Thursday, August 14
7 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Tayria Ward and Lynn English will present information about the upcoming October Vision Quest (see below) and answer any questions you may have. If you are considering coming on the Quest but would like to know more or even if you are just curious about what a Vision Quest is, come to Holy Ground, 18 Orange St., to meet these amazing women and hear their stories.

No cost.

Thursday, October 2 -
Sunday, October 5

A Vision Quest is one of the oldest and most potent rituals still being practiced today. In the safety and beauty of the mountains just West of Asheville near Max Patch, Tayria Ward, Ph.D. and Lynn English, LPC, will lead a 3 1/2 day quest. The group will be provided with careful spiritual, psychological and physical preparation before spending one overnight in the wilderness questing for their vision. The final day will be spent in integrative follow-up. Weekend includes fresh-cooked gourmet vegetarian meals.
Tayria Ward has a Ph.D. in depth psychology, is a dreamworker, dialogue trainer, and works with oracular methods of communication. Formerly a minister, and then a professor for several years, her new book, Recovering the Indigenous Mind, is being readied for publication. She moved to North Carolina from Los Angeles in 2004 to start a retreat center in the mountains, in a location of wilderness and beauty conducive to the deep work of recovering indigenous sensibilities.
Lynn English, LPC, worked for many years as a counselor, specializing in addictions and family therapy. Over the past three years she has focused on doing more "soul initiation" and nature-based work, receiving training in mirroring and dream-work, and going on numerous Vision Quests herself. She spent the past year traveling the world, from Australia to the Yukon territories as part of her personal questing.

Cost:
Early Registration before August 15:
Campers: $495
Inside: $520

After August 15:
Campers:$515
Inside: $540

Every other Tuesday from September 9 to December 16, 4:00 - 5:30 -
(September 9 & 16, October 7 & 21, November 4 & 18, December 2 & 16)

Upon hearing that most people in the U.S. have water piped into their homes, an African woman responded, "But how do the women speak to each other? If we didn't talk at the village well, we wouldn't know about our lives." If you are a woman over 70, please consider begin part of this 8-week series. you will be invited to dig deeply into you own personal well of experience and wisdom. and together, we will create a "village well" as we share our stories. No writing experience is necessary. No grades! Just a safe space for writing, sharing and connection.

Joyce Hollyday is a co-pastor and co-founder of Circle of Mercy, an ecumenical congregation in Asheville. She is the author of several books, including Clothed with the Sun: Biblical Women, Social Justice, and Us.

Cost: $125 Holy Ground supporters; $140 others

Friday, September 26, 9:30 - 2:30

The leaves are turning, the nights are cooling ... but our date-books are filling up faster and faster. How is it that our human clocks tend to run counter to the natural seasons? While trees are letting go of their leaves and animals are preparing for winter naps, why not take a day to slow down and consider fall's lessons? Consider the squirrels gathering in their food for winter. What is it you need to gather into yourself for comfort and nourishment? This day will include group guided meditation and ritual, readings and questions for reflection and time to be alone in your own silence. Bring a lunch and a journal and give yourself the gift of a quiet day to be in shared and solitary silence. Snacks will be provided.

Laura Collins, Holy Ground Director, has served in ministries in the Presbyterian, Quaker, and Catholic traditions and worked in interfaith and secular organizations for social and ecological justice. She has her M.Div. from McCormick Theological Seminary and studied contemplative spirituality at the Shalem Institute in Bethesday, MD.

Cost: $30 Holy Ground supporters; $35 others; please bring a brown-bag lunch.

Friday October 24, 7 - 9 p.m. and Saturday October 25, 9 a.m. to noon
We all wrestle with how to hold together our family life and our work in accord with our basic faith values within our natural environment, but our society and our language see them only as separate compartments. The OIKOS Project provides words and ways of seeing that can help us in our struggle for faithful integration. You are invited to an engaging presentation of the OIKOS approach by Dr. William Everett, long-time adviser to Holy Ground, and an opportunity to employ its language in your life. This inter-active workshop will provide creative tools and language to generate a thought-provoking conversation.

Bill Everett taught Christian social ethics for over thirty years before retiring in 2001 to focus on writing and woodworking. After seven books and some fifty articles in English and German on a wide range of ethical subjects, he turned to fiction writing and poetry with the publication in 2008 of Red Clay, Blood River, a story told by Earth of connections between America’s Trail of Tears and South Africa’s Great Trek. In the past eight years he has also built a number of round communion tables and other worship furniture. Some of his pieces are in the newly renovated chapel at Mission Hospital in Asheville. For more about Bill and his wife Sylvia’s work visit their website at www.WisdomsTable.net.

Cost: $40 Holy Ground supporters; $50 others

A Weekend Workshop
with Sophy Burnham
November 7-8, 2008
Montreat Conference Center
Black Mountain, NC

Perhaps the greatest stumbling block on the spiritual path to happiness is truly to forgive the one who has hurt you. In every religion we are told to forgive our enemy, turn the other cheek, offer up our love. But HOW exactly to do it? And what if the person I need to forgive is myself? How do I forgive?

This workshop combines lecture, discussion, story-telling, and participatory exercises to explore the difficulties of forgiving and the tools to be acquired. It is designed for anyone, male or female, who wants to heal dark areas, no matter what level of spiritual practice, because we are all beginners in the practice.

Author of 12 books, Sophy Burnham is a mystic, Reiki Master, healer and seer. She has distinguished herself as a novelist, journalist, nonfiction writer, playwright, and spiritual teacher. Her works include three bestsellers, A Book of Angels, Angel Letters, and The Art Crowd.

A frequent public speaker and presenter, she has appeared often on TV and radio, both at home and abroad, including Oprah, Larry King Live, CBS morning news, To Tell the Truth, Good Morning America, the Today Show and scores of others. She has written award-winning stage and radio plays, as well as documentary films.

Cost of Fri. - Sat. retreat:
Early Registration before October 1:
HG Supporters: $170
Others: $190

After October 1:
$215 for everyone

If you need accommodations, you can book them through the Assembly Inn in Montreat by calling 828-669-2911 x 0 or 1-800-572-2257.