On Saturday, June 20th 10:00 to 2:30, The Rev. Jim Clark will present the Introduction to Centering Prayer program in the sanctuary at Saint Paul’s. Please bring your lunch. A refrigerator is provided. The Saturday workshop is followed by six Wednesday sessions from 11:15 to 12:30. For those unable to attend on Wednesdays, Saturday morning makeup sessions will be arranged.
Centering Prayer is a method to prepare us to receive the gift of silence and to facilitate our entrance into the silence. Dozens of times the Psalmist references waiting upon God in silence. On some occasions the word wait is repeated … “wait, wait upon ….” Perhaps the best-known reference is Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God.” This phrase shows up in the collect for Quiet Confidence on page 832 in our Episcopal Book of Common Prayer: “By the might of thy Spirit lift us, we pray thee, to thy presence, where we may be still and know that thou art God.”
In the Hebrew language, this “knowing God” in the silence is not about information or knowledge; it is about encountering God, experiencing God’s presence, entering into relationship with God. In this silence, that can become stillness, we become open to intimacy with God.
Centering Prayer is a method to facilitate our entrance into this intimacy. In coming weeks, we’ll describe how this relates to Christian mediation and contemplative prayer.
For more information, contact our parish office at (928) 474-3834 or by email at admin@stpaulspayson.org
Contemplative Outreach Ltd has a host of resources on their web site. One resource addresses the method of centering prayer.
There is also a flier called “The Method Of Centering Prayer”, by Thomas Keating, which you can download here. or by clicking below
The Introduction presents the essentials of Centering Prayer. The Wednesday sessions provide an opportunity to practice Centering Prayer with those who are learning with you and to hear their experiences. Brief videos of Father Thomas Keating, one of the founders of the modern Centering Prayer movement, will also be shown. You will have the opportunity to ask questions and hear from Jim’s decades of practice.
Questions? Please contact our parish office at (928) 474-3834 or by email at admin@stpaulspayson.org
To find additional centering prayer groups, retreats, and contemplative life resources in the Valley, click here: http://www.contemplativeoutreach-phoenix.org/