Join us on a journey of watching for wonder this Advent season.  Together we will practice the contemplative discipline of imaginative prayer with four different women in scripture, deepening our relationship with God through their story.  Each woman invites us to examine the traditional messages of hope, peace, joy and love through their experience of waiting, wandering, wrestling and wondering as we journey with them. This is for anyone who is open to or is curious about contemplative spirituality or a desire to deepen their awareness of God in this season. Whether you are seasoned in this practice or contemplative prayer is new to you, we invite you to join us!

We are offering the same series at two different times of day – a daytime (Fridays) and an evening time (Tuesdays & the last Thursday before Christmas). We are offering more fluidity in attendance with this series so you can register to attend one, two, several or all the sessions, mixing and matching them according to what can fit into your schedule. Both series will take place virtually on Zoom. 

Day time: Fridays,12/1, 12/8, 12/15 & 12/22 @12-1:30PM EST
Evening time: Tuesdays,12/5, 12/12, 12/19 & Thursday,12/21 @7-8:30PM EST

We are beautifully embodied and rich in spirit. We live interactively and in companionship with our amazing bodies every day. Wherever we want to go, our bodies go with us. When our bodies are in need of nourishment, we feed them. When we are happy, they smile for others to see. Our bodies can observe clouds, inhale fragrances, dance to music, feel texture, and distinguish tastes. They make meaning out of our experiences. What marvels of the body can you think of? 

As we ponder these marvels, we will notice that there is a soul engaged within our body. A soul that has emotions, desires and beliefs. There is a ‘me.’ Through the body, the ‘me’ is able to express its needs, values and desires. Here’s another wonderful truth. God’s spirit dwells in our bodies and is identified as the temple of God. We are indeed beautifully embodied and rich in spirit in the image of God. 

This Awaken Within: Contemplative Exercise of the 5 senses is an invitation to have fun exploring, engaging, and experiencing the ‘me’ in relationship with the wonders of the garden God created to be our home.

Discover your God given passion. Ignite your gifting. Live out your full potential.

WOW! Discernment ministry invites you to journey alongside trusted friends and discerners of WOW! in determining where God may be leading you. The Discernment Process takes us on an inward journey of breaking free from our limitations to discover who we fully are in Christ. We can then begin to dream and be the leader God designed us to be.

Your discernment group will accompany you as you pause to re-examine the map of your life. The group will lovingly help you determine where you are and aid you in surveying the land as you decide where you’d like to go. Together we will tune into God’s voice, listen to your heart’s desires and pray to uncover how God may be aligning your talents, time and treasure with his will.

TIMELINE: Three sessions, each two hours in length, within a span of 3 to 9 months.
Discernment groups are facilitated by a trained WOW! Discernment Leader, and will include the Discernee, a WOW! Counselor, and 2-3 trusted friends (the Discerners).

Spiritual direction is a ministry of loving listening and meaningful questions offered in a safe setting that allows us to notice God’s presence and activity in our lives, creating opportunity to respond to God’s invitation. This creates the space where you (the directee) can listen to yourself reflect on your journey with God in the presence of a compassionate and skilled witness (the director) whose only purpose is to help you recognize God’s current promptings and how you’re responding.

This type of companionship is offered in both individual and group settings. For individual direction, this relationship develops through regular, one hour conversations over the course of a committed time frame agreed to by the director and directee.

“ [In] spiritual direction… I felt heard.  [The spiritual director]  brought some good insights after hearing me share and connected some dots for me.”

Group spiritual direction is a small group of people committed to meet together with a trained facilitator to provide spiritual direction for each other. Members of the group are given an opportunity, one at a time, to be the directee and the group responds prayerfully to whatever the directee chooses to present.

This format of intentional group listening offers each participant more awareness of God in their lives, for the sake of others; helping individuals grow in their faith, love others more fully and participate in the mission of the Church more effectively. Group spiritual direction is a form of listening that is sacred and confidential, with a commitment to regular monthly meetings for 2 hours each for 8 months. There is a maximum of 8 participants in a group.

“I genuinely felt cared for in this special small group of women – I am so grateful for everyone’s vulnerability and openness in our discussions and carry with me a more intimate knowledge of God’s love for me and His daughters.”

If you have a group of 3 – 5 people you would like a spiritual director to facilitate for, please contact us connect@womenofwonder.us

Our retreats lead us into an intentional time of communal silence and solitude, inviting us to unplug, listen, and hear God speak. We are reminded that the world is charged with the grandeur of God as we slow our pace, revel in the nature around us, reflect with a spiritual director, or engage with God through creative and literary mediums.

We offer guided Winter and Summer in person retreats annually and themed virtual half-day retreats quarterly.

Our in person retreats offer the following:

• Introduction to silence and three guided group reflections on the retreat theme offered by our team
• Printed resources with suggestions for prayer & meditation
• Spiritual direction or spiritual discernment
• Ample space for personal quiet & reflection
• Gathering of the graces and communion (communal sharing & listening) as we close the weekend

“We come together in intentional silence, inviting God in our journeys to speak and show us in our experiences. “ – Refresh Retreatant

Contrary to the constant doing that most of our lives reflect, it’s the resting, receiving, that are often the true gifts to our souls. The WOW! Soul Care Cohort is our invitation to female ministry leaders to trust God to tend to the ministries and people we care for as we submit and allow ourselves the time to be with our Lord.

We aim to foster a community of grace for women in ministry to share, listen, connect, and grow in a safe setting. We connect you to practical resources to care for yourself and others in your communities through sustainable rhythms of self-care and spiritual discipline. Our desire is that you leave nourished and better equipped to fulfill the work you are called to. 

Our contemplative prayer gatherings invite us to pray, alone, yet together, intentionally pausing to see where God guides us. We introduce and practice various forms of prayer such as the Examen, Lectio Divina, Imaginative Prayer, Visual Journaling Prayer, and Breath Prayer. We invite those who are versed in these forms and those for whom these practices — or prayer itself — may be new, or anyone in between.

We also host seasonal cohorts dedicated to deepening these practices in a communal setting.

Join us in the journey of collective discovery that contemplative prayer offers us.

Description:

We believe the kingdom of God flourishes when there is room for men and women to lead equally. In marriage, ministry, or any relationship, the call and value of one is not diminished at the cost of the other.

The WOW! seminar series aims to sharpen and expand the understanding of God’s design for women in leadership through sound biblical teaching. These monthly seminars affirm God’s call to leadership and discipleship for every individual with the hopes of men and women being able to lead alongside one another to further God’s kingdom here on earth.

Each seminar highlights and explores women and Scripture in ways that encourage and challenge you to seek God in applying these leadership principles in your own context of family, work, community, church, and self. We offer a space where all can safely discuss culturally held ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ ideas of leadership within the redemptive biblical narrative to further partnership and collaboration towards a flourishing church.