Centering Prayer Introductory Workshop
May 31, Saturday 9 am until 3 pm The workshop offers a contemporary presentation of the discipline of Centering Prayer as silent communion with God beyond concepts, words and images. Centering Prayer is a method of prayer, which prepares us to receive the gift of God's presence, traditionally called contemplative prayer. It consists of responding to the Spirit of Christ by consenting to God’s presence and action within. It furthers the development of contemplative prayer by quieting our faculties to cooperate with the gift f God’s presence.
Centering Prayer facilitates the movement from more active modes of prayer — verbal, mental or affective prayer — into a receptive prayer of resting in God. It emphasizes prayer as a personal relationship with God. At the same time, it is a discipline to foster and serve this relationship by a regular, daily practice of prayer. It is Trinitarian in its source, Christ-centered in its focus, and ecclesial in its effects; that is, it builds communities of faith.
Centering Prayer is drawn from ancient prayer practices of the Christian contemplative heritage, notably the Fathers and Mothers of the Desert, Lectio Divina, (praying the scriptures), The Cloud of Unknowing, St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila.. It was distilled into a simple method of prayer in the 1970’s by three Trappist monks, Fr. William Meninger, Fr. Basil Pennington and Abbot Thomas Keating at the Trappist Abbey, St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts.
Presenter:
The Rev. Tom Ward, Episcopal priest for over thirty years, served parishes in
Mississippi and Tennessee and recently retired as the University Chaplain at Sewanee, the
University of the South. Tom now focuses on the contemplative dimension of the gospel, teaching
centering prayer and leading retreats that deepen one’s relationship to the Trinity who dwells
in our hearts as well as in the world around us. He has been practicing Centering Prayer for 19
years and has a special interest in fostering this practice in local congregations. For the
past fifteen years Tom has worked closely with Thomas Keating and Contemplative Outreach Ltd.,
a network which seeks to foster contemplation, and serves as a member of the Advisory Board of
Contemplative Outreach, Ltd.Fee: $35