Retreat Leaders: Joanne Braxton, Abhi Janamanchi, Maxine Hillman
Date: Saturday, November 10, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
Contemplative Practices Retreat
November 10, 2018 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
http://all-souls.org/node/2026

In this half-day Contemplative Practices retreat, led by Rev. Dr. Abhi Janamanchi and Rev. Dr. Joanne Braxton, we will honor Hindu religious perspectives and devotional practices as well as the power of interfaith spirituality and its expression. We’ll engage in the practices of sitting meditation, walking meditation, mindful eating, prayer, ritual and silence, and explore other modes of spiritual reflection known to facilitate compassion, well-being and exquisite self-care.


The Rev. Abhi Janamanchi serves as Senior Minister of Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church in Bethesda, MD. Born and raised in Southern India, Abhi is a third-generation member of the Brahmo Samaj, a Unitarian Hindu reform movement with ties to Unitarian Universalism. Abhi has been actively involved in international interfaith and multicultural work for over two decades. His Unitarian Universalist-Hindu faith, his Indian heritage, and his American citizenship inspire and guide him in his life and ministry. Abhi currently serves as the UUA’s Ambassador to the Unitarian Union of Northeast India and Chennai Unitarian Christian Church. He is the co-editor and co-contributor of two Skinner House books: Falling Into The Sky: A Meditation Anthology and Katha Sagar, Ocean of Stories.

The Rev. Joanne Braxton serves as a half-time Consulting Minister at All Souls Church Unitarian in Washington, DC and CEO and lead creative for the Braxton Institute for Sustainability, Resiliency and Joy. An African-American elder and healer who learned to meditate in an abandoned plum grove as a child, she specializes in the care of the soul. Joanne earned the MT.S. degree in Spiritual Disciplines for Leadership from the Pacific School of Religion and the M.Div. in Ministry from the School of Theology at Virginia Union University. Joanne holds the rank of Adjunct Professor of Family and Community Medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School and serves as a wellness consultant to scientists at the National Institutes of Health.