by dbarta

SPEAKING

Christine Sine – Speaking topics 2021

Gift of Wonder Workshop

Description: Jesus told his disciples that to enter the kingdom of God they needed to become like children yet there is rarely anything childlike about our faith. We suffer from play deprivation, nature deficit disorder, awe deletion and compassion fatigue and as a result we are God deprived too.
In this retreat or workshop, I invite you to reawaken your inner child and rediscover the childlike characteristics that reconnect us to our passionate God who delights in life, celebrates with joy and exudes a sense of awe and wonder. This interactive process will have us remembering our childhood stories, doodling for fun, painting on rocks and and relearning the awe and wonder of nature walks, joyspot sightings and compassion games, exercises that enable us to delight in God in new and creative ways. There will be time for creativity, reflections and interaction.

Format: 1/2 day workshop or 1 day retreat.

Rest In the Moment – A Contemplative Retreat

Description: Are you living in a hectic 24/7 world in which the rhythm of your life is determined more by the pressures of the culture around you than by the values of your faith?  We believe that God has a way of life for all of us that is less stressed, more festive and more satisfying than anything the rat race has to offer. This retreat examines how we can more intentionally connect our lives to God’s purposes. It explores the life of Jesus and the rhythms he lived by as a foundation to help us establish spiritual and lifestyle disciplines that provide a rhythm to life that flows directly from our faith and the values of God’s kingdom.

Format: 3 – 5 hour creativity process.

Return to Our Senses – a Spiritual Retreat

Description: Our world is alive with the presence of God, beckoning for our attention. Yet we are often distracted by busyness, worry and work. This seminar/ retreat explores the simple things of everyday life – breathing, drinking a glass of water, running, picking up a stone or taking a photo – that open our senses to the God who shines through every moment and enlivens every creature. This time of reflection and refocusing is especially designed to draw us into the presence of God and prepare us for the season.

Based on Christine Sine’s book Return to Our Senses: Reimagining How We Pray, this seminar is perfect as a preparation for the Christmas and Easter seasons or just as a time of refocusing for individuals or a church. It is both reflective and creative with much fun and enjoyment for all participants.

Format: 3-5 hour workshop

Spirituality and Gardening

Description: Cultivation of the land and gardening are woven through the Biblical story. Genesis 2 says that God “planted” a garden for humans to live in—a garden that we were commanded to cultivate. And with the growing interest in community gardens this seems a perfect time to get our hands dirty while learning more about God in the process. I read about the death and resurrection of Christ in the Bible, but I experience it every time I plant a seed and watch it burst into life. I read about the faithfulness of God to Israel but I experience it every time I watch the rain fall and nourish the seeds I have planted. I read about the miracle of the fish and the loaves but I experience a miracle every time I am overwhelmed by the generosity of God’s harvest. As George Bernard Shaw says: “The best place to find God is in a garden. You can dig for him there.”

This seminar explores the ways that the life, death and resurrection of Christ is enacted in our gardens. It is an interactive session that provides opportunity for reflection and prayer as well as providing practical hints on gardening. Based on Christine Sine’s best selling resource: To Garden with God.

Formation: 3-5 hour creative workshop

Celtic Spirituality for Today

Description: From the fifth through eight century, Celtic Christian spirituality swept through Ireland, Britain and into Europe re-evangelizing and revitalizing parts of the early western Church. This unique form of spirituality has gained many new adherents in the last 20 years because of its holistic approach to faith. It weaves the sacred through the everyday of life. It is poetic and deeply connected to creation. This seminar provides an introduction to many of my favourite Celtic saints and explores how we can integrate aspects of this into our modern lives. By the end of the seminar, we will have you writing journeying prayers and experimenting with circling prayers.

Format: 1-3 hour workshop

Messing with Tradition: Creative Spiritual Practices for Today.

Description. Are you bored with traditional ways to pray and study the bible? Disconnected from church because worship no longer satisfies? Created your own unique way to pray and you are embarrassed to share it? This is the seminar for you. Many of us are already messing with traditions, using art, nature, and even doodling to strengthen our faith. God creates in infinite variety yet we rarely apply that kind of variety to our faith.

In this seminar, we will explore and experiment with fresh ways to pray and express our faith. We will encourage participants to find the unique form that their engagement with God can take.

Format: 2-5 hour seminar

Imagine That Creativity Seminar

Tom &/or Christine Sine

Introduction

  • Making life decisions in a rapidly changing world
  • Doing church planning at threshold time
  • Preparing a new generation for a new millennium

Habitat 2028

  • Participants will join in a process to design a picture of their ideal future for the year 2028

Back To The Future – Anticipating New Opportunities

  • This session will outline global, national and local challenges and opportunities confronting our lives and churches in a new millennium.
  • This will be followed by a small group discussion focusing on the implications of these changes and opportunities for our lives, congregations and a new generation.

Break

Back To The Past – Discerning God’s Purposes For Our Lives And Churches

  • Here we will attempt to help participants to understand not only God’s purposes for the future but also creative ways to put God’s purposes first in our lives, families and congregations.

Lunch

Back To The Present – Creating New Possibilities For Our Lives And Churches

  • Here each person will choose to participate in a small group in which they will create new possibilities for their own lives and churches including: new vocational opportunities, new time-styles and lifestyles, new forms of community ministry and new Christian celebrations.

Creativity Feedback

  • First, each small group will share their creative new ideas for both their lives and congregations
  • Second, we will ask what ideas particularly capture people’s attention and wish to follow up.

Building a Bridge Back Home

  • We will ask people to spend some time in prayer, imagining one or two possibilities for their own future and that of their church.
  • Each person will share their ideas and a couple of initial action steps with one other person
  • We will ask a few of the participants to share their ideas and initial action steps with everyone else
  • We will conclude with leadership praying for all the new possibilities and commitments for life and mission in a new millennium

Booking Enquiries