April/May 2010 Events at Meetingbrook
A NEW CONVERSATION ADDITION
(See Tuesday Evening Conversation)
The hermitage is beginning a new series of Tuesday Evening Conversations. They will be short-termed pilots led by different individuals. Each will span from 3 to 6 weeks, and will present a way of spirituality for community or solitude. If you'd like to present, contact us. If you'd like to attend, just come by. Each "Pilot to Practice" series could be a one-time presentation, or, might become an ongoing practice using one of the spaces at the hermitage -- either the chapel/zendo, the bookshed, or the wohnkuche. Times for these will be worked out.
Events at MEETINGBROOK are free, open, & informal
at Ragged Mountain.
Our practice, at source, flows from the Zen, Contemplative, & Engaged Service traditions.
Our practice delights in the threefold expressions of meditation, conversation, & hospitality.
CONVERSATIONS AT MEETINGBROOK
Note: All conversations are 1 hour in length. Anyone invited to drop in We practice loving speech, deep listening, and honest inquiry.
Format: This is not a 'book study'. It is a weekly conversation sparked by whatever the reading happens to be or where we are in the book. There's a circle reading; brief silence; conversing; final circle comments. You miss nothing -- each week is a distinct conversation -- stop by any week.
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TUESDAY EVENING CONVERSATION AT HERMITAGE 5:00pm-7:00ish pm
Theme - Pilot to Practice:. Beginning Tuesday 20Apr2010 Susan Smith Hudson inaugurates these short-termed pilot programs. For 6 weeks Susan will lead a Benedictine Way Group featuring study, community, meditation/prayer with a focus on gratefulness. We will be using John McQuiston's book Always We Begin Again, The Benedictine Way of Living, a contemporary interpretation of the Benedictine Rule. The flow involves: a) study (5-6pm); b) community meal (6-6:45pm, bring a sandwich or whatever, we will take turns with the drinks); c) prayer (maybe vespers, maybe music, maybe meditation).
Come join us any Tuesday. Each night is its own gathering.
WEDNESDAY EVENING CONVERSATION AT HERMITAGE 5:30pm. -6:30pm
Theme - Laura Soul-Friend Conversation. A conversation focusing on personal practice, experience, and belief. (A “Laura” is the Greek word for “trails” or “ various paths.”) Primary focus is the invitation to reflect and speak aloud where our practice is, what delights and/or difficulties we experience. Each Wednesday the circle, some person, or some aspect of practice, will begin the conversation.
THURSDAY EVENING CONVERSATION AT HERMITAGE 5:30pm-6:30pm.
Theme - Stepping into the Mirror, A Practice/Study focusing on Christianity and contemplative tradition -- whether traditional, radical, alternative, or contemporary. Brief silent sitting, followed by reading & conversation. Currently: A Course in Miracles.
FRIDAY EVENING CONVERSATION AT HERMITAGE 5:30pm-6:30pm
Theme -- Creativity & Peace: the ways of art, spirituality, consciousness, music, peace-making, poetry, and nature. Currently reading from Anam Cara by John O'Donohue. Interspersed some weeks by watching short videos about spirituality and practice.
OTHER EVENTS
SATURDAY MORNING PRACTICE 7:00am - 8:30am Involves: silent sitting; reading from different scripture or sacred text Lectio style; speaking to what is heard; collation at table.
SUNDAY EVENING PRACTICE: 6:00pm - 8:00pm Involves: silent sitting; walking meditation; chanting; table reading; mindful eating in silence soup, bread, and dessert; conversation.
WEDNESDAY MORNING OPEN HOSPITALITY: 8:00am-10:30am. Come by for breakfast.
SUNDAY AFTERNOON OPEN HOSPITALITY:12:30pm to 3:30pm. Come by for brunch or just coffee and tea. Catch up with neighbors, friends, or strangers.
FRIDAY MORNING PRISON CONVERSATIONS -- 7:15am --11:00am.
Weekly Meetingbrook Conversations held at Maine State Prison, Warren ME, groups and individual, open to all inmates and staff.
FRIDAY AFTERNOON CONVERSATIONS AT QUARRY HILL (a care facility for the elderly in Camden ME) -- "Poetry, Tea, and Thee," -- 1st & 3rd Fridays, 3:00pm-4:00pm. A gathering where poetry, one's own or others', is read in a circle setting.
RESOURCES
Along with two mountains, a lovely pond, and a dedication to engaged silence and service, there are additional places to visit and rest at meetingbrook:
WOHNKUCHE WOODSTOVE CIRCLE --
Conversations, coffee, tea, and baked goods are common fare and always welcomed in our Wohnkuche (kitchen-living space). There's been as many as 15 sitting around the old Waterford woodstove for formal and informal words. It's a nice space!
HERMITAGE CHAPEL/ZENDO MEDITATION CABIN -- Open Daily for use
The Chapel/Zendo Meditation Cabin is always open and available for silence, meditation, or prayer. Whatever your tradition, let us remember one another whenever we practice.
Thomas Merton BOOKSHED RETREAT --
A first try at naming our new addition. Bookshed is 95% complete. Some shingling and wall painting to go. Gas fire-box installed. Light and airy, books and stuff downstairs, library and guest room up. It will be open in a few weeks (mid-March) for visiting, browsing, as a showroom and hospitality resource for all to use. We're excited!
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Directions: Hermitage is 4 miles from Camden or Rockport town centers. Follow signs to Snow Bowl. We’re 3rd driveway on left past Snow Bowl. You’ll see Meetingbrook sign, barn gate (open it), oar, & “M” on post.
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Let us order your books and music! Consider us a showroom/internet resource. All purchases receive a complimentary bakery cookie Thanks!
Meetingbrook Dogen & Francis Hermitage 64 Barnestown Rd, Camden, ME
mono@meetingbrook.org or meetingbrook@gmail.com (207) 236-6808
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Meetingbrook Hermitage
& Bookshop/Bakery
64 Barnestown Rd.,
Camden, Maine USA 04843
207-236-6808
e-mail: mono@meetingbrook.org
© Meetingbrook Dogen & Francis Hermitage
