Shaped by the Word Retreat

Come and spend the weekend with the Office of Spiritual Development, as we host Renovare’s Chris Webb and Mickey Cox for a retreat on the topic of the Shaped by the Word: Learning to Read and Pray the Scriptures. Cost is $20, which covers registration, meals, and a helpful resource. Space is limited, so register now.

In the pages of Scripture, a fundamental characteristic of those who call upon the name of the Lord is an undivided heart. Though this yielded life takes on many forms, a primary expression of this posture of discipleship is an ever-present attitude of prayer. Hearing and embodying the words of St. Paul the Apostle, the Church has wrestled to “pray without ceasing” in order to fulfill the will of God in Christ Jesus being transformed into His image and bearing His Kingdom to the world around them.

Certainly not an easy task, the individual is supported and instructed in this endeavor by the Holy Spirit and the wisdom of the lives of the saints who have gone before them. One means by which the historic Church has admonished disciples to be attentive to God’s movements and ways has been through the practice of studying and praying the scriptures. Rooted in the sentiment of Psalm 63, Lectio Divina is a perpetual hungering and longing for the mercy and grace of God’s redemption, healing and transformation. In a few words, Lectio Divina captures both the heart of confession and worship and attunes one’s heart and mind to the “unforced rhythms of [God’s] grace” (to borrow Eugene Peterson’s phrase).