October 28-November 2, 2018 (Sunday-Friday) at St. Andrew's Retreat House in Union, WA on the Hood Canal
with Kayce Stevens Hughlett, MA, LMHC and Betsey Beckman, MM
This program is limited to 10 participants | FULL
Description
Our encounters with the holy are rooted in symbol and image and speak the language of dreams. Spiritual direction tends to these encounters and can be deeply enhanced by tools that invite listening to and engaging the inner symbolic life. The focus of this program is on developing the skills of working with the arts and imagination to deepen the work of spiritual direction.
Together we will explore how the healing power of such tools as guided imagery, body awareness, dream work, ritual, poetry, journal writing, visual art, movement, song, and storytelling enrich our own spiritual lives and our work in spiritual direction by giving us access to another language with which to encounter the divine presence within. Participants will develop comfort and skills in using these tools. The program consists of didactic input and time for discussion and reflection on how we see using the arts concretely in our work as spiritual directors.
Anyone working in the field of soul care (spiritual direction, chaplaincy, pastor, educator, counseling, etc.) may register. If you are not working in any of these areas, either paid or as a volunteer, please contact us to discuss whether this might be the right program for you. We do sometimes accept folks who are discerning a call to these ministries.
Program fee covers all instruction, art supplies, room, and meals. You are responsible for travel to the retreat center.
Absolutely no previous art experience necessary — only a willingness to awaken the creative spirit within!
*This educational event provides 33 hours of continuing education that can be applied to the educational hours required by the Board of Chaplaincy Certification Inc. We can provide you with a letter stating the number of hours successfully completed which you can then submit to your governing body for CEU credit.
Scroll down to see our video giving you some insight into our process and program!
Learning Objectives
During this workshop you will:
- participate in several different experiential expressive arts experiences including poetry, visual art, movement, storytelling, music, and song
- develop comfort with engagement of the arts and identify your growing edges
- reflect on these experiences in the context of your work in spiritual direction, retreats, and other soul care contexts
- identify a variety of applications for the arts to spiritual direction and other formation settings and develop tools and practical skills in engaging the expressive arts as forms of prayer and contexts for sacred encounters
- tend to the creative process itself unfolding within you and reflect on what it has to reveal about the spiritual journey
- deepen your experience of the arts and spirituality and be able to articulate some of these connections between creativity and formation work, both for yourself and for the persons with whom you work
- develop foundations and language for bridging the expressive arts and spirituality
Session Overview
We begin our intensive by creating a safe and sacred space for our learning community to dive deep into the material on both a personal level, as well as to reflect on how the arts might be in service to those with whom we work.
Each day we will explore a particular expressive arts modality in greater depth, providing foundations for the work, expressive arts theories, practical applications, and extensive experiential exercises. We will move from the focus modality of the day into other art-forms as a way of exploring the expressive arts connection — as we move from one art form to another, our insights about ourselves and the sacred deepen. We also move from more structured experiences to experiences with more freedom to cultivate comfort with each art-form and growth in our capacity for creative expression.
Each day will also include ritual, prayer, sharing with partners, and large group discussions to help process the experience and learn from each other as well as gain input from facilitators. During this five-day intensive, there will be a minimum of 30 hours of instruction and hands-on exercises. Participants will come away with significant experience in the arts and with many tools for immediate application in their own ministry contexts.
A Video Meditation of Our Program
Program Fee
$1775
Please be sure to read this entire page first. Payment by credit card is processed through Paypal, you do not need a Paypal account. If you prefer to pay by check, please let us know and we will send you our U.S. mailing address.
Total program fee: $1775
NONREFUNDABLE & NONTRANSFERABLE deposit: $375 (reserves your space) -
Balance Due July 30, 2018: $1400
Your program fee includes 5 nights lodging in a single with shared bathrooms, meals, all art materials, and instruction.
Please consider purchasing travel insurance to protect yourself in the event of illness or other cancellation. We cannot offer any refunds of the deposit once your space is reserved or the final balance after it is due. The deposit or payment can also not be transferred to any other program.
Policies and FAQs
Where is the B&B located?
You will be staying 3 blocks away from Galway City center, close to the famous Spanish Arch, the Long Walk, shops, and pubs, as well as from the beautiful Promenade along Galway Bay. It is about a 10-15 minute walk to Eyre Square and the bus station.
What is the weather like?
Bring layers to wear. Ireland is often rainy and cool, even in the summer, but we can also have sunny and warm days. Umbrellas are often useless in the wind, so best to have a good rain jacket, rain trousers, and waterproof boots (we highly recommend all three). It is a temperate climate and rarely gets very hot or very cold (although the damp and wind can make it feel colder).
What is included with the meals?
Meals will all be at different restaurants that we love, so there will be options. Your meal includes a main course/entree. Servings in Ireland are generally pretty hearty. Beverages, appetizers, and desserts are an additional cost. Pitchers of water will be provided to the table.
What payment forms do you accept?
You can pay by credit card, cheque, or bank transfer (we will send details upon request). If you would prefer to pay the amount in USD$, please let us know and we will send you the exchange amount and instructions.
What happens if I have to cancel my participation?
