Join Cynthia Bourgeault for this very special Advent retreat, which was first offered for Advent 2013 and again, by popular demand, in Advent 2014.
Using the format of the Advent calendar — a saying for each day of the 25 days from the first Sunday in Advent through Christmas — the e-course allows the Gospel of Thomas to lead you further into those great Advent themes — watchfulness, spiritual generativity, the fullness of time, the play of light and darkness — and to prepare our hearts for a truly blessed Christmas. Each email includes a carefully selected wisdom saying from the Gospel of Thomas, a brief commentary by Cynthia Bourgeault, and a suggestion for daily spiritual practice to take you deeper into the profound mysteries of this holy season. There will also be an orientation email at the beginning of the course.
Another element is a chanting practice to bring the wisdom into the body. New chants based on selected logia by Seattle chant artist Darlene Franz will be available for listening or download from her website.
The Gospel of Thomas is keenly attuned to the spirit of Advent. By far the most important in that trove of sacred texts recovered in the Egyptian desert near Nag Hammadi in 1945, it is slowly winning the acknowledgement of both scholars and church hierarchy as an authentic and early Christian text, with a particular sensitivity to the wisdom teaching of Jesus. Inner awakening, present moment awareness, and spiritual rebirth are all core themes, beautifully showcased within the Advent season.
The sayings selected for this Advent journey only have a small overlap with those already presented in Cynthia's prior e-course on The Gospel of Thomas, allowing those who have already made their acquaintance with Thomas to continue to break new ground. Roughly 19 of the 25 sayings will be brand new, and those explored already will shine very differently within an Advent context, with a new commentary highlighting the seasonal connection.
As a final bonus, the Thomas readings have been specifically selected to follow and mirror the Advent lectionary readings from the gospel of Matthew. The intention is to allow you to taste the richly complementary dialogue between familiar Christian reference points and the profound new horizons opened up in this quintessential Wisdom gospel.
Cynthia Bourgeault is an Episcopal priest, contemplative Christian, and pioneer of interspirituality who is profiled by S&P as a Living Spiritual Teacher. In addition to the introductory e-course on the Gospel of Thomas, she also has created three other popular S&P e-courses on Centering Prayer, The Wisdom Jesus and Spiritual Practices from the Gurdjieff Work.
To spend Advent with the Gospel of Thomas and Cynthia Bourgeault, click on the "Subscribe to E-Course" button below. It also makes a great gift.
(4 CEHs for Chaplains available.)
Available On-Demand
(choose your own start date and frequency)
$49.95
