A One-Day Workshop with We’ll connect to one another through the gift of poetry, our most ancient form of prayer. You will experience poetry as a doorway in to a practice of centering and slowing down, your own story, grief and joy, and a form of honouring yourself. We’ll do some reading, listening, reflecting and writing. No previous writing experience is necessary. |
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Remember what Mary Oliver has said, “this isn’t/a contest but the doorway/into thanks, and a silence in which/another voice may speak.” A flower essence combination made for the circle will offer Nature’s support and insight. The outdoor, Chartres-style labyrinth will offer a calm and sacred body prayer. We’ll take a processional walk followed by reflections. Participants are welcome to walk the labyrinth on their own during the lunch break or following the workshop.
| Date: | Saturday, May 14, 2011 |
| Time: | 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Location: | Sylvan United Church, 985 Shawnigan Mill Bay Road, Mill Bay, B.C., Vancouver Island |
| Fee: | $90. A light lunch is included. |
| To Register: | Contact Lynda Gregg at 250-733-2226 |
At the workshop you will:
• discover many poets,
• hear the original voices of poets on CD,
• attend the “poetry bazaar” and realize poems as teachers and guides,
• learn about the benefits of poetry as a wellness practice,
• learn guidelines for creating your own “poetry as awareness” practice,
• write your own poems as inspired by the words of others,
• receive a hand-out of poetry resources.
• learn about the history and benefits of the labyrinth and
• take part in a processional walk through the labyrinth.
Mary Ann’s wisdom and gentle guiding opened the group’s creative heart. Before we knew what happened, she had us writing our own poetry. In the stillness, reading inspirational poetry, and nudging us to explore, we wrote as if ”packing for our future.” Encouraged to share our creations, powerfully insightful poems unfolded. Mary Ann Moore’s love of poetry sparked our creative spirits.
Jo Ann Mast
Master Labyrinth Teacher
Mary Ann Moore is a poet, freelance writer and teacher of life writing at Vancouver Island University. Mary Ann mentors people through a program she created called Writing Home: A Whole Life Practice. Her poetry has been produced on CD, When My Heart is Open, published in chapbooks, The Names of Things (Flying Mermaids Studio) and Those Early Days, Hopeful (Leaf Press) and has appeared in chapbooks edited by Patrick Lane as well as a variety of anthologies, periodicals and literary journals. She lives in Nanaimo. www.maryannmoore.ca
Lynda Gregg is a member of Sylvan United Church, and a labyrinth facilitator. She obtained her labyrinth facilitator training through the world-recognized Veriditas, based near San Francisco, California. She has been involved with labyrinths for over twelve years and with assistance from Sylvan volunteers helped design and build the forty-seven foot Chartres-style medieval outdoor labyrinth at Sylvan Church.