Online LENT TALKS

Four Wednesdays in Lent:

1st, 8th, 15th & 22nd March

7-8pm

Four speakers (see below)

£5 each

1st March – Sr. Magdalen Lawler SND

“And there were many other women there” – Mark 15:41

Sr. Magdalen Lawler is a well-known retreat leader with a particular interest in the relationship between spirituality and the visual arts. In this talk Magdalen will offer prayerful reflections with Scripture, Paintings and Poetry, on walking with Gospel Women in Lent.

8th March – Sr. Gemma Simmonds CJ

Lent as a Time of Hope

Sr. Gemma Simmonds is a well-known writer, broadcaster, theologian, academic, retreat giver and spiritual director. In this talk Gemma will explore how Lent can be experienced as a time of hope, in which God invites us to learn to ‘live differently’. Using the text of Spe Salvi, Pope Benedict’s encyclical on hope, and inspiration from art and scripture, Gemma Simmonds invites you to experience Lent as a time of hope in which the Gospel becomes something that ‘makes things happen and is life-changing’.

15th March – Mark Russell-Smith

Prayer Through Poetry

Mark is a retired Anglican Priest and Missionary who is now finding poetry an increasingly exciting and challenging pathway for prayer. In this talk he will explore the poem The Flower by George Herbert, a poem about renewal – both in terms of one’s own spirit, but also in terms of ‘vocation’ in its widest sense.

22nd March – Revd Dr John Russell

The Body and Prayer – An Experiential Session

The Revd Dr John Russell is Acting Lead for Spirituality at London Jesuit Centre, where he runs the embody programme of breath and bodywork. This Lent Talk is a 60-minute online session of embodied prayer to encourage you to be rooted and grounded in your body, open your radiant heart, and formulate intentions for joining in the spiralling mission of God’s love. Ideally, you’ll be sitting on the floor with crossed-legs, perhaps on a cushion or foam exercise block. You will need room to raise your arms above your head and out to the sides. Please wear loose comfortable clothing you can move around in. You should plan to eat dinner after the class, and not before