Before Time and Forever
Liturgy as Kairos
Triduum Retreat
In person at St. Columba's Inverness
Thursday, March 28 - Sunday, March 31
Led by Rev. Vincent PIzzuto, PhD and St. Columba's pastoral staff
Retreat Theme The Book of Common Prayer celebrates God who dwells “in light inaccessible from before time and forever.” At the dawn of Creation God brought into being not only the material universe but space and time itself. Indeed, the opening words of the book of Genesis, “In the Beginning…” speak of the dawn of time into which creation is born only so that the Eternal One, transcendent above all, might himself be born in time through the Incarnation. For the Christian then, time is both cyclical and linear, replete with seasons and cycles, yet forever unfolding until, in the fullness of time, all things in heaven and on earth will be gathered together in Christ. (Ephesians 1:10) So declares the Christ of the Apocalypse, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” (Rev. 22:13)
Thus, through the liturgy, the archetypes of chronos and kairos, life and death, creation and redemption unfold dramatically, not merely as a remembrance of things past, nor in the perpetuation of timeless myth. Rather, the liturgy unites past, present, and future in the Eternal Now where Christ is presentified, literally ‘made present’ among his people gathered. In this immersive retreat, Fr. Vincent will invite the full participation of the retreatants in each of the four liturgies of the Triduum, while offering theological reflections on the fundamental role of linear time (chronos) and mystical time (kairos) in the life of faith.
Preliminary Schedule
All times Pacific
Maundy Thursday - March 28
4-6pm Check in and materials pick up
6-6:30pm Orientation
6:30-7:30pm Light Supper and informal introductions
8pm Maundy Thursday Liturgy
Begin the Noble Silence – Night Vigil in Chapel
Good Friday - March 29 - Noble Silence
8am Breakfast
8:45am Depart for hike
1130am Break
Noon Outdoor Way of the Cross – Beginning of the Way
Reflections on Ecology and Justice3pm Liturgy of the Veneration of the Cross
4:30pm Personal prayer & Solitude
5:30pm Dinner in Silence
7pm Group Contemplative Listening
9pm Retire
Holy Saturday - March 30
8:30am Breakfast
10am Reflections on Time in Silence or Walks in Small Groups
12:30pm Lunch
1:30 Personal Prayer & Solitude
8pm The Great Vigil
10pm Easter Dinner Celebration
Easter Sunday - March 31
8:30am Breakfast
9:00am Pack/clean rooms, bring laundry to laundry bins near washer
10am Easter Liturgy
11:30 Easter Brunch
1:30 Departure
“Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!”
A final schedule will be provided with check in materials.
Food provided will be traditional Lenten fare - octo-lovo vegetarian, and may include fish/shellfish, Easter Celebratory Dinner and Easter Brunch may include meat. Please indicate any food restrictions in the query in the body of this form.
You will receive a copy of the submitted form which will confirm your reservation. You will receive a PayPal invoice for the retreat with option to partial pay. $100 minimum non refundable to reserve your spot, the remainder may be refunded if you cannot make it.
Retreat Costs depend on your choice in the body of the form below.
Questions to Anna Haight - annahaight@stcolumbasinverness.org