On November 2-3, the Center for Prophetic Imagination is offering a 2-day retreat called “Contemplative Resistance.”

In a letter to his discouraged friend Daniel Berrigan, Thomas Merton once wrote: “Do not be discouraged. The Holy Spirit is not asleep.”

It is easy to be discouraged by rampant injustices in our world today. Children in cages. Fascism on the rise. Environmental collapse looming. The list is long.

Where is the Spirit at work in this world? How do we act in ways that challenge injustice while being rooted in the presence of God?

How do we move from contemplation to radical action, while still remaining attentive to the Spirit?

In this weekend retreat, Mark Van Steenwyk will guide participants through a newly developed process (called the “infinity process”) that integrates contemplative practices and radical action.

This retreat is for anyone interested in more deeply integrating spirituality and action. However, it is particularly suited for activists who want to integrate contemplative practice into their process as well as contemplative practitioners interested in growing in their capacity for faithful political witness.

The process will help participants confront the toxic narratives and ideas that have taken root in our society, contributing to ongoing injustice. They will also discover how those narratives and ideas have taken root in their own imaginations. Together, we will begin to uproot those narratives inside ourselves and in our society—a process that leads to transformative political action.