Contemplative Solidarity
Photo by Donna Ruparell
“Contemplative Solidarity” introduces us to a powerful practice for times of instability and fear. This practice takes us on a deep dive into meditation, where—in addition to our sense of the Holy Presence—we learn to experience a felt awareness of our entanglements across time, space, and realities. The goal of the workshop is a more stable and steadfast practice, a revised and reliable sense of hope, and the pervasive knowledge that we are not alone. The work we do together in the sessions will serve as a template for times when we practice by ourselves, struggling to meet our own suffering and the suffering of the greater world.
This workshop situates the practice of meditation (with a primary focus on Centring Prayer) within the current chaotic world, as it is. We’ll be using movement and chanting to introduce each of the three sections of the workshop, followed by a short talk and then practice together. Part One begins with an examination of the unconscious conceptual frames we use for meditation; Part Two explores our entanglement across human and more than human worlds; and Part Three invites us to find our place within the communion of saints.
This workshop will be led by Therese DesCamp. Therese has studied for fifteen years with Cynthia Bourgeault and is a member of the 2020 cohort of the Living School, Center for Action and Contemplation. She has been leading in-person workshops and retreats for 35 years in British Columbia, Oregon, Washington and California, as well as online retreats.
Therese is an ordained United Church of Christ and United Church of Canada minister, writer and spiritual director. Her Ph.D. focused on the application of cognitive linguistics in Biblical Studies. She has taught courses at Vancouver School of Theology, Pacific School of Religion, The Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley; and the University of California, Berkeley.
Therese is the author of the recently published “Hands Like Roots: Notes on an Entangled Contemplative Life,” (Santos Books). She currently works as a community-based pastor in the village of New Denver, BC, and is a member of the board of The Contemplative Society.
Upcoming Event: Hillary McBride, Holy Hurt Lecture and Livestream
Holy Hurt Lecture | Sunday January 25, 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM
The evening will include a talk by Hillary, panel discussion, and audience Q&A, followed by a reception and book-signing.
Unable to make it in person? Join us on the Holy Hurt Livestream
Upcoming Event: Hillary McBride, Public Lecture and Holy Hurt Workshop
The Wisdom Centre has engaged Dr. Hillary McBride for a two part event, to take place on January 25/26, 2026. It includes a public lecture (with livestream option) to be held on the evening of Sunday, January 25, and a professionally oriented workshop to be held on Monday, January 26, 2026. This will allow the material to be available through the lecture to both those who have suffered spiritual harm and looking for a path to healing, through the Workshop to professionals who work with individuals who have experienced spiritual trauma.
Holy Hurt Lecture | 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM Sunday January 25
Lecture by Hillary McBride with panel discussion and audience Q&A, followed by reception and booksigning. There is also a livestream option for the lecture.
Holy Hurt Workshop | 9:00 PM to 4:30 PM Monday January 26
McBride will lead an intensive training session for therapists, spiritual care workers, and trained lay persons who work with those who have experienced spiritual harm. The workshop will include research, clinical practices, and in-depth material, and will be suitable for CE requirements. It is intended for clergy, spiritual care workers and chaplains, as well as counsellors and psychologists. This direction was chosen in consultation with members of these communities. While there will be some therapeutic time given for participants, the primary focus will be on how to help others heal and rebuild a spirituality that heals rather than damages. Lunch and coffee breaks will be provided.
There are a limited number of seats available for the workshop, so sign up early! Subsidies are available for those who are unable to pay the full fee. If this is your situation, email wisdomcentre@stlaurence.ca to recieve a code that will be usuable at the ticketing site.
About our Presenter:
Dr. Hillary McBride is a Canadian therapist, researcher, speaker and writer. Her most recent book, Holy Hurt: Understanding Spiritual Trauma and the Process of Healing – (2025) draws on clinical research, trauma literature, experts, and first-person accounts to address the impact of spiritual trauma and healing and invites the reader into healing. The book is also a helpful tool for those seeking to develop healthier church environments and prevent abuse.
McBride holds a PhD in Counselling Psychology from the University of British Columbia, as well as Masters of Arts in Counselling Psychology. She is a Registered Psychologist (R.Psych.) in good standing with the College of Psychologists of BC, and a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) with the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors. Her specialities include areas of trauma, eating disorders, body image, and marriage and relationship therapy, perinatal mental health, and psychedelic integration.
Want to attend the lecture only? Find tickets here: Lecture Tickets
Looking for livestream tickets? FInd tickets here: Livestream Tickets
Past Event: Taize Prayer Service
Marked by depth and by simplicity, this service of chanting, silent meditation, prayers of intercession, and readings creates space for reflection, divine encounter and heart prayer.
All are welcome.
Past Event | An Evening with Dr. Katharine Hayhoe
An Evening with Katherine Hayhoe: A Climate Scientist’s case for hope and healing in a divided world.
Past Event | An Interfaith Exploration of the Divine Feminine
Join the Wisdom Centre and the Calgary Interfaith Council for an interfaith exploration on the “Divine Feminine.” Together, we represent a wide range of religious and spiritual traditions.
