Listening as Sanctuary

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Compassion is a thread that binds together the deepest centres of life beyond the border of race, religion, tribe or creature. Ilia Delio, OSF 

You are invited to join us for a highly interactive, experiential and inspiring introductory workshop on Listening as Sanctuary, as practice that offer concrete skills for engaging with people we don’t agree with and for supporting people in our lives who may have experienced trauma. 

Grounded in Christ’s teaching, this course links Christian contemplative practice with the  global multi-faith compassion movement exemplified by the Charter for Compassion,  Boundless Compassion, and the Compassionate Listening Project. This rich foundation, linked to Christian contemplative practice, offers the skills to listen with a different ear, to listen to the ‘thou’ in the others’ voice, to listen with the ‘ear of the heart.’. It also highlights how, like meditation, compassionate listening begins with silence, stillness and breath. 

In this course, we will: 

● explore this profound model for conflict transformation, 

● be grounded in Christian contemplative practice as a foundational support for listening 

● discover compassion as an essential form of attentiveness for this time 

● practice core self-compassion and compassionate listening skills, and 

● learn how each of us has the capacity to contribute to a more compassionate world simply by listening with an open heart. 

The course will be held once a week for 6 - 2.5 hr sessions via Zoom. 

It will be held:  Wednesday May 31 - July 5, 8 am – 10:30 PST 

Course fee: $150 full and partial scholarships available. Please register by emailing Kathleen at kcoyne875@gmail.com 

The instructor is Dr. Kathleen Coyne, a Christian meditator who has studied and worked for many years in community development and social justice across Western Canada,  researching, facilitating, teaching and learning with and about community and social justice.