“I am blind and I do not see the things of this world; but when the Light comes from On High, it illuminates my heart and I can see, because the Eye of my heart (Chante Ishta) sees all things.” – Black Elk

“Blessed are the pure of Heart for they shall see God.” – Matthew 5:8

This Wisdom School lays the groundwork for understanding the vital role of awakening the eye of the heart and seeing with Wisdom in today’s world. We will delve into the Christian Wisdom tradition, exploring two key spiritual streams: the ancient Benedictine monastic model of “Ora et Labora” and the Gurdjieff Work’s concept of three-centered knowing and presence. We will illuminate how Wisdom serves as a precise and transformative spiritual science, offering both theoretical insights and practical tools for embodying Yeshua’s teachings—to perceive from and live by way of the Heart.

Cynthia Bourgeault reminds us, “Wisdom Schools are a format for integral learning that’s based in some of the deepest roots for transformation and change in the Christian tradition. Wisdom Schools are about awakening the yearning for a different kind of presence in the world and then developing the skills and the knowledge base to apply that, to transform your own life and the life of people around you.”

Through an integrated daily rhythm, this Wisdom School fosters an embodied “wisdom way of knowing,” incorporating periods of Great Silence, teaching sessions, Centering Prayer or silent meditation, mindful work, mindful movement, and contemplative free time.

<<< Register Here >>>

Event Details

When: Friday, April 10th with dinner at 6:30 pm CT, ends Monday, April 13th at 11:00am CT

Where: St. John’s Abbey Guesthouse, Collegeville, Minnesota

Cost: The cost for the retreat is $795, which includes room, meals and materials. If you cannot make the full payment upfront, please pay a nonrefundable $200 deposit to save your spot, and then send the rest in increments that work for you (total due before March 15, 2026).

Registration and Information: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfegfUBorYjfYQaSmWxWWl3taa2GcCbr_WEl4MyADHZdW3Rag/viewform?urp=gmail_link

Event Facilitators:

Jonathan Steele, M.A., is a retreat leader, spiritual teacher and companion on the spiritual journey. His work draws deeply upon the transmission of the Christian Wisdom lineage and the Christian Contemplative and Inner-Traditions. In addition to his lived integration through contemplative practice, study and service, he leans on the works of Thomas Keating, Cynthia Bourgeault, Valentin Tomberg, G.I. Gurdjieff and J.G. Bennett. Jonathan currently serves as the Devotional Minister at the Church of Conscious Harmony, a Contemplative Christian Community in Austin, TX. Jonathan also has significant experience working with recovery communities, utilizing the path of the 12-Steps and implementing the work of Bowen family systems theory. He has previously accompanied others in the context of spiritual direction and hospice chaplaincy, as well as guiding groups on pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago in Spain where he lived over the course of eight years.

Heather Ruce, M.A. offers Wisdom Circles, Retreats, and Schools grounded in the Christian Wisdom tradition with practices such as lectio divina, centering prayer, seated attention exercises, sacred movements, conscious practical work, chanting, and silence. A longtime student of Cynthia Bourgeault, and the Gurdjieff Movements with Deborah Rose Longo, her path has been shaped by the lineage’s emphasis on embodied presence, surrender, creativity, and the courage to meet the world as it is. Heather holds a deep reverence for the sacredness and interconnectedness of the earth, all beings and ecosystems, and the greater cosmos—an orientation reinforced in her many years of zoological animal care. Drawing from this as well as her background in Family Systems Therapy, Grief Counseling, Somatic Experiencing, Organic Intelligence, and Spiritual Direction, her work is grounded in a trauma-sensitive, integrative approach that honors the body as part of a larger web of connection and as an essential instrument of transformation.

A continuing education program through Moravian University School of Theology that introduces the rhythm and tools of a “Wisdom Way of Knowing,” which is an integral way of knowing that engages and harmonizes our three intelligence centers: heart, mind and movement.

This is an experiential gathering with a balance of centering, teaching, Lectio Divina, and gentle body prayer. Together, we will explore ways to weave the different components of Wisdom into our daily life and spiritual practice.

Join us for a monthly experiential gathering that introduces the rhythm and tools of Wisdom Way of Knowing — an integral path that engages heart, mind, and movement. Rooted in the teaching of Cynthia Bourgeault, each session offers a sacred balance of centering, teaching, Lectio Divina, and gentle body prayer.

Together, we will explore ways to weave Wisdom practices into our daily lives and spiritual journeys. Open to all who long for deeper spiritual practice.

