A Way Forward in a Secularized, Desacralized, Disenchanted World
This retreat will provide an opportunity to come together and be strengthened to follow Christ with our whole heart in a culture that is clearly hostile to the Christian Gospel and the Church that continues to proclaim the Gospel. We will explore a vision of fashioning a Christian life that does not depend upon affirmation from the prevailing culture that is actually anti-Christian, but more like the days of the early Church, where the followers of Christ clearly saw themselves as living lives as resident aliens and forming strong communities that supported the desire to seek to follow Christ above all else.
Our model will be the early Benedictines as symbols of Christian resilience and order amid chaos, and as models for us in our time.
“The way forward is actually the way back – all the way to St. Benedict. This 6th century monk, horrified by the moral chaos following Rome’s fall, retreated to the forest and created a way of life for Christians. He built enduring Christian communities based on principles of order, hospitality, stability, and prayer. His spiritual centers of hope were strongholds of light throughout the Dark Ages, and saved not just Christianity but Western civilization.”
(from the cover of Rod Dreher’s book: The Benedict Option).
This retreat’s theme is that Christians should focus on developing Christian life and community rather than attempting to reform a secular culture. As the great Christian ethicist, Stanley Hauerwas argues, Christians should see themselves as “resident aliens” in a foreign land. The role of the Christian is not to transform government but to live lives that model faithfulness to Christ and His Church. Our lives should strive to model a new set of ethics that are grounded in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.
RETREAT DETAILS:
This will be a zoom retreat beginning Thursday evening September 19th and including Friday evening September 20th and Saturday morning September 20th. Thursday and Friday evenings will begin at 6”30 PM and end at 8:30 PM (Mountain Standard Time)
Retreat Fee: Suggested: $25
How to Pay: There is a Paypal button on the first page of this website: www.theorthodoxpath.com
Leader for the Retreat: Br. David Clark (read about Br. David in the link above).