This Weekend Events runs Friday,October 18th through Sunday, October 20th.
There may never have been a more challenging time in our society to maintain hope, to do soul work and to know how to pursue social justice. It seems that every week brings bad news, whether it comes in the form of climate reports, election results or news of war. Deep resilience is sorely needed just as our culture flees from the ancient wisdom traditions that fostered resilience in our forbears. We need places where we can be vulnerable and honest and can draw upon the healing powers of wisdom traditions.
You are invited to join with others to listen with care, to share your hurts and hopes, to spend time in nature and to participate in spiritual practice. We are offering a time grounded in nature, in contemplative traditions like Celtic Christianity and insight meditation and in warm community shaped by food, ritual and story. Our goal is that participants will return home with greater hope, with tools for sustaining resilience and with new allies for tackling the enormous challenges that face our society today.
Details
Enjoy home-cooked meals prepared by our resident chef
COST: $500
(tax included: cash, cheque or e-transfer)
Includes: 2 nights accommodation, Friday dinner to Sunday lunch
To participate in this amazing opportunity, contact Sumac Centre.
About Sumac Centre
Hike 16 kms of trails through 233 hectares of diverse ecosystems
Paddle or row around our private lake
Meditate beside a babbling brook or atop a bluff beside another secluded lake
WEEKEND ANIMATOR
Dr. Russ Daye, Sumac’s Associate Director for Spirituality and Action, has been a United Church minister for more than thirty years. During that time, he served congregations in Carmonville, NL, Sutton, QC, Halifax, NS and Toronto, ON. After completing a Ph.D. in comparative religion, he taught at several theological colleges and universities, including the Pacific Theological College in Fiji where he lived for several years. He has also worked on truth and reconciliation processes in Canada, South Africa, and Fiji. Russ feels called to live at the intersection of spirituality and social justice, believing that the work of healing the world and healing one’s soul are inseparable. He has learned from diverse religious traditions through study, research and time sojourning in India, Africa, the Middle East, the South Pacific and diverse communities in the Americas.
Along with Indigenous, Buddhist and African Nova Scotian leaders, Russ helped to create and lead the Transformational Leadership Initiative. This initiative draws upon the spiritual practices of traditionally marginalized communities to generate resilience and develop relationships among emerging leaders from those diverse communities. Russ also developed a spiritual practice program called Into the Geography of Spirit that combines spiritual practice and sharing circles to foster healing and ‘soul work.’ He has written two books, Political Forgiveness: Lessons from South Africa (Orbis Books) and Turning Ourselves Inside Out: Thriving Christian Communities (Fortress Press, co-authored with Robert Fennell).