CA Retreat-with Fr. Vincent Pizzuto
Friends, it has been a while since I have been in touch. Last September I took a position with Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church as the Director of Spirituality and Wholeness. It has been a joyful and busy time. We are starting a new venture called The Threshold Center: Stepping Toward Wholeness Through Spirituality and Imagination. The path forward is evolving and I am grateful to be able to meld my life experiences and be supported by a wonderful parish. I will be leading a discussion on Esther de Waal’s To Pause at the Threshold July 9, 16, and 23 and we will have The Rev. Dr. Scott and Dr. Holly Stoner for a Pre-Advent Retreat in November. Please let me know if you would like more information about the book study.
This fall, I am taking a group of women and men to a retreat “Where Not Our Hearts Burning?” with Fr. Vincent Pizzuto at the St. Columba’s Inverness, CA retreat house. I have led a women’s retreat at St. Columba’s and studied with Fr. Vincent for the past two years. He is a wise and compassionate teacher and priest. There are a few spaces left for this retreat which will be held September 24-29th. Below is an excerpt from the theme, information about the retreat, and Vincent’s bio. If you are interested in learning more, please email me.
I hope and pray you are well and look forward to engaging more frequently with you through this website.
Grace and Peace,
Mary Bea
Retreat Theme The pages of scripture are full of stories about sojourns of encounter with the Divine. Whether mythical, historical, or parabolic, all of these narratives speak to our own interior encounter with God. Throughout our retreat we will explore three biblical sojourns not merely as past events, but as the story of our own journey into God, or rather, God’s journey into the heart of every living person. The pristine beauty, rolling mountains, and dramatic coastlines of Point Reyes National Seashore provide the perfect landscape to explore the connection between these ancient biblical narratives and our own encounter with God today. The story of the Exodus will come to life on the shores of the Pacific as we contemplate the ways in which God leads us from inner the slavery of our attachments to spiritual freedom, from social chaos to interior peace. As we walk the winding paths to Mount Vision, the wayward journey of the prodigal son will speak anew about the God who rushes out to meet us along the journey of life. And as we walk in pairs through trails lined with Laurel Bays and Coastal Redwoods, we will relive the first disciple’s encounter with Christ along the road to Emmaus. Throughout our week together, meditation on the Two Books of scripture – the little book of the Bible and the big book of Creation – will deepen our experience of the God who sojourns with us, lights our hearts afire, and forges us into his Beloved Community of disciples.
For those who make the sojourn to retreat at St. Columba’s, our week together will provide contemplative ruminations on scripture, rituals of transformation and healing, opportunities for exploring the exceptional beauty of Northern California, as well as times for quiet meditation, intimate conversation, and group sharing. There will also be ample time for group outings, wine tasting, and window browsing at the quaint boutiques in the nearby town of Point Reyes Station.
Presenter Bio Father Vincent Pizzuto, Ph.D. is Professor of New Testament Studies and Christian Mysticism in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the (Jesuit) University of San Francisco. He received his doctorate in New Testament Exegesis from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium (2003) and has since published and presented internationally in the areas of New Testament christology, ecological discipleship, marriage equality, inter-religious dialogue, Christian mysticism and contemplative Christian spirituality. In 2018 he published his second book, Contemplating Christ: The Gospels and the Interior Life with Liturgical Press; translated in Spanish, Contemplar a Cristo: Los Evangelios y la vida interior, (Desclée de Brouwer) in January 2022. As an Episcopal priest Fr. Vincent serves as Vicar of St. Columba’s Episcopal Church and Retreat House in Inverness, California. Working for the advancement of contemplative Christianity, he has reinvigorated the mission and ministry of St. Columba’s through the introduction of contemplative eucharistic liturgies, public lectures, online courses, directed retreats, thought provoking sermons and online blog.
