $100 you must attend all 4 workshops call 207-282-4489 x1 if you have any questions or prefer to register by phone
Workshop Dates:
Thursday 5/6, 5:30-7:00 PM Thursday 5/13, 5:30-7:00 PM Thursday 5/20, 5:30-7:00 PM Thursday 5/27, 5:30-7:00 PM |
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The Rev. Dr. Kelly Murphy Mason, LICSW, serves as Senior Minister at UU Wellesley Hills in Wellesley, MA. Her extensive and varied ministries have all been devoted to integrating spiritual wisdom with psychological insight in the sacred service of helping individuals, healing communities, broadening interfaith understanding, supporting soulful living, and fostering human flourishing. In addition to being a spiritual companion, life coach, couples counselor, and trauma specialist, she is a certified yoga instructor. She has occupied a host of roles in higher education, counseling centers, and faith communities. Previously, she served as Managing Director for the Psychotherapy and Spirituality Institute in Manhattan, and taught as Lecturer at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where she was also Pastoral Counselor on campus. Over the years, she has been a panelist and presenter at local, national, and international programs for colleges, institutes, professional organizations, retreat centers, and hospitals. Print and online publications have been interviewed her; she has published pieces in both the academic and popular press and is an anthologized essayist, most recently in the 2018 book 'Testimony’. To learn more about her work, follow her on social media, read her blog at www.TheReverendDr.com, or find her at UU Wellesley Hills, her congregation in Metro-West Boston.
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This four-part workshop will be online through Zoom. If you have any questions about this workshop, please email: events@ferrybeach.org. Note: Please bring a journal.
Our mission at Ferry Beach is to awaken hearts to explore, grow and renew the spirit of universal love.
We work by creating programing and events in the areas of Arts & Culture, Education, Spirituality, Sustainability, Personal Growth and Justice & Action.
We work by creating programing and events in the areas of Arts & Culture, Education, Spirituality, Sustainability, Personal Growth and Justice & Action.
