Join us for our traditional "non-traditional" Stations of the Cross at Rolling Ridge on Friday, April 18; this is the walking meditation we have done here for more than a decade, through the sacred spaces and forest paths in and near the Retreat House. The details of the script for this change every year but the core remains the same: re-visioned Stations created lovingly and prayerfully from gathered pieces of our lives (and always visually compelling), time for walking mindfully and in silence together through the springkissed forest, opportunities for speaking aloud the cry from our hearts, and finally a gathered community waiting in darkness and hope.
We'll begin with a simple Lenten meal of soup and bread at the Retreat House at 5 pm, followed by the Stations (probably beginning around 6).
The Retreat House will be available for overnight stays both Friday and Saturday.
After Stations, we enter the Great Silence for the rest of the night. The Stations will remain up until Saturday afternoon for those who want to revisit them.
You can stay as long or as short as you like. On Easter morning, at sunrise, anyone still on the land is welcome to join us at the Meditation Shelter for an informal but quietly joyous gathering. Bring what's in your heart—a reading, song, poem, silence. We'll read the ancient Easter story again and share what we have.
This is an invitation; there is no cost, although a donation from those who will be joining for Friday supper and staying at the Retreat House will help us cover expenses.
We would like to know whether you will be joining us. Please RSVP to Lindsay@rollingridge.net. You will need to bring your own provisions for meals other than Friday supper and bedding and towels if staying overnight. The Retreat House is available also for personal retreat during Holy Week on the Wednesday and Thursday preceding Good Friday if you desire.
We are located on a 1400 acre wilderness preserve 6 miles southeast of Charles Town, WV. For information and directions visit www.rollingridge.net or call (304) 724-1069.
More detail from Lindsay
People gather in the Retreat House at 5 pm and we serve a simple meal of soup and bread, after which we assemble in the Retreat House living room. There is a brief introduction to the evening, talking about the origins of the "Via Dolorosa", and what it means for us this evening…a walking meditation; combination of silence, prayer, reflection. It's not really a “theological" event.. we are not interested in what is literal, or historical, or “fact", or even what is believed or “truth". Our stations are more a meditation on the power of the "sacred darkness", the source of everything, and the mysterious presence of love at its heart. We experience once again the power of story in the retelling of ancient memories, handed down in the oral tradition and in the gospel, of the last hours of Jesus life. In the telling of these stories within the container of our own lives and the life of the planet (on the threshold between the “old" and the emergent), the greater forces of love, generosity, mercy are released into the world. In this way, the stations are portals of awareness for us and of grace for the world.
That's it, for each station. Very simple. But each station has been lovingly created by our volunteers on the set up crew, using cloths, objects and pictures that we have gathered from our lives (and homes). Each one is unique, and lovely.
Over the years, we have developed a theme for each station, which is suggested (or the connection is made) by the story it represents. In this way, we can connect the specific story to the wider and deeper concerns of the world and of our lives.
This goes on for all 14 stations.
After the Stations, we keep the Great Silence. All return to their homes or place they are staying.
- Here are their locations, and their themes.
- Station 1: in the Retreat House library. People and loved ones in our lives who have died this year and their families.
- Station 2: on a table in the Retreat House upstairs hallway. People and loved ones in our lives who are ill, in poor or failing health, and those who care for them.
- Station 3: inside the Retreat House front door (the entryway). People in places of war and violent conflict (i.e., Syria, etc.)
- Station 4: Meditation Shelter. Mothers and fathers (parents)—i.e. those we know who now are parents of children young and older. Foster parents, adoptive parents, mothers- and fathers-to-be.
- Station 5: Meditation Shelter. People in direct ministries we know, i.e., Jefferson Homeless Ministries, Hospice, etc.
- Station 6: Meditation Shelter. Children: our children, children in war zones, children in foster care, etc.
- Station 7: at tree near Memorial Grove: the Earth
- Station 8: in the Art Cottage. Women.
- Station 9: in the Art Cottage. People who have suffered abuse: physical, sexual, emotional; domestic violence.
- Station 10: Cordwood Cottage. People who have suffered natural disasters (i.e. mudslide in Washington State, etc.)
- Station 11: Cordwood Cottage. The elderly.
- Station 12: Retreat House screened porch. People in troubled neighborhoods, victims of urban violence. (this year, could be expanded to include Navy Yard shootings, Ft. Hood, etc.)
- Station 13: Retreat House screened porch. Ourselves.
- Station 14: return to Retreat House Living Room. Final station, (no theme) the closing of the tomb.
After the Stations, we keep the Great Silence. All return to their homes or place they are staying.