Prayers from Wisdom
Led by Stephen Cherry
How can we connect the words of our prayers with the longing of our hearts and the deep will of God?
In this retreat we will embrace the creative energy that comes by putting poetic passages from the Old Testament into dialogue with our personal passions and everyday concerns.
The components of the retreat will be
- Contemplative, imaginative and writerly meditation on poetic Biblical passages drawing on Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, Song of Songs and Lamentations.
- Crafting prayers that articulate something that comes from dwelling deeply with both the spirit of a passage and contemporary concerns.
While at one level the product of the retreat will be a number of written prayers, the deeper outcome will the that participants will be renewed, refreshed and reoriented by their attentiveness to what happens when poetic scripture and wisdom literature meet with contemporary concerns in their hearts and minds.
Retreatants will be sharing the writing process within the sessions and keeping silence at other times. There will be daily liturgy.
Stephen Cherry is an Anglican priest, a widely published writer and experienced facilitator. He has been Dean of Chapel at King’s College Cambridge for ten years and before that was a Canon of Durham Cathedral and Director of Ministerial Development and Parish Support. For twelve years he was a parish priest in Loughborough. He has written a dozen books, the most recent being Unforgivable? Exploring the Limits of Forgiveness (Bloomsbury 2024). He regularly reviews books for the Church Times and occasionally writes for the New Stateman. His book, Psalm Prayers Canterbury Press was written using the ‘method’ that will shape this retreat: letting biblical poetry shape contemporary prayer.
This event is open to everyone.
Arrival: 3 - 5pm
Mon 14th July
2025
Departure: 10am
Fri 18th July
2025
Residential - £550 (20% ministry discount)