This evening, five speakers will discuss the "Divine Feminine" from their religious viewpoints. The speakers are Rev. Samaya Oakley (Unitarian Universalist), Dr. Harjot K. Singh (Sikh), Bishop Dalton Harding (LDS Church), Rev. Dr. Jane Rowland (Anglican), and Rabbi Russell Jayne (Jewish). There will be time for questions and discussion afterward.
Past Event | A Lenten Taizé
Join us for
A Lenten Taizé
A time of reflection, contemplation and music for the journey
PAST EVENT: Watershed Discipleship Workshop
As we look toward a season of predicted drought and reduced water for irrigation in southern Alberta, this watershed moment brings our river system into sharp focus. We invite you to come together with other friends of the Wisdom Centre to explore the meaning of water in our lives and develop more considerate relationships with our watersheds as a source of life and hope.
PAST EVENT: In the Beginning — Earth First Retreat
Falling in Love with the Earth: Community and Practices
Glenmore Park and St Laurence Anglican
Hosted by Green Exodus, The Wisdom Centre
Past Event| Hillary L. McBride, author of The Wisdom of Your Body
Join us for a weekend with Dr. Hillary McBride
December 1, 2023
Dr. McBride researches and writes on embodiment, trauma, eating disorders, mental health and spirituality. She traces the sources of our often unhealthy and destructive views of the body, inviting us to reclaim the wisdom of the body and experience the wholeness that has been there all along.
"As we come to understand the world around us and the stories we’ve been told, we see that our perspective of reality often limits how we see and experience ourselves, each other, and what we believe is Sacred. Instead of the body being a problem to overcome, our bodies can be the very place where we feel most alive, the seat of our spirituality and our wisdom."
Together, we will explore themes of embodiment, spirituality, the feminine divine, and more.
Embodiment Book Club
In anticipation of our upcoming Weekend featuring Dr. Hillary McBride, you are invited to a study of her book “The Wisdom of Your Body”. This study is offered through the Road Church and U of C Campus Ministry. Open to all.
Mondays at 7:30-9pm; Oct 2, 16, 30, November 13, 27 on ZOOM
Click HERE to register now for the online book club.
PAST EVENT: Deepening Silence ~ A Centering Prayer Retreat
“The truly sacred place is where you are.” – Thomas Keating
This retreat will bring us together to pool our silence as we open ourselves to transformation. There will be multiple sessions of Centering Prayer, opportunities for individual contemplation and nature walks, and wisdom teachings from Thomas Keating on the theme of finding the Sacred in what is seemingly ordinary. We will share a conversational meal at the end of the retreat to celebrate our journey together.
PAST EVENT Wisdom Centre Book Club: “Do I Stay Christian?" by Brian McLaren: A Three-part Study
Join the Wisdom Centre for a three-part book study in January 2023, exploring Brian McLaren’s “Do I Stay Christian?”
PAST EVENT Poetry Unbound with Pádraig Ó Tuama
Irish poet and theologian Pádraig Ó Tuama’s work centers around themes of language, power, conflict and religion.
Centering Prayer: An Introductory workshop on Contemplative Silence with Liz Rees
Liz Rees is a presenter of Centering Prayer, commissioned by Contemplative Outreach. She is a trained Eco Minister, Deeptime Leader and Life Skills Coach.
Wisdom Centre Book Club: See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love
Join us for an energetic and engaging weekly discussion exploring themes from a powerful book by Valarie Kaur, “See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love.”
Holy Wisdom, Mother of God: Exploring the Divine Feminine – A Virtual Retreat with the Rev. Matthew Wright
Join us for a virtual retreat with the Rev. Matthew Wright exploring the Divine Feminine in the Jewish and Christian traditions, particularly under the guises of Sophia, or Holy Wisdom, and Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Drawing on the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins, the mysticism of Thomas Merton, Holy Scripture, and the writings of early saints, we’ll discover Mary as a face of fierce compassion and as the God-birthing dimension of our own souls. The retreat will involve three online sessions: Friday evening, November 5, at 6pm MT, Saturday morning, November 6, from 10-12noon MT and Saturday afternoon, November 6, from 1-2:30pm MT.
Freeing Jesus | Conversations with Diana Butler Bass about Re-Imagining Faith
“How can you still be a Christian?”
This is the most common question Diana Butler Bass is asked today. It is a question that many people ponder as they wrestle with disappointment and disillusionment in their church and its leadership. But while many Christians have left their churches, they cannot leave their faith behind. In Freeing Jesus (HarperOne), Diana challenges the idea that Jesus can only be understood in static, one-dimensional ways. She encourages readers to “leave the religious wars behind and rediscover Jesus in all his many manifestations, to experience Jesus beyond the narrow confines we have built around him. It renews our hope in faith and worship at a time when we need it most.” These two informal sessions will be a combination of talks, Q&A and participant engagement.
“Diana Butler Bass is one of only a few modern Christian writers who can absolutely blow me away with both spiritual insight and beautiful writing. She is a brilliant scholar and a wonderful storyteller, charming and devout, erudite and deeply human. She speaks for me in Freeing Jesus as in all her books.” -Anne Lamott, author of Almost Everything and Help Thanks Wow.