If the event is listed as sold out please call us at 661-944-2178 for real time availability and waiting list. Office hours are from 8:30am- 5:00pm (closed for mass & lunch *11:45a.m- 1:30pm) Check in time starts at 3:00pm. Check out time is at 10:00am (exceptions may apply).
Still Full of Sap, Still Green: A Spirituality of Aging
Monday, July 30 - Friday, August 3, 2018
Retreat Description: This retreat will be inspired by many writers' reflections on a spirituality for the second half of life. Creative living within the season of wisdom, greater and ongoing maturation, and positive transformation of the inner life will be some of the meditations for a full life in the Spirit. Experiencing limitations during one's aging process will be explored as opportunities for transcendence and spiritual fecundity that could not be profoundly realized in earlier seasons of growth.
Presenter: Father Francis Benedict has been a monk of Valyermo since 1967. He earned an MA in Philosophy from Loyola-Marymount University and an MS in Theology from Mt. Angel in Oregon. He was ordained a priest in 1976. He served as the Abbey's abbot for 16 years. His special areas of ministry include spiritual director, preaching retreats, and working with 12-step recovery groups. In addition to many responsibilities at the Abbey, he now serves as the Director of Oblates.
Audrey Spindler is an oblate of Valyermo and a presenter and facilitator of Centering Prayer under Contemplative Outreach. Having earned her Ph.D and RD, she is a former professor of Foods and Nutrition and Director of the Didactic Program of Dietetics in the School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences at State University. She received over 10 teaching awards and published more than 40 refereed papers.
Diane Bunker is a retired psychologist who worked with older people receiving care in Rehabilitation Medicine and Hospice. She obtained her M.Div. and Ph.D from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena. She comes with a wealth of personal, professional, and pastoral experience.