**Note: this is the final November gathering from a monthly series that was offered starting in September and October***

Event Details

When: Friday, November 21, 2025 from 1:00-3:00pm ET

Where: These gatherings are available in-person at Moravian Seminary and online on Zoom (link sent at registration)

Cost: $20 per session and FREE for seminary students, faculty, and staff (with code)

Contact Hours (Continuing Education): 2 per session

Registration: https://www.moravianseminary.edu/academics/continuing-education-programs#anchor_wisdom

Event Facilitator: Marcella Kraybill-Greggo, MSW, LSW, AOJN, Director of Spirituality Programs and Spiritual Direction Training Program

Gurdjieff Movements are Gurdjieff’s interpretations of sacred temple dances and rituals he had seen and studied during his travels to monasteries in Asia and Africa. Gurdjieff saw them as a means by which ancient Wisdom is preserved and passed down to future generations. Through their embodied symbolic language beyond our thinking mind, a deeper perception arises. Although there are different kinds of Gurdjieff Movements: ritual, prayers, dervish dances, mathematical patterns, etc., the objective of them all is that they are prayers. Gurdjieff saw them as medicine. Like Eastern martial arts, they are exact and precise, demanding precision, discipline and dedication.

Not only are the Movements themselves both prayer and medicine, they are a practical approach to put the inner Wisdom work of awakening, the development of conscious presence, and the harmonizing of the three centers (Intellectual/Mind, Emotional/Feeling, Body/Sensation) into practice. They are meant to challenge the intellectual center in such a way that you must include the emotional and movement centers in order to learn them. They have also been constructed consciously with a three-fold purpose, called the three lines of the work. The First Line of Work is work on oneself. The Second Line of Work is work with others. The Third Line of Work is work for Work’s sake which is sometimes called service or Work on behalf of all.

Movements can be a powerful practice to help us to continue to find our center and anchor within it, in the midst of whatever movements may be taking place. This online class will meet from 3:00-4:15pm Pacific Time for a total of six times on the following Tuesdays: November 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th, December 2nd, & 9th. During our classes we will each take up a short aim, work together with a few Movements, and have some time for sharing observations.

Wisdom Work Partner: You are invited to have a Wisdom Work Partner if you are interested. This is entirely optional but can be very useful. A Wisdom Work Partner serves a very specific purpose as someone who you can check in with to share authentic observations around how the Movements we are focusing on in this class are intersecting with day to day life.

Event Details

When: Tuesdays, November 4, 11, 18, 25, December 2, & 9. From 6:00-7:15pm ET

Where: Online via Zoom

Cost: The total suggested cost for all 6 times is $30-120, pick what works for you in that range.

Registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe_mOc6m4lu_cgVQH8L6WLtF0N5xDy0AHQRW4r0ruyRmi7WQw/viewform

The Gurdjieff Movements are interpretations of sacred dances and rituals that Mr. Gurdjieff witnessed and studied during his travels in the search for truth. Through specifically composed music and gesture, the Movements transmit a teaching in language beyond our thinking mind. When we are collected in our three centers (intellectual, feeling, moving) and in present moment awareness, a deeper perception may arise. Although there are different kinds of movements, they are all forms of prayer, prayer offered in longing, in struggle. Mr. Gurdjieff saw them all as medicine.

Working with the Movements offer a practical approach to inner work. They function as a mirror — offering the possibility of seeing ourselves in action — and revealing the work that is ours to take up — work that is on behalf of ourselves, of each other, and of all that is.

They are constructed in such a way that none of the three centers can do the Movements on their own. There must be a harmony, a coherence. And even though the outer form is not the point of working with the Movements, when the music, form, and presence come together, something altogether new is possible.

The Movements are a powerful practice to help us find Presence — help us to be aware of when we lose Presence, and help us to return — over and over and over again.

Working on the form alone outside of class is not required or even suggested. The class itself is a laboratory — a living encounter with all of our parts, and with all of one another’s parts, as together we strive for something higher.

Event Details

When: Mondays, November 3, 10, 17, 24 and December 1 & 8. From 12:30-1:45 PM EST

Where: Online with Zoom link. All classes will be recorded with the recordings made available to participants for your use only.

Cost: The suggested donation for the six classes is $110. For those who need to pay less, feel free to offer what you can. If you can help support the work of the group by contributing to the scholarship fund, that would be most welcome.

Registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdUKFf3WRUWPWwu5PffnR9UlL8wv3IYCerqFa0WpjyF_9IgyA/viewform

Event Facilitator: Henry Schoenfield is an ordained minister, spiritual director, certified professional coach, and lifelong seeker who has been accompanying others on the spiritual journey for close to twenty-five years. He is deeply rooted in the Christian contemplative path and the wisdom practices of meditation, chanting, and sacred movement. Henry helps people and groups deepen their relationship with God, themselves, and others so that they may live lives of deep service.