ST BEDE’S PASTORAL CENTRE

St Bede’s Pastoral Centre, 21 Blossom Street, York YO24 1AQ.

Tel: 01904 464900, Email: admin@stbedes.org.uk

December 09

Dear Friends ,

Thank you for all you have done to make this term another good one. It

has been lovely for those of us who live and work here to see so many

of you again this term and to see so many new faces too!

As you will have seen from our recent brochures, we have had both new

speakers and some who have become firm favourites and are kind enough to

return again and again. Your recommendations are really valued in ensuring that we

continue to get a good variety of speakers and from all areas of interest, so do keep the

suggestions flowing in.

As many of you may know, since January 2009 we have been celebrating the 400th

centenary of the founding vision of Mary Ward’s Institute .

As she and her companions took two years to define exactly what form this new

apostolic religious order should take, our

celebrations are extending too!.

On May 22nd

2010 there will

be a pilgrimage

to Mount Grace

Priory [ up the

hill from the

Carthusian

Monastery of

Mount Grace]. Exactly how it will be organised is still to be

decided, but all are welcome and it would be lovely to see

as many of you as feel able—hence the advance warning.

We will give more details in the next brochure.

Finally, all of us here at St Bede’s wish you a very happy and peaceful Christmas and

New Year, and look forward to seeing you again in 2010.

Cecilia CJ

ST BEDE’S AT A GLANCE IN SPRING 2010

Event and Speaker Date Time Suggested

Donat ion

For such a time as this... 2010

Joan Sargent and Sr Pauline

Wheeler

19 January 10.30-3.30 £12

Journalling - John Knowles 28 January, 4 ,11 & 25 Feb 4 & 11 March

1.45-4.15 £6/£32

Mary Ward and the Osbaldwick Connection - Andrew Clements

28 January 2-4 £5

Afternoon for Candlemas -

Jenny Mitchell 2 February 2-4 £5

Enneagram Part 2 - Karen

Webb 6 & 7 February 9.30-5 £40

Finding God in times of

Change and Transition -24 February 10.00-4.00 £12

The God who brings Freedom - 2 March 10.30-4.00 £12

The Girl and the City -

Brian Horne 3 March 10.30-3.30 £12

Who is this … - Coral Spencer 12 March 10.00-3.30 £12

Finding our Homeland -

Michael Mitton 20 March 10.00-3.30 £12

A Thousand Crucifixions -

Sally Nelson 24 March 2-4 £6

Gethsemane Afternoon - 19 March 2-4 £5

All sessions start at the time stated but you are welcome to come earlier for coffee. Refreshments are included in the price. Lunch

can be bought in the Bar Convent cafe; alternatively, bring your own to eat at St Bede’s. Length of lunchtimes varies. No

one should feel excluded for financial reasons please contact the office for further details.

REGULAR GROUPS AND PRAYER

MEETINGS TO FIND GOD IN ALL THINGS: discovering the Ignatian way of praying

the scriptures, with Sr Louise CJ.

£1 per meeting.

Tuesdays 7.30-8.45pm: 12 & 26 Jan, 9 & 23 Feb, 9 & 23 March

JULIAN MEETINGS: All are welcome to join Sr Thomas CJ and the small group that meets

for a quiet time of prayer and reflection.

Sr Thomas CJ. £2 per meeting.

Wednesdays 2.30-3.30pm: 13 & 27 Jan, 10 & 24 Feb, 10 & 24 March

YORK JUSTICE AND PEACE GROUP: a group interested in a wide variety of justice issues.

Usually 7.30pm on the second Monday each month.

Contact Nan Saeki 01904 783621

CHRISTIAN MEDITATION: an ancient form of contemplative prayer, seeking

God in stillness and silence.

13 & 27 Jan, 10 & 24 Feb, 10 & 24 March

Contact St Bede’s for more details.

