THE BLOG OF THE BON SECOURS RETREAT & CONFERENCE CENTER
Retreat with Us
Welcome to the Bon Secours Retreat & Conference Center’s blog! This blog will extend our retreat ministry by bringing prayers and reflections into your home ‘retreat’. Many of our presenters and staff share their homilies, favorite prayers and reflections through this medium. We encourage you to comment, pass it along to friends or simply take a moment to pray with us. We hope that this will serve as a moment during your day when you can ‘retreat with us’.
During this week's Planning Meeting with our Retreat & Conference Center staff, Doris Gallagher, our Guest Services Coordinator, opened with a revised version of the prayer below (shared from https://concordpastor.blogspot.com/2022/08/night-prayer-monday-81.html). She found that the prayer works well for this time of year, at the end of August too, so we've added her revised words in parentheses. We went around the room during our meeting and talked about things that we had originally hoped to accomplish this summer and maybe things…
Although it's summertime, often a time for retreat or carefree vacations, there is still a lot of anxiety and stress in our every day world today. We discovered this soothing 6+ minute audio meditation and hope that the words of St. Paul will set the tone to turn your anxiety and stress over to the One who can provide relief and comfort. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your…
Traditional Buddhist Prayer May all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness; May all be free from sorrow and the causes of sorrow; May all never be separated from the sacred happiness which is sorrowless; And may all live in equanimity, without too much attachment and too much aversion, And live believing in the equality of all that lives. ~Author Unknown A Prayer for Unity In this century and in any century, Our deepest hope, our most tender prayer,…
We are excited to welcome Pamela Ayo Yetunde this Friday for "The Dharma of Jesus" retreat (click here)! Ayo brings a wealth of spiritual knowledge to our audience. She will spend time with our guests, sharing the similaries between Buddhism and Christianity and how that can bring diverse faiths together through dialogue, prayer and meditation. Ayo's recent book "Casing Indra's Net" has received rave reviews and we encourage you to learn more. Spirituality and Practice recently reviewed the book and…
Revel in Summer Dear God, Let us revel in summer. Let us soak up the long days and warm sun. May our feet walk on sandy beaches and our heads rest on thick grass under blue skies. May we listen to and marvel at the singing of the birds and stop to watch blissful children at play. This summer, God, may our breathing slow and our hearts open. God help us to be present to all that is so that…
Today's blog comes from writer and retreat presenter, Mary DeTurris Poust. (Click here to read about her upcoming retreat at our Center that you won't want to miss!) She has a way with words and we always enjoy her shared posts that tie in lessons from nature. In this reflection, she opens up about something that was blocking her from a new activity and how she overcame it though. Does it resonate with you? Are you working on moving past…
On Friday, we will welcome "The Wisdom and Practice of Prayer Within the World's Spiritual Traditions" retreat, presented by the beloved Gordon Creamer. We can learn so much about our own faith by exploring the various practices of other faiths and Gordon has a gift for incorporating these insights into Christian prayer. If you'd like to learn more about the retreat, please click here. So, today, we offer a few spiritual quotes and a prayer to unite all faiths for…
Debra Pettus, Program Coordinator of Marketing & Events at the Retreat & Conference Center, shared today's reflection in a recent staff meeting and we all enjoyed going around the table to share our three gratitude highlights! Debra can often be found spreading her contagious joy around the building, so it's no surprise that gratitude is key to her positivity! Gratitude is a small thing that can benefit you and others in a big way. Expressing gratitude is associated with…
Retreat presenter, Sharon Scibek will lead today's "From Age-ing to Sage-ing" retreat. She'll share resources and techniques to help participants embrace their journey and wisdom gained. What can you do today to embrace the aging process? We leave this wise quote by Henri Nouwen to guide your own journey with hope and expectancy. Waiting patiently in expectation does not necessarily get easier as we become older. On the contrary, as we grow in age we are tempted to settle…
Our 8-day Ignatian Directed Retreat guests arrived on Saturday and they are enjoying a week of quiet and daily spiritual direction, so we're sharing a few of our favorite quotes by St. Ignatius today. Please keep these retreat guests in your prayers as they seek to hear God's voice in the stillness this week. “Try to keep your soul always in peace and quiet, always ready for whatever our Lord may wish to work in you. It is certainly a…
