Originally Published on the website of Oblate School of Theology

Rev. Mary C. Earle and Dr. Marilyn McEntyre

October 15 @ 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM

Oct 15 | 12:00PM – 2:00PM Central Time | ONLINE EVENT VIA ZOOM

Registration: $25 | REGISTER HERE

This is the last in a series of 4 “Spirituality for our Wisdom Years” webinars which will be offered in 2021 & 2022. These webinars give a “taste” of OST’s Forest Dwelling Program, (www.ost.edu/forestdwelling) a 2-year intensive formational program for people seeking to live into a mature spirituality. In this webinar, two of the core faculty members will give an opening glimpse into themes of aging which are developed and harvested on this journey. These two talks are an opportunity to envision a more soulful way of living with the challenges of an aging body, and new ways to understand and live deeply into the promise of “hope” in the final season of life.

• Rev Mary C. Earle will give her talk “Giving the Mess Some Meaning: The Aging Body is a Habitat for Prayer”
  • “Medications. Diagnostic tests. Lab screening. Doctor’s appointments. Physical therapy. In our latter years we sometimes feel overwhelmed by the needs of the body and the demands of modern medicine. This session offers the possibility of engaging all of that “mess” as a kind of rule of life, and encouraging one another along the way.”

• Dr Marilyn McEntyre will give her talk, Deepening Hope”
  • “This session will help us to enlarge our understanding and practice of the role of hope in the final season of life. Dr Marilyn will address such questions as: How does our understanding of hope change with aging? How what to hope for changes as we age. How does hope differ from optimism? How hope might be hope for the wrong thing!”

• Dr. Maggie Meigs, FDP Director, will be available after the webinar to answer questions about the Forest Dwelling Program.

Tentative Schedule

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm	“Giving the Mess Some Meaning:  The Aging Body is a Habitat for Prayer”– Rev. Mary C. Earle
1:00 pm – 1:05 pm	Stretch break
1:05 pm – 2:00 pm	“Deepening Hope” – Dr. Marilyn McEntyre
2:00 pm (optional) Q & A	Q & A: Forest Dwelling Program – Maggie Meigs, PhD

Presenters

Rev. Mary C. Earle is an Episcopal priest, poet, author, spiritual director and retreat leader. Mary serves as faculty for the Forest Dweller program at Oblate School of Theology (www.ost.edu/forestdwelling). Until her retirement, she taught classes in spirituality for the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas. Mary has authored ten books; the subjects include the spirituality of living with illness, rule of life, Celtic Christian spirituality, the Desert Mothers, and Julian of Norwich. Her most recent book, Did You Sing Your Song?: Poems, won the Silver Ben Franklin Award from the Independent Publishers Association. Mary has offered presentations and retreats in a variety of ecumenical settings, including conferences of the Academy for Spiritual Formation, Spiritual Directors International, the International Thomas Merton Society and hospice organizations. She has written articles for a variety of journals, including Presence: the Journal of Spiritual Directors International, Radical Grace, Reflections, and The Lutheran. She was included in the Living Spiritual Teachers project of Spirituality and Practice. She and her husband Doug, also an Episcopal priest, have recently celebrated their 50th anniversary. Their son Jason teaches French literature at Sarah Lawrence College. Mary’s website is www.marycearle.com

Dr. Marilyn Chandler McEntyre’s writing and teaching focus on spirituality, reading, writing, and healing. Marilyn is a core faculty member for the Forest Dwelling Program: Spirituality for Our Wisdom Years at Oblate School of Theology. Marilyn has worked with the Center on Aging at U.C. Berkeley and is a fellow at their Program in Medical Humanities.  Two books that draw on her work as hospice volunteer are A Faithful Farewell: Living Your Last Chapter with Love, and A Long Letting Go: Meditations on Losing Someone You Love. In her book, Patient Poets: Illness from Inside Out, Marilyn offers deep reflections on the poetry of those who are living with illness and disability.  Other books include Speaking Peace in a Climate of Conflict; When Poets Pray; and Make a List: How a Simple Practice Can Change your Life and Open your Heart. Marilyn has taught college students, seminarians, medical students and adult learners for many years and leads retreats and writing workshops around the country. She loves to coach both experienced writers and anyone who wants to write just to see what happens.  You can find out more about her at www.marilynmcentyre.com.

Maggie Meigs, PhD, is the Director of the Forest Dwelling Program at Oblate School of Theology. She is also a Spiritual Director, and a retired Clinical Psychologist and United States Air Force Colonel. Maggie worked as a therapist in the military and in civilian private practice, working with people to heal their wounds, and to experience themselves and the world with compassion, forgiveness, and love. In her second half of life, Maggie’s focus has been centered on an intensive spiritual journey. She is devoted to helping others experience healing and transformation in the wisdom years through a compassionate embracing of the “little self / ego” and an increasing reliance on the Presence and Mystery of the Divine. Maggie’s extensive readings in both the Eastern Wisdom traditions (Buddhist psychology, Yoga philosophy) and contemplative Christian teachings (Living School graduate) inform her daily contemplative practice, her life, and her work.

Registration: $25 | REGISTER HERE

This presentation will be recorded and will be available for viewing through November 15, 2022. An automated email will be sent 24 hours after the webinar with instructions on how to re-watch.

Students, staff, and faculty from Oblate School of Theology may attend for free. Please email continuinged@ost.edu with your name and institutional email address. You will be added to the attendees list and receive an access link by email the day prior to the event.

For information, contact Emmett Gonzalez at egonzalez@ost.edu or (210)341-1366 EXT 320.