In this half-day Contemplative Practices retreat, led by Rev. Abhi Janamanchi and Rev. Joanne Braxton, and facilitated by Sophia Bouwsma, a certified therapeutic music practitioner, we will 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. This event is sponsored jointly by Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church and the Braxton Institute for Sustainability, Resiliency and Joy.
Registration is limited. Cost: $20.
Biographies
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 M. Braxton, Ph.D., who is also known by her spiritual name, “Sage,” holds a doctorate in American Studies from Yale and degrees in Spirituality and Ministry from the Pacific School of Religion and Virginia Union University. She learned to meditate in an abandoned plum grove as a child and began her formal study of meditation in 1972. An African American elder and healer, a poet and a scholar and a former David B. Larson Fellow in Spirituality and Health at the Library of Congress, she has written or edited several books and contributed “Daily Practices” to the United Church of Christ online “Honoring the Body” online curriculum. She has also taught “Writing for Resiliency” at the National Institutes of Health and served as a consulting minister at All Souls Church Unitarian, Washington, D.C. Dr. Braxton serves as CEO and lead creative for the Braxton Institute for Sustainability, Resiliency and Joy, a non-profit founded with a group of her former students in 2012.
Sophia Bouwsma, M.A., is a broad-minded young professional engaged in collaborative peace and justice work through cultivating partnerships, program development, training design and facilitation, and compassionate relationship-building. Sophia holds a master’s degree in Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation from the School for International Training and is a Certified Therapeutic Music Practitioner. She serves as a program officer and facilitator for the Braxton Institute for Sustainability, Resiliency and Joy.
To apply, contact Rev. Janamanchi at ajanamanchi@cedarlane.org