With Len as our guide, and facilitators Polly Baca and Jane Reina by our side, we’ll explore our personal journeys to greater intimacy with God. The day includes reflections on:

• Our youthful beginnings,
• When we danced through darkness,
• How we embraced our true self and found greater intimacy,
• Where we are in 2024, learning to navigate chaos to a new creation.

The day's roadmap includes... 

I. How the Journey Began. Beginnings are huge! Explore the guiding myth(s) of your youth and first half of life. In sacred circles, we will share our experiences of the inner and outer landscapes we have traveled during the first half of life (experienced facilitators will lead us).

II. The Journey Interrupted. Dance through darkness and discover the light within. From outer authority to inner authority, from self-awareness to transformation. Share the wisdom gained from your losses and disillusionments, your sorrows and awakenings, further letting go of your programs for emotional happiness. Trace the path of your holy longing, a path laden with the divine desire for our wholeness.

III. The Journey to the Depths of Greater Intimacy. Walk the razor’s edge as you transcend the vestiges of your mistaken identity (false self) and fully embrace your supreme identity (true self). We will reflect on the dynamics of a new life hidden in Christ using guidance from the mystics: Thomas Merton, Thomas Keating, Cynthia Bourgeault and Simone Weil. (Recommended reading: chapters 19, 20 and 21 of A Soul’s Journey into Interspiritual Space by Len Schreiner and Manifesting God by Thomas Keating.)

IV. The Journey into a Perfect Storm: Navigate 2024 with a mystic map and choose “to live the part of the Gospel that is mine to live” (Brother Roger, Taize), during these transitional years from chaos to a new creation. 

Come join fellow seekers and treat yourself to a day filled with reflection, self-compassion and a deepening of your relationship to the divine indwelling.

Note: Please bring a journal and pen to this day retreat.

About Presenter Len Schreiner
Rev. Len Schreiner, M. Div. is an author and spiritual director living in the Franciscan spirit, at Baja Road Retreat in Rowe, NM, east of Santa Fe. During four decades of ministry, Len has served as a pastor, peace and justice activist, teacher, retreat leader and musician. In December 2022, he published "A Soul's Journey into Interspiritual Space: Reflections for Christians, Catholics and Contemplatives," which explores his own mystical journey into "interspirituality," a path honoring the divine presence in all religions, all peoples and all places. Len spent 10 years as a hospice chaplain in the Denver area and continues to offer spiritual direction (1978-present) and give presentations on interspirituality.

About Facilitator Reverend Jane Reina

Jane is an ordained priest and associate pastor at Mary of Magdala, Ecumenical Catholic Communion (ECC), in Fort Collins, and priest and pastor of Church of the Holy Family (ECC) in Denver. She is a member of the Northern Colorado Faith Leader Caucus, a member of the ECC Truth and Reconciliation Commission and a member of the ECC Ecumenical Study Group. She has an MA in Pastoral Care from Fordham University, is a certified Spiritual Director, and has 10 years’ experience in hospital and hospice chaplaincy. She has had a Centering Prayer practice for many years. Reverend Jane has two sons and a daughter, five grandchildren, and three “grand-dogs.”

About Facilitator Polly Baca

Polly has had a long career in public service, having served in the Colorado House and Senate and as a participant in major international conferences. She was the first Hispanic woman to serve in leadership in any State Senate in the United States. After leaving public service in 1986, Baca began a consulting firm that focused on multicultural leadership development, diversity training, and motivational presentations. She is a certified spiritual director and has facilitated a centering prayer course for persons who have been incarcerated since January 2000.