CONTEMPLATING CHRIST’S LOVE
April 12, 13 and 14 – Sedona, AZ and via livestream
“By this shall all men know that you are my disciples – that you have love for one another, as I have loved you.”
The Words of Jesus Christ
Contemplating Christ's Promise
God's Mercy is not earned or un-earned
Christ's Promise
Introduction to the Retreat
In this 3 day retreat silence and solitude are harnessed into the direct experience of Infinite Love as expressed by Jesus Christ. Christ’s promise is that one needs not do or achieve anything but instead accept God’s Love through the process of Surrendering to that Love. In addition to guided meditations, inspirations from the Christian contemplative tradition are used to help guide a person to the direct experience of the Infinite Presence. Learn More
About The Retreat Facilitator
Communion with Love has formed to bring transformation and direct experience of spiritual Truth, especially Love to the world. Historically it emerged out of Reverend Jakob Merchant’s call to ministry. After his ordination by One Spirit Interfaith Seminary he received confirmation and blessings to form this spiritual organization as a vehicle of spiritual transformation. This inspiration and transformation stems from Love. Learn More
Retreat Information
This 3 day retreat is for those who would like to step into the footsteps of the contemplative tradition, immersing themselves over these days in Christ’s love through meditation, contemplation, entering the great silence and leaving the world completely behind, even for a brief moment of one weekend.
Silence, meditation and contemplation are the time honored practices of all spiritual traditions in order to directly experience the Divine. This weekend we will journey through the love of Jesus Christ into nondual Love.
The retreat will be held will be held in complete silence to facilitate a drawing inwards toward the Divine Presence. We ask participants to not communicate with others through the retreat (including using phone, messages, email or even the internet). We also recommend not participating in other activities of any kind whether you are physically participating at the Surrender Retreat House or joining us from home via livestream/zoom.
Daily Retreat Schedule
Saturday and Sunday each hour will be divided into 45min of sitting meditation followed by 10 min walking and a 5min contemplative reading. Some meditations will be guided meditations others will be completely silent.
Friday: Mercy, Grace, Salvation 3pm Movie; “Into The Great Silence” 5pm Soup dinner, greet participants, prepare for silent retreat, Q & A 6pm 1st Sitting: Mercy of the Lord 7pm Devotional Service – Laying Down the Past; Salvation Has Come 8pm 2nd Sitting – Entering the Silence of Love
Saturday: Surrender, Love, Devotion
6am Opening Dedication and Meditation 7am Break 9am Sitting begins 12 noon Silent lunch 1pm Christian Contemplative Chanting 2pm Sitting continues 5pm Break 7pm Devotional Service 8pm Evening Sitting
Sunday: Silence, Illumination, Transfiguration
6am Opening Dedication, Meditation 7am Break 9am Sitting begins 12 noon Silent lunch 1pm Sitting continues 5pm Retreat ends
About The Venue
Communion with Love hosts most of its events at the Sedona Surrender Retreat House.
2044 Red Rock Loop Road, Sedona AZ 86336
The Sedona Surrender Retreat House is a home dedicated to the practice of devotion, contemplation and surrender. We offer accommodations for people seeking a retreat place to deepen in their spirituality or simply seeking renewal. As a non-denominational Interfaith family, we include practices from various traditional paths and religions.
The Property: The property is situated on 1.5 acres of land overlooking the beautiful rock formation known as Cathedral Rock in Sedona Arizona. The property has walking paths to oak creek which is only five minutes walking distance. The retreat house is a two story 4,200 square foot home with 7 bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms. The accommodations available include 3 different beautifully decorated bedrooms with their own bath/shower, a common kitchen, dining and living area. To see our photo gallery click here.
Daily Life at the Retreat House: We begin our day with morning meditation at 6am and end our day with an Interfaith Devotional Service at 7pm. The retreat house hosts various workshops and retreats all yearlong.
Overnight accommodations are available. Please contact us if you would like to stay at the Retreat House, especially during our events. You can contact us via facebook or by email at fabi.merchant@gmail.com
Facebook page of the Sedona Surrender Retreat House
You may also book directly from the AirBnB site by using the following links:
Yoga Retreat Room, Large Private Suite
Cathedral Rock Retreat Room, Private room
Parking
You can park anywhere on the property except for the driveway to the left side of the house. Overflow parking is on the empty lot on the right side of the house (20 Serendipity Trail) or if this is not possible, we ask that you park at the trail head parking area at the intersection of Chavez Ranch Road and Upper Red Rock Loop Road
Contemplating Christ’s Love Retreat – FAQs
Q. I am not able to attend all the days of the retreat, may I attend only certain days?
A. For the full benefits of the silence and drawing inward that the retreat offers, it is helpful to attend for the full retreat, and leave everything of the outside world behind. If that is not possible, we still welcome you to attend for the days/times that work for you.
Q. Do I need to attend all the hours of the retreat?
A. It is ideal to start early in the morning and join us for the full day; however, if this is not possible, we still welcome you to attend for part days. On Friday, the main retreat time starts at 5:00pm; on Saturday and Sunday joining us from 9:00am to 5:00pm is a wonderful option. If you are only available for a shorter time, we start a new meditation every hour, and so arriving (or joining via Zoom online meeting) is an option by arriving 5 minutes before the hour.
Q. Are accommodations available?
A. There are many Airbnb options in Sedona and also a Courtyard Marriott 5 minutes away. The Sedona Surrender Retreat House may have some space. Contact fabi.merchant@gmail.com to inquire. Jenine may also have space available and she can be reached at jeninegobbi@gmail.com.
Q. Are meals provided?
A. Lunch is included and is be donation. There are many local options for breakfast and dinners out.
Q. What is the cost of the retreat?
A. The retreat is by donation. Communion with Love relies on donations to support its daily operations and running costs in order to continue to offer courses, retreats, meditations and evening devotional services free of charge. We invite you to join us in the spiritual practice of generosity. It is the concern with ourselves and our own life that holds us back from the full experience of the radiance of Divinity at all times. And so generosity has been a time-honored practice to connect consciously to the awareness that everything we truly need is provided to us at all times, and it allows us to let go of attachments and any notions of self-concern.
Q. Is Communion with Love a Christian organization?
A. Communion with Love’s mission is to support in the realization of the Presence of Divinity within. Some pathways have called this state Unio Mystica, Buddha Nature, Unmanifest, Godhead. We like to call it Love. It aims to make spiritual Truth experiential instead of conceptual. Love is the essence of Divinity and therefore the essence of all genuine spiritual pathways, we we seek to support solely for Thy Glory and the greater good of all. Rev. Jakob Merchant is an interfaith minister and our evening services include elements from the Christian, Buddhism, and Hindu pathways, as well as readings from Dr. David Hawkins’ pathway of Devotional Nonduality.
Q. What do you mean by the Christian contemplative tradition?
A. This retreat aims to bring attendees to a direct experience of Divinity immanent, following the tradition of “The Cloud of Unknowing”, Meister Eckhart, Jean-Pierre de Caussade (“Abandonment to Divine Providence”), St. Teresa of Avila and others. This requires looking within, entering into the silence of the heart and the mystery of Unio Mystica. We will use the approach also of lectio Divina, reading Christian texts for a few minutes each hour and then silently meditating on the reading.
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