Forthcoming Retreats

Get a glimpse of the contemplative experiences we are preparing for you. These upcoming retreats are in the planning stages, designed to continue our shared exploration of the Christian Wisdom tradition. Stay connected to be the first to know when registration opens.

Looking to register for current retreats? Click here.

Save the Date

October 24th, 2026: "Formed by Silence: Seminarians Experiencing the Tradition of Contemplative Prayer", In Honour of Constance Irene Burns, with Nicholas Fournie and Therese Descamp
November 5th, 2026: "Why Ritual? The relationship of stability and openness in contemplative prayer", with Paula Pryce

Formed by Silence: Seminarians 40-and-under, Experiencing the Tradition of Contemplative Prayer

In Honour of Constance Irene Burns

An Online Retreat with Nicholas Fournie and Rev. Dr. Therese DesCamp

Saturday 24 October 2026, 9:00am - 2:00pm Pacific Time

This retreat is designed to move seminarians who are 40-and-under from intellectual study into direct spiritual experience, bridging the gap between theological education and the transformative practices of the Christian Wisdom tradition. Grounded in the 14th-century classic The Cloud of Unknowing, the program will guide participants through a theological and experiential arc: from apophatic self-emptying (Centering Prayer) to somatic integration (The Welcoming Practice).

The pedagogy follows a "practice-first" model. We begin immediately with Centering Prayer, allowing students to experience the Christian discipline of kenosis (self-emptying) before analyzing it. To ground this experience historically, we will feature a guest keynote (45 min + Q&A) from a recognized teacher (e.g., Therese Descamp) on The Cloud of Unknowing, validating the practice not as a modern invention, but as part of the Western contemplative canon.

The second half of the retreat reveals the theological fruit of this silence: Divine Therapy. We will explore how resting in God allows hidden emotional debris to surface, not to be analyzed, but to be met with Incarnational love. Facilitator Nicholas Fournie will introduce the Welcoming Practice as the somatic companion to silence, a method for physically "welcoming" these surfacing realities and integrating them through the body. This structure presents "Divine Therapy" not merely as a psychological tool, but as a bona fide Christian spiritual discipline of dying and rising with Christ in daily life.

*Please note registration for this event is intended for participants aged 40 years and under.

Nicholas Fournie

Raised with a background in Buddhism, he later explored Gaudiya Vaisnavism and Eastern Christian spirituality before finding a spiritual home in the Western Wisdom tradition. He studied Eastern Christian spirituality at Trinity College, Toronto, and now works with the Contemplative Society as our Communications Coordinator and leads centring prayer circles in Calgary.

Rev. Dr. Therese DesCamp

Therese holds a BS in psychology from Portland State University, an MDiv from Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, and a PhD in Biblical Studies with a concentration in cognitive linguistics from the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley. She has taught graduate school courses in two inter-religious seminaries in spirituality, biblical studies, feminist studies and cognitive linguistics. She was ordained in the United Church of Christ, admitted to the United Church of Canada, and has worked with groups in these churches as well as the Anglican Church, the Episcopal Church, and the Presbyterian Church.

An Online Retreat with Paula Pryce

Thursday 05 November 2026, 6:30-8:30pm Pacific Time.

Ritual is God’s gift to humanity.

Whether formal liturgy or intentional living, ritual exists in every culture as a conduit to the Divine beyond our own imagination. Ritual provides an anchor that steadies us in a the fluid, often unsettling world of moving beyond the ordinary and expected.

This online retreat will explore how people everywhere have turned to ritual as a source of renewal, but also a less benign means of social control. Our focus will turn to how contemplative practices combine attention to the body, refinement of the senses, and a willingness to enter the unknown. With Divine consent, these disciplines can become the agents of human transformation.

The retreat will include contemplative practice to facilitate exploration of the teachings.

Registration coming soon...

Dr. Paula Pryce

Dr. Paula Pryce is a cultural anthropologist whose research explores silence, ritual, and contemplative traditions across cultures. Her publications include The Monk’s Cell: Ritual and Knowledge in American Contemplative Christianity. Having been raised in an interreligious household, Paula has studied and practiced meditation and other contemplative rites since childhood. She lives in Vancouver BC, where she leads retreats, facilitates contemplative prayer groups, and writes in a variety of genres. Paula regularly contributes reflections to The Contemplative Society website.