CITY PRAYER: a group of enthusiastic people who meet to pray and sing together. Mondays,

7.30pm

Contact David Copeland 01904 330 608

ONGOING SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT SPIRITUAL ACCOMPANIMENT SUPPORT (SAS). A

group for people who work in spiritual accompaniment, for on-going training and support.

Please contact Cecilia Goodman CJ (Cecilia.goodman@virgin.net or phone 01904 464900)

A CUPPA AND SOME PEACE

Is life asking a lot of you at the moment? Caring for someone a lot of the time? Just surviving at work? Feeling low? Join us for some rest & creativity, or just a chat!

Come along any time between 12 midday and 3pm on Fridays in our term time -

bring your sandwiches if it’s your lunchtime. Drinks are provided and the cost is by

donation.

MASS IS SAID AT NOON IN OUR CHAPEL ON MOST MONDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS IN

TERM TIME AND AT NOON IN THE BAR CONVENT ON FRIDAYS.

Journalling Course with John Knowles

28 January—11 March (continuing from last term) Journalling is a creative way of using words (written for our eyes only) to explore

the many aspects and layers of our life and to illuminate their meaning for us.

This workshop, spread over three terms, provides an oasis to contemplate and

integrate the personal and spiritual dimensions of our life for future use. Based

on the work of Progoff, each session (6 per term) will consist of input, time for

writing and personal reflection. Please bring a hardback, loose-leaf file and paper

and a pen with you to each session.

INDIVIDUAL EVENTS WITH THE CJ SISTERS

THE GOD WHO BRINGS FREEDOM

Tuesday 2 March 10.30-4pm What have we to learn from the characters in the Prodigal Son, and

how do the differing approaches of the older and younger son play out

in our own lives? How does the woman with the issue of blood affect us

today, and what can we make of Peter’s attack on the servant of the

high priest in Gethsemane?

For all of us, Jesus’ freeing touch is needed and some of these familiar

stories can bring unexpected shifts and insights in our lives. The day

will be one with some input, guided meditations and time for personal

prayer. With Sr Cecilia CJ

GETHSEMANE AFTERNOON

Friday 19 March 2-4pm

They went to a place called Gethsemane Mark 14:32

Spend time in the garden with Jesus as He begins His Passion.

With Sr Ann CJ

INDIVIDUAL EVENTS

For such a time as this….2010

with Joan Sargent & Sr Pauline Wheeler SJW

Tuesday 19 January

Looking at the life of Esther and asking what God has for us in this new year.

Sister Pauline Wheeler SJW works as the Prayer Co-ordinator of the

Spurriergate Centre. She has worked for many years in the churches homes

of healing. She is a qualified Spiritual Director, a Methodist local preacher and is involved in lead-

ing days apart and retreats focussing on prayer and encouraging people to enter into sacred

space.

Joan Sargent MA works as Pastoral Co-ordinator of the Spurriergate Centre. She has recently

completed an M.A. in evangelism and is qualified as a Counsellor and Spiritual Director. She

speaks fluent Lancashire and spent 5 years in Afghanistan.

Mary Ward and the Osbaldwick Connection

with Andrew Clements

Thursday 28 January

An Anglican vicar’s reflections on Mary Ward 1585-1645

Mary Ward had a vision that ‘in time to come women would do much’

and her tombstone in the Anglican church in Osbaldwick bears a

coded reference to her determination that women might also take

inspiration from St. Ignatius: ‘To love the poore, persever in the same,

live, dy and rise with them was all the ayme of Mary Ward’.

Over the 12 years at Osbaldwick, Andrew has welcomed lots of visi-

tors to her tombstone in the parish church. He has also written an MA

thesis on Mary Ward.

A Quiet Afternoon for Candlemas

with Jenny Mitchell

Tuesday 2 February

Come and enjoy a time of prayer and reflection with scripture, art, words and music.

Jenny is a member of

the Sign Group.

