Sat 22 Nov 2025, 10am-4pm, The Dominican Retreat Centre, Tallaght
You are warmly invited to join us for this gentle. creative, quiet day, as we pause, rest, and replenish ourselves in God’s love. The day offers: silence; scripture prompts; centring prayer; story-telling; poetry and reflections; creative practices; and woodland wanders.Book your place by clicking HERE
A session in nature, slowing down, noticing what’s here and turning towards the wisdom held in scripture together
Join Lydia from the Church’s Ministry of Healing: Ireland and Julie from the Bible Society Ireland as we take a pause in nature.
We invite you to come as you and spend time slowing down and resting in a beautiful space in Rathmines.
This 90 minute session contains settling in practices and nature connection prompts to support us to notice what’s here, internally and all around us.
After this we will spend time in a Scripture Circle – nourishing mind, body and spirit. This is facilitated to support wondering, listening and curiosity.
As it’s Autumn and the evenings are getting darker, we may move from our usual spot to a residents garden on the same grounds, and if weather is very prohibitive, we may move indoors for the Scripture Circle. But we will email all of that information, as well as what to bring and where to park, closer to the time.
30 minutes.
Silence.
Scripture.
Contemplative Prayer.
Quiet Companionship – with God, with self, with others, with the here and now.
Turning our attention simultaneously to less and to More.
You can join from your bed, from your desk, as you walk the dogs, wherever you are at, let’s acknowledge together the Presence of God in that moment, in that place.
Cameras on, cameras off – your choice. We will be blessing and praying for each other quietly as part of our practice so it can be helpful to have your name on the screen, even if it’s blank. I can help you with that if you like, and will be there 10 minutes before the session starts. But remember, God knows who you are, and you can journey with this little community anonymously or otherwise. There is room for you.
The Church’s Ministry of Healing: Ireland invites you to join us for a day-long immersion in nature, a space to simply be and to return to the Source of our Being, on Saturday, September 20th, from 10am – 4pm, in Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow. In a world where rest is considered idleness, what does it mean to take a sacred pause, and bring compassionate presence to all that is here?
Book via https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/restival-invitation-into-sacred-pause-tickets-1593794404969?
Once you have booked, you will receive an eircode, info about facilitators, parking and car-pooling & what to bring, etc. The itinerary includes:
This is a donation- based event, with a sliding scale depending on your means.
Join Lydia from the Church’s Ministry of Healing: Ireland and Julie from the Bible Society Ireland as we take a pause in nature.
We invite you to come as you and spend time slowing down and resting in a beautiful space in Rathmines.
This 2 hour session contains settling in practices and nature connection prompts to support us to notice what’s here, internally and all around us.
After this we will spend time in a Scripture Circle – nourishing mind, body and spirit.
Full details, including how to book, are available at https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/under-the-tree-nature-connection-scripture-circle-tickets-1407398921059?
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
Lunch (bring a packed lunch and cook some 1pm – 2pm extras together over the fire.)
2nd offering: 2pm-3pm
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.
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:
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.
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
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
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.
Church’s Ministry of Healing
Egan House, St Michan’s Church,
Church Street, Dublin 7, D07 X865
T: (01) 872 7876
E: hello@ministryofhealing.ie
Website by Sam Bourke