Restival: an Invitation into Sacred Pause

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Restival is a day long immersion in nature, a space to simply be and to return to the Source of our Being

Wednesday, May 14 · 10:30am – 3:30pm – Lynn Farm, Lynn N91KX5H

Book by clicking HERE

In a world where rest is considered idleness, a luxury we can’t afford, or a segment of the wellness industry that sometimes feels like another cog in the machine, what does it mean to take a sacred pause, and bring compassionate presence to all that is here?

Join us for a day spent in nature, returning to a sense of ourselves and a sense of God’s presence with us, in us and manifest in the wonder of nature all around us.

“Return to your rest, O my soul.” Psalm 116:7a

Once you have booked, you will receive an eircode, info about where to park, what to bring, who the facilitators are and more about their sessions, etc.

Here is an itinerary of the day, where everything is invitational and a gateway into sacred rest.

Arrival, welcome, hot & cold drinks, settling in 10.30am

Opening circle & Mindful walk around the grounds 11am – 12pm

1st offering: 12 – 1

  • Clay with Penny
  • Resting in the Breath of God with Mieke
  • Journaling with Lydia

Lunch (bring a packed lunch and cook some 1pm – 2pm extras together over the fire.)

2nd offering: 2pm-3pm

  • Breathwork/centering prayer with Anne
  • Scripture Circle with Julie

Closing Circle 3pm – 3.30pm

All sessions are optional, but we encourage everyone to engage in the opening circle and mindful wander so they get their bearings.

Other options are to enjoy nature, wander, wonder, notice, rest and pray.

Non-facilitated spaces include: access to tea and coffee making facilities, hammocks, art supplies & the expanse of nature all around us.

THIS IS A DONATION BASED EVENT. We recommended donations on a sliding scale depending on your means: €10 – €40.

You can donate on Eventbrite or you can email us and donate via cash on the day.

Join us for Wellspring, May 17th

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Come to the well. The well is deep.

Wellspring: a Quiet Day of contemplation, a scripture circle and an invitation to respond to whatever is arising through art

Saturday, May 17 · 10:30am – 3:30pm, Egan House, on the grounds of St Michan’s Church of Ireland, Church Street D07 F3P6 Dublin 7

Book by clicking HERE

Join Lydia, Julie and Nathalie for a gently led Quiet Day, ‘Wellspring’.

The day will run from 10.30 – 3.30.

Sample itinerary:

  • Welcome, contemplative prayer and guided meditation.
  • Scripture circle – a time of learning and wondering together through ancient texts that hold wisdom for our lives today.
  • An art session to respond to what arises. This could be with drift wood and sea glass, or with paint or clay or weaving or printing.
  • Closing session of contemplation, gratitude and takeaways.

The day is an invitation to return to the source of your life, your Wellspring, the water that Jesus’ spoke about that quenches a deep thirst within us, as we return to our sense of belonging in Him.

Throughout the day we’ll be exploring the idea of a sacred pause, which emerges through scripture as guarding sacred time, and flows out into ancient and contemporary Christian monastic practices known as statio, which simply means, “the holy pause”, also translated as, “I stand” or “I remain.”

What does it mean for you in your life to return to what gives you life, to pause as a means to remain (maybe remain in an awareness of the presence of God and of your identity as a child of God?) before continuing in the structures and rhythms of daily life?

Facilitators:

Lydia is the ministry leader for the Church’s Ministry of Healing: Ireland and she runs contemplative sessions, Quiet days and retreats.

Julie is the development officer of the National Bible Society of Ireland and supports people to look at familiar texts with new eyes, creating a space for discussion and wondering together.

Nathalie is an artist and teacher, who facilitates sessions where people can let go of ‘I can’t’, and begin to create, play and explore where faith and art intersect.

 

 

Poems for Hope and Healing, online reading group in May

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Book via Eventbrite by clicking HERE

 

Each session will be an invitation to pause, reflect, and pray. We’ll discover how reading poetry together can be a spiritual practice that helps us listen to our emotions, see the world in surprising ways, and open the doors of our own creativity. Poetry has a special power to speak straight to our hearts and to jolt us with its insights.

