A place for Spiritual Deepening
by Betsy on May 9, 2005 01:35PM (EDT)
One of the important components of redevelopment is connecting with spiritual energy. We are about God's mission in the church. Drinking from that deep well of Living Water is sweet and we don't want it to keep it a secret! There is something very powerful about being in prayer IN COMMUNITY. One place that encourages and supports this spiritual deepening is the Shalem Institute. [ www.shalem.org ]
Shalem Institute grew out of the need to be contemplative and reflective in the midst of action oriented ministry. Their website states, "The mission of the Shalem Institute is to be an ecumenical community responding to a call to help mediate God's Spirit in the world through the loving wisdom of contemplative tradition." If one is lucky enough to be in the Baltimore/Washington DC area, then there are many one day events. Otherwise, there are longer retreats in that area. The institute is beginning to "go on the road." There is an event planned for the Chicago area in October and discussion about two more in the southern part of the country... maybe Atlanta and Texas.
I participated in a week called "The Spiritual Life of Spiritual Leaders," a five day event. The first day and a half, there were short talks and exercises followed by extended periods of silent prayer. From Tuesday evening to Thursday evening, the group was in silence. A participant was invited to times of group prayer times with titles such as Welcoming the Day, Praying with art and Praying with icons. There were beautiful grounds to stroll, a labyrinth and a peace garden. Some people came with books to read and topics to write. For me, the pace and pounding of my usual life receded like peeling an onion until finally my mind was quiet for a while. There were new insights, a deeper calm and an increased awareness of adoration of the Holy. But even more than that, when I came back to my "regular life" I was surprised by the increased clarity about my direction.
We need to renew ourselves if we are going to be leaders of renewal in our community.
Rev. Betsy Waters
One of the important components of redevelopment is connecting with spiritual energy. We are about God's mission in the church. Drinking from that deep well of Living Water is sweet and we don't want it to keep it a secret! There is something very powerful about being in prayer IN COMMUNITY. One place that encourages and supports this spiritual deepening is the Shalem Institute. [ www.shalem.org ]
Shalem Institute grew out of the need to be contemplative and reflective in the midst of action oriented ministry. Their website states, "The mission of the Shalem Institute is to be an ecumenical community responding to a call to help mediate God's Spirit in the world through the loving wisdom of contemplative tradition." If one is lucky enough to be in the Baltimore/Washington DC area, then there are many one day events. Otherwise, there are longer retreats in that area. The institute is beginning to "go on the road." There is an event planned for the Chicago area in October and discussion about two more in the southern part of the country... maybe Atlanta and Texas.
I participated in a week called "The Spiritual Life of Spiritual Leaders," a five day event. The first day and a half, there were short talks and exercises followed by extended periods of silent prayer. From Tuesday evening to Thursday evening, the group was in silence. A participant was invited to times of group prayer times with titles such as Welcoming the Day, Praying with art and Praying with icons. There were beautiful grounds to stroll, a labyrinth and a peace garden. Some people came with books to read and topics to write. For me, the pace and pounding of my usual life receded like peeling an onion until finally my mind was quiet for a while. There were new insights, a deeper calm and an increased awareness of adoration of the Holy. But even more than that, when I came back to my "regular life" I was surprised by the increased clarity about my direction.
We need to renew ourselves if we are going to be leaders of renewal in our community.
Rev. Betsy Waters
posted by Congregation Renewal Associates at
8:40 PM
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