Saturday workshops at the Monastery are a great way to start your weekend! Workshops will be led by a brother and explore a topic related to prayer or spiritual formation.
Workshops are located in the Monastery Undercroft, 980 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA, 02138. To get to the Undercroft, enter the Guesthouse garden through the gate to the left of the Chapel; signs will indicate the door down to the undercroft.
Workshops are held on Saturdays. Doors open at 8:30 for check-in, greeting, and refreshments. The Workshops begin at 9:00am and run until 12:15. All participants are invited to stay and join the Brothers for Noonday Prayer at 12:30 p.m.
To reserve a place, click on the workshop you would like to attend and complete the form on each description and make a payment.
Costs: Full Price $40, Student Price $20
Saturday 9:00 am to 12:00 noon, September 30, 2023
Led by Br. David Vryhof
Making decisions is a part of life. All of us are constantly having to make choices, great and small, and these choices make up the pattern of our lives. The purpose of this workshop is to explore the role of prayer in making life choices. How do we discern which of the options before us represents “the will of God” for our lives? How can we learn to recognize the movement of the Spirit in our prayer as we consider the choices before us? Our time together will include teaching and group discussion, as well as some time for individual reflection. This workshop is being offered specifically to young adults in their 20’s and 30’s.
Saturday 9:00 am to 12:00 noon, October 28, 2023
Led by Br. Curtis Almquist
Opening the ears of our heart to someone can be absolutely transformative. We may help them name a need, claim an insight, realize a healing, experience a liberation. We, too, may be transformed through the experience. The workshop will draw on ancient wisdom and contemporary psychology to help us better listen to life.
Saturday 9:00 am to 12:00 noon, November 11, 2023
Led by Br. David Vryhof
Monastics and spiritual leaders down through the ages have sought God in silence and in solitude. What can they teach us about the value of incorporating silence and solitude into our own lives, especially in an age when we are bombarded by noise? This workshop will explore the questions of ‘why’ and ‘how’ in relation to this ancient practice, which has always been so highly valued by monks and mystics.
Saturday 9:00 am to 12:00 noon, February 10, 2024
Led by Br. Curtis Almquist
There are so many tedious, sometimes-delicious reasons not to forgive other people; perhaps this is why Jesus speaks about forgiveness relentlessly. Forgiveness is as challenging as it is liberating, a new lease on life. We will explore biblical and psychological insights about forgiving and being forgiven, “unbinding and setting the captive free.”
Saturday 9:00 am to 12:00 noon, March 16, 2024
Led by Br. David Vryhof
Simply put, mindfulness is the practice of cultivating awareness in day-to-day life. It is a practice that has roots in several religious traditions and that has been proven to be enormously helpful in helping people overcome various forms of suffering (fear, anxiety, depression, etc.) and live lives that are more peaceful, centered and integrated. This workshop will provide an introduction to mindfulness from a Christian perspective and offer practical suggestions for deepening one’s practice.
Saturday 9:00 am to 12:00 noon, May 11, 2024
Led by Br. Lain Wilson
Secular love poem, metaphor for the Church and God, image of Christ’s relationship with the soul. The Song of Songs has been understood and used across the centuries in these and other ways. How can we pray with this evocative expression of love and desire while (and by) respecting and paying homage to its long history in Christian tradition?