Finding God in times of Change and Transition

with Margaret Silf

Wednesday 24 February

We are living in times of major dislocation where so many of our past

assumptions and ‘certainties’ appear to be breaking down. Is this

always bad news, or could it be the gateway through breakdown to

breakthrough? During the day we will explore a spirituality of transition,

reflecting on our own experience of change and breakdown, both

personal and global, and drawing wisdom from this experience. We

will also reflect on this experience alongside the narrative of transition

that we find in the ancient story of Passover and discovering the many

ways in which this helps to shed light on where we are today in the 21st

century.

Margaret is an ecumenical lay Christian committed to working across

and beyond the denominational divides. She spent most of her work-

ing life in the computer industry, and left in 2000 to devote herself to

writing and to accompanying others on their spiritual journey through

retreats, workshops and seminars. She is the author of a number of

books on the spiritual journey for 21st century pilgrims, a regular

columnist for 'America' magazine and a regular contributor to the

Bible Reading Fellowship 'New Daylight' series. Margaret has one

grown daughter and a baby granddaughter, and lives in Cheshire.

The Girl and the City

with Brian Horne

Wednesday 3 March The greatest poetry of medieval Europe, that

of the Divine Comedy, arises out of the

encounter of the poet, Dante, with two,

apparently unrelated, experiences: the world

of love and the world of politics. The girl,

Beatrice, and the city, Florence, defined the

contours of Dante’s vision of reality and his

journey to God. This day will explore the

relevance of that twin experience to our own

understanding of the spiritual journey.

The morning’s session will focus on the encounter with Beatrice. The afternoon’s session

will examine the meaning of the image of the City.

Brian Horne is a retired lecturer in Systematic Theology at King’s College, University of

London. Educated in South Africa, England and the United States of America, he was an

English Literature scholar before becoming a theologian. His principal interests are the

work of Dante Alighieri, Charles Williams and the relation between the arts and religion.

His publications include the books - A World to Gain, Imagining Evil and his edited volume

of essays on Charles Williams.

Who is This that Passes by

with Coral Spencer

Friday 12 March

A Quiet Day on the Via Dolorosa through the eyes of those Jesus encountered during His

ministry. This is an alternative view of the Stations of the Cross using art, music and

poetry as well as Scripture and personal reflection.

Coral lives in York and is a mother to three and grandmother to four.

She is an ecumenical Christian and has been involved in Ignatian

Spirituality for over 25 years. Coral is engaged in the ministry of

spiritual direction and retreats.

Finding our Homeland

with Michael Mitton

Saturday 20 March

Michael will explore the theme of homeland:

How do we find that place where we feel truly

at home in our lives? How can our church be

the kind of home where people feel the

safety of home, but also the freedom to

adventure? There are parallels today between

the people of God in exile in the 6th century BC, and the people

of God today living in a post-Christendom world – using the ancient stories for

inspiration, how does a vision of home encourage us? Michael will lead the day

using stories, poetry, music and silence.

Michael Mitton is a free-lance writer, trainer, consultant and spiritual director. He is

also the Fresh Expressions Adviser for the Derby Diocese and the non-stipendiary Priest

in Charge of St. Paul’s Church, Derby. He has written a number of books including The Sounds of God (Eagle 1993), Restoring the Woven Cord on Celtic Christianity (DLT 1995),

and Wild Beasts and Angels on the healing ministry (DLT 2000) A Heart to Listen (BRF

2004). His Restoring the Woven Cord and A Heart to Listen are both being revised and republished in 2010. He is also writing a book on the subject of Homecoming.

A Thousand Crucifixions

with Sally Nelson

Wednesday 24 March

What can the church say to twenty-first century society about suffering and pain? In this after-

noon session we will use a mixture of music, poetry and theology to reflect on the Lenten

theme of taking up the cross and following Christ. In particular we will explore the use of lament

and there will be chance to write your own.

I am a Baptist minister and worked for some years as a hospice

chaplain before pursuing research in theology. I have a special

interest in the theology of disability.