This is a slow and mindful reading group, to which everyone is warmly welcome. You will receive the poems & a worksheet in advance. Each session will feature: thoughtful conversation about the poems; time for journaling and creative reflection with prompts to inspire you; gentle questions that invite spiritual exploration. Our chosen poems, by Emily Dickinson, Wendell Berry, Denise Levertov, and many more, explore our relationship with the divine, the healing power of nature, and the emotions that shape our bonds with both God and one another.

Jessica Brown is a Church of Ireland ordinand, poet (with 2 published collections), novelist (2 published novels), singer-songwriter, teacher, & mentor with experience leading workshops in schools, prisons, festivals, & community events. Catherine Smith is the Operations Executive of CMHI. Her doctoral research was on Irish literature, and she’s a passionate reader of poetry. This series is made possible through donations. If that isn’t possible for you at the moment, just email CMHI & we’ll book you in.

Image of ladder by Armand Khoury on Unsplash

Image of eggs by Rachael Gorjestani on Unsplash

Exploring Psalm 23 – online with NBSI and CMHI

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Join CMH:I and NBSI as we reflect together on the well known Psalm, drawing upon its rich meaning for then and now – online, Tuesday 1st April, 7-8.30pm. 

Psalm 23 has wisdom and meaning for every season of our lives.

Led by NBSI facilitor and Biblical scholar Dr Julie McKinley, we will be invited to look at the Psalm with fresh eyes.

Julie will explore the Psalm in its context in the Judean wildnerness and with a knowledge of the Biblical Hebrew, which can help us reflect on what the scripture might have meant for the Psalmist and what it might mean for us today.

Remember, scripture is a living word, and as we open our minds and hearts and experience to it, it becomes nourishment to us.’

For example, when the Psalmist declares, ‘The Lord is my Shepherd’, we might pause to ask ourselves “What shepherds me? What or who do I turn towards for guidance, protection and nourishment? How or where in my life can I turn more towards being shepherded by God?”

Book via Eventbrite by clicking HERE. When you donate to join a session you are supporting a ministry, rather than paying to attend a session. So if you can’t donate, simply email us, and we will gladly book you in. You can support the ministry through attending, praying for us or telling someone else about a session they might enjoy. Lydia from CMH:I is your point of contact for any queries before, during or after and she’s always happy to hear from people: lydia.cmhi@gmail.com

Photo by Ante Gudelj on Unsplash

The Church of Ireland and healing

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If you are interested and curious about what CMHI is, and what it means for us to be a Church of Ireland organisation, then this leaflet, part of a series about Church of Ireland views and beliefs, is a good starting point. It explores the ministry of healing, healing and faith, healing and death, and offers some resources on the topic. Click here to download it to your computer or phone, or click here to view it and the others in the series on the Church of Ireland website. If you have questions, or would like to know more about our healing ministry, then we’d love to hear from you – send us an email by clicking here for our contact details.

Photo by Ante Gudelj on Unsplash

He Restores My Soul: A Quiet Day Reflecting on Psalm 23

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The Church’s Ministry of Healing Dublin and Glendalough Annual Quiet Day 2025 will take place on Saturday 22nd March, in Newcastle Parish Centre (Church Lane, Newcastle, Greystones, Co Wicklow A63 X782). Join us for a day of resting in God’s unfailing love and turning towards ourselves with compassion. The CMH Quiet Day was extremely popular last year, and attendees experienced it as a source of encouragement, creativity and peace, as we gathered in the presence of the Lord, our Healer. If you would like to join us for this special day, please email Jeanne at healing.dgdc@gmail.com

Our facilitator is Lydia Monds, Ministry Leader with the Church’s Ministry of Healing: Ireland. It promises to be a time of renewed connection with God, leaning upon His strength, provision, and promises, as we navigate the hills and valleys of life. Sessions will include contemplative story-telling, where the Psalm will be shared on sand, and a deeper look at different phrases in the Psalm that might prompt us to view it with fresh eyes. There will also be times of facilitated meditative prayer, as well as time and space to respond to what you have heart through personal prayer or art spaces. We will be leaning into the gift of silence, and allowing Love to speak, as we are supported to be still before God.