The €500 deposit is an administrative fee that secures your space in this small pilgrimage and is nonrefundable. There are no exceptions to the refund policy. The balance of the program fee is due by the dates mentioned above and is nonrefundable after that time. We require that you obtain travel insurance to cover financial losses from any personal emergencies or other events which require your cancellation. Please consider purchasing "cancel for any reason" coverage.
What happens if the organizers have to cancel the pilgrimage?
In the unlikely event that we either do not have enough participants registered five months prior (by the final payment due date) or if there is an emergency which prevents Christine and/or John from leading the experience, all of your pilgrimage fees paid will be refunded or we will offer you a space on a future pilgrimage (your choice). However, we are not responsible for any other losses, including your travel expenses which you may incur due to this cancellation. We require that you obtain travel insurance at the time of your booking confirmation to cover this possibility.
What is the schedule of the day like?
Our days will be full, but we hope to provide a sense of spaciousness within the rhythm of our time. Breakfast is served at the B&B between 8 and 9. We will leave the B&B each day at 9:00, boarding our private van, and head out to our morning site. Almost all the sites (except for Inis Mor which requires a ferry) are within an hour’s drive. In each place we plan to spend a couple of hours (depending on our time and schedule) to really sink into the gifts it offers to us. Lunch will be provided at local restaurants on all of the outing days or we will bring a picnic with us if there aren't any nearby options available. In the afternoons, we will sometimes visit a second site, depending on time available (see itinerary above). We plan to be back to Galway city each day by 4:00 (the only exception to this is our day out to Inis Mor, when we will return around 7:00). There will be time for an afternoon nap or walk break until 5:30 when we gather to share about what we are discovering, before heading to dinner at one of Galway’s many fabulous restaurants.
Keep in mind as well that because we are heading out into wild places, there isn't always a bathroom readily available, especially on our hikes. So keep this in mind, going in nature is always an option, and we do our best to offer restroom breaks as often as possible.
Will you match me with a roommate?
Everyone who participates will have a single room with their own bathroom, unless you are traveling with a friend or partner, in which case you can share a double room for a reduced program fee.
How much walking is there?
Our day visiting Cong Abbey offers the option of hiking in the woods on level ground. To get to the sacred wells in the Burren (Temple Cronan and St. Colman) require a one-mile walk each way over very uneven and muddy ground. When we are on Inis Mor, we will hike up a steep hill to see St. Enda’s hermitage.
How do I best prepare for this time?
Once you say yes, the pilgrimage has already begun! Pay attention to the dreams of your waking and sleeping life in the coming months to see what is being stirred. Christine and John will be sending some suggested reading and reflection.
Can you suggest some additional places to visit in Ireland?
Absolutely, we are happy to recommend several other key monastic sites for you to visit before and/or after your pilgrimage. This will be sent with your orientation materials and we are happy to answer questions for our pilgrims.
What is the best way to get to Galway?
You can arrive either to Shannon airport to the south (bus runs every hour and takes 1 hour and 45 minutes to reach Galway) or Dublin airport to the east (at peak hours buses run every half hour and take 3 hours to reach Galway). The buses from both locations are direct to the city center. Galway is served by several bus and train lines. The coach and train station is about a 15-minute walk or short taxi ride away from your lodging. More specific travel directions will be sent after registration. Please allow an additional 2-3 hours travel time to get from the airports to Galway city.
Travel to Galway is not included in your pilgrimage fee.
Your Guides for the Journey
Betsey Beckman, MM, is nationally acclaimed as a spirited dancer, storyteller, teacher of SpiritPlay and dancing Spiritual Director. With her extensive repertory of sacred storydances, she is regularly featured as artist/presenter at national conventions as well as local churches. She earned her Masters in Ministry degree from Seattle University, her certificate in Movement Therapy from the Institute for Transformational Movement, and is a certified InterPlay leader. As dancer, choreographer, author, mother, wife, teacher and spiritual director, she is passionate about living life fully and fostering creativity in all those with whom she shares life and ministry. Betsey’s publications include books, recordings, and The Dancing Word series of DVDs on embodied prayer. She offers the gift of playful improvisation whenever possible! Find out more about her work at her website: The Dancing Word.
Kayce Stevens Hughlett, MA LMHC is a soulful and spirited woman. In her roles as ponderer extraordinaire, spiritual director, life muse, author, creative coach, and speaker, she invites us to playfully and fearlessly cross the thresholds toward authentic living. A strong proponent of compassionate care in the world, Kayce's live and online work focuses on the principle that we must live it to give it.
Her early career began with a multi-national accounting firm to be later refined as the path of an artist. She delights in walking alongside others as they explore and unearth their own pathways toward passionate living.
Kayce holds a Masters in Counseling Psychology with additional emphasis in spiritual direction and experiential learning practices and is a Certified Martha Beck Life Coach. She is the author of As I Lay Pondering: Daily Invitations to Live a Transformed Life and the co-author of “Arts Centered Supervision” published in Awakening the Creative Spirit: Bringing the Expressive Arts to Spiritual Direction. Kayce is a trained SoulCollage® facilitator, a founding member of the Soul Care Institute, and has worked with groups and individuals for more than 30 years in a variety of settings.
