Schedule

Here is a calendar of upcoming events featuring Carl McColman.

Ongoing: Wednesday Evenings:

• First Wednesday of the Month: the Atlanta Christian Mysticism Meetup, 7 – 8:30 PM, at the Alcove Coffee & Tea Café, 4135 Lavista Rd, Tucker, GA 30084. Each month we gather for conversation around a topic related to Christian contemplation and mysticism. If you’d like to be part of this social networking community, join the Meetup by following this link: www.meetup.com/AtlantaChristianMysticism
• All Other Wednesdays: Contemplative Practice group at First Christian Church of Atlanta, 4532 LaVista Road, Tucker, GA 30084; co-facilitated with the Rev. Phil Foster. We gather at 7:00 PM; our meeting includes time for silent contemplative prayer, along with reading a short passage from the Gospel of John as a group exercise in lectio divina. Everyone is welcome.
  

March 16, 2011; 6:30 PM – 7:15 PM — “Brendan the Navigator and the Dawn Treader: Celtic spirituality and C. S. Lewis’s Mystical Voyage” Talk at Shallowford Presbyterian Church, 2375 Shallowford Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30345. Beloved British author C. S. Lewis is perhaps best known for his charming series of children’s books, The Chronicles of Narnia. One of those books, The Voyage of the “Dawn Treader” (recently made into a major motion picture), uses the metaphor of a wondrous aquatic journey to explain the stages and dynamics of the life in Christ. In writing this story, he drew from the tradition of the immrama (mythic sea voyages) from ancient Irish Christians. In this talk, I’ll explore the spiritual symbolism of the Dawn Treader and introduce the audience to the Celtic tradition that C. S. Lewis drew on to create his story.

March 18-20, 2011 — “C. S. Lewis’ Mystical Voyage: the Spirituality of the Dawn Treader” Retreat at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit, Conyers, GA, with Father James Behrens, OCSO
The Chronicles of Narnia, by C. S. Lewis, are famous for their Christian message. These “children’s books for all ages” revisit major themes from scripture and the teachings of the saints and mystics. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, recently made into a motion picture, offers a playful yet wise look at the lifelong quest for holiness and union with God. In this retreat, we’ll explore C. S. Lewis’s own faith as well as how the lessons of the Dawn Treader can help everyone on our Christian pilgrimage.

April 2, 2011; 10 AM – 3 PM — “Contemplation and Interfaith Spirituality: What is the Sound of One Heart Beating?” at Cedar Hill Enrichment Center, Gainesville, GA. A day of respite and reflection with Carl McColman. $40 ($50 at the door). For more information or to register, contact Cedar Hill at 770-887-0051 or email Info@DiscoverCedarHill.org.

April 13 – May 4, 2011; 7-9 PM — “Introduction to World Mysticism” through Evening at Emory. Four Wednesday evenings. Continuing education credit available. To register, visit the Emory Center for Lifelong Learning Website.
Madonna is studying the Kabbalah. The Shack is a runaway bestseller. Centuries after he died, everyone’s reading Rumi. Yoga, Buddhism and other eastern practices are more popular than ever. So what gives? Central to these cultural trends is mysticism, a vague word that can be translated as “the spiritual principle at the heart of religion.” Many people believe mysticism is the golden thread that unites all the world’s religions, while others scoff at the idea. Decide for yourself in this class as we explore major themes
and writings from the world’s great mystical traditions. Using Andrew Harvey’s The Essential Mystics as our textbook, we’ll examine the world’s great wisdom traditions — Taoism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, as well as pagan and philosophical forms of mysticism — acknowledging both the common ground and the distinctive qualities of each mystical path. Class is taught from an academic/nonsectarian perspective.

April 15-16, 2011 — Christian Mysticism weekend at Oakhurst Baptist Church, Decatur, GA. Specific topics and times TBA.

May 8 and 15, 2011 — Christian Spirituality Sunday School Classes at Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church, Atlanta. Time and Location to be determined.

June 6, 2011 — “Journaling as a Healing Practice” Talk as part of the “Spiritual Healing Retreat for Veterans” at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit, Conyers, GA.

June 23-26, 2011 — The Wild Goose Festival. Location, times, topics to be announced.

July 8-10, 2011 — “Writing and Journal Keeping” Retreat at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit, Conyers, GA, with Father James Behrens, OCSO
Explore your personal connection between the inner life and the written word. This weekend includes time for silence, journaling, and reflection on the relationship between writing and the spiritual life. Suitable for professional and amateur writers at all skill levels, this weekend does not include personal criticism or feedback. Instead, it simply creates a space where you can write, pray, and perhaps even combine the two into a unified spiritual practice.

September 9-11, 2011 — “Wisdom of the Christian Mystics” Retreat at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit, Conyers, GA, with Father Tom Francis, OCSO

From the Desert Fathers to Julian of Norwich to Thomas Merton, Christian history is filled with stories of men and women who experienced a profound sense of God’s presence in their lives. Can the teachings of the mystics still speak to us today? The mystics themselves would say “yes,” and furthermore, that their message is not just for priests, monks, or nuns, but is indeed meant for the entire people of God. With this in mind, during this weekend we will look at several ways that the wisdom of the Christian mystics can provide insight and inspiration for our age, including the universal call to holiness; St. Paul’s directive to “pray without ceasing”; and the promise from the Psalms to “be still and know that I am God.”

February 16-19, 2012 — “Introduction to Christian Mysticism” Retreat at Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, GA. Details to be determined.

August 2012 — “Celtic Spirituality, Contemplation and Peacemaking” Retreat in Northern Ireland, co-facilitated with Gareth Higgins. Tentative, exact dates and location to be announced.