 

God With Us: in-person Lenten lunchtime series

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In addition to our online Lenten series, “Invitations into Wholeness” (https://ministryofhealing.ie/invitations-into-wholeness-our-new-online-lenten-series/), we have an in-person Lent course in the cosy living room of Egan House, our offices, which are on the grounds of St Michan’s Church in Dublin 7 (D07 X865). Focusing on the theme ‘God with us’, Lydia and Susan Dawson, a chaplain and member of CMHI, will facilitate people to rest in this truth through meditating on scripture and reflecting on what it means in the context in which it was written, for our lives now and for the world.

Sessions are from 1-2pm on Tuesdays, 11th March-1st April. A simple, nourishing, lunch will be available from 12.3-1pm and 2-2.30pm.

Because of space, we need to limit numbers for this series, so please get in touch with me soon if you are planning to come along: lydia.cmhi@gmail.com

 

“Invitations into Wholeness”: our new online Lenten series

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You are warmly invited to join CMHI’s new online Lenten Series, Invitation into Wholeness, over four Wednesdays in March and April. It takes place at 7.30pm on the following dates:

  • March 19th
  • March 26th
  • April 2nd
  • April 9th

These will be gentle, reflective and nourishing sessions exploring the concept of wholeness in new ways. The sessions are intentionally short but brimming with visual beauty and gentle challenges to our perceptions of wholeness. There is time every week to settle, to rest and to pray, there is time for learning and wondering, and time for journaling or doodling. The course is specifically welcoming of people living with illness and open to all.

Sign up via Eventbrite.

Sample Itinerary

  • Welcome & Settling in Practise
  • Introduction of theme
  • Opening prayer
  • Meditative Presentation – slides with artwork, reflection & wondering questions
  • Time to sit with questions, pray, journal, doodle
  • Time to share
  • Pray together prayer on screen to close

Week 1: Brokenness and Newness

Week 2: Trees, Stone, Seas (notions of wholeness in nature)

Week 3: Sounding out the Heart and Trusting our Voice

Week 4: Joy & Sorrow on the Same Page

Main Facilitator:

Having studied literature and spiritual formation, Dr. Jessica Brown is a second-year ordinand in the Church of Ireland.

She also works in the creative writing field as a poet, novelist, singer-songwriter, teacher, mentor, and narrative practitioner.

She has led writing workshops at schools, prisons, festivals, and community events. Beyond academic publications and shorter works, Jessica has published two collections of poetry and two novels for children.

“Jessica was a guest contributor on our Advent Series. She showed photographs of ordinary spaces in an ordinary house and talked about grace to receive the given moment and the given day exactly as it is. When we did, we could see there was beauty in the ordinary and in the things undone and half done. Her reflection has stayed with me, and continued to teach me when I’m resisting how I am in the moment and how I think I should be. The fact that God’s grace is sufficient to meet me where I am and as I am has allowed me (when I remember!) to let go of the striving and grasping and unhelpful beliefs. I am learning to receive the gift of right now and the gift of God’s grace for me in the here and now.”

(reflection on Jessica’s facilitation by Lydia, CMH:I)

 

2024 in Review

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Today, we’re sharing the report that our Chair, Rev Canon Lesley Robinson, presented at the CMHI AGM in December, so that you can catch up on our summary of all the events and activities of 2024, and look ahead to some plans in 2025! Read the report by clicking here: 2024 Report

Photo by Estée Janssens on Unsplash

Cork, Cloyne and Ross Vocations Event

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We are delighted to have been invited to facilitate a Vocations Event in Cork, Cloyne and Ross on Saturday 25th Jan in Carraigrohane parish hall, from 10am-1pm. This is a gentle, sensitive, morning session for anyone who is exploring a potential call to ministry in the Church of Ireland, whether that’s lay, ordained, or perhaps you’re not quite sure! If, like Samuel, you hear a voice calling you, but are not sure where that call might lead you, then this session may be for you, as Lydia, CMHI Ministry Leader, will suggest ways to still the turmoil of our minds and let God’s voice be truly heard. And as Eli told Samuel, “If He calls you, then you must say, “Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears”.

Email abbeystrewryunion@gmail.com to ask about booking a place!