Lectio Divina Template 86

 "There, ahead of them, went the star . . ."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

Lectio Divina Template 85

   "The light shines in the darkness."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

Lectio Divina Template 84

   "He has looked with favor on [my] lowliness."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

Lectio Divina Template 83

  "One who is more powerful than I is coming."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

Lectio Divina Template 82

  "Prepare the way of the Lord."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

Lectio Divina Template 81

   "...my words will not pass away."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

Lectio Divina Template 80

   "My kingdom is not from this world."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

Lectio Divina Template 79

  "When you hear of ... rumors of wars, do not be alarmed."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

Contemplative Outreach's Origin Story

Contemplative Outreach’s Origin Story

The Christian Contemplative Tradition and Centering Prayer: A Brief History

(slightly adapted from a handout provided by Bonnie Shimizu during a Presenter Training in 2011). 

I. Contemplative Prayer is the opening of mind and heart—our whole being—to God. It is a process of interior transformation leading to Divine Union.

II. In the first sixteen centuries A.D, silent contemplative prayer was a very acceptable way of praying.

III. During the Reformation of the 16^th century, the tradition became suspect, especially for the laity and the active religious, and much of it went underground or was lost.

IV. In the 20^th Century, there was a revival in interest in SILENT prayer. How did this occur?

Embracing Unity in the Christian Heritage

These are notes and a partial transcript of a speech by Gail Fitzpatrick-Hopler, the former director of Contemplative Outreach, that was videotaped at the annual Contemplative Outreach Conference in 2002. In the video, Gail talks about the founding values, beliefs, and theological principles of Contemplative Outreach, which still guide our organization today. 

          ~ Kathy Agnew

CO:  Embracing Unity in the Christian Heritage, by Gail Fitzpatrick-Hopler
From the CO, Ltd. Annual Conference in Nashville, TN, October 12, 2002.
(Starts at 4:30 minutes)
The YouTube video is available at the following link:
Ecumenism: United in Our Common Search for God
 
Introduction by Mary Dwyer:
 
Contemplative Outreach has always been based on the foundational piece of service:  The God in us serving the God in others. Theological Principle #11:  Following the teachings of Jesus, we exercise leadership as service, especially keeping alert and responsive to the growing needs of CO. 

Lectio Divina Template 78

  "Out of her poverty, [she] put in everything she had."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

Lectio Divina Template 77

 "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

Lectio Divina Template 76

  "Go; your faith has made you well."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

SLT Meeting Minutes from Oct. 9, 2021

In attendance:  Kathy Agnew, Elena Andrews, Linda Dollins, Chris Hagen,  Diane Langworthy, Kathy Mendoza, Diane Oldfield, Vicki Rehkopf, Joan Thompson, Mary Williams.

The Zoom meeting began at 11:30 AM with ten minutes of Centering Prayer.

COSD UPDATE: MARY WILLIAMS

COSD is in discernment about the future of their leadership, and we will keep them in prayer.  On October 30, 2021, they will be hosting a retreat at the Mission San Luis Rey from 10 AM - 4 PM with Richard Bonacci: "The Desert in Image, Word, and Contemplation."  CJ Carlo is the event organizer. 

Lectio Template 75

 "The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

Lectio Divina Template 74

 "For God, all things are possible."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

Lectio Divina Template 73

 "Let the little children come to me..."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

Lectio Divina Template 72

"If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

Lectio Divina Template 71

"Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

Lectio Divina Template 70

 "Those who lose their life for my sake...will save it."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

Aug 2021 Facilitator Mtg with Parth Domke

Below is our recording of the August 2021 CONSD prayer group facilitator meeting. Here, Parth Domke shares how she uses the Contemplative Life Program's 40-Day Practice books as formation material in her prayer group at St. Bart's. Parth also shares some other resources, including slides on "Guidelines for Faith Sharing" and on the Welcoming Prayer. Questions, answers and comments from other facilitators are included in the recording. 

MATERIALS SHARED

(click on links to access)

Attention/Intention Intro Slides

Attention/Intention Days 1-10

Attention/Intention Days 11-20

Attention/Intention Days 21-30

Attention/Intention Days 31-40

Guidelines for Faith Sharing (21 Slides)

Attention/Intention Days 31-40

                                                                                   Day 31

Attention/Intention Slides for Days 21-30

                                                                               Day 21

Attention/Intention Slides 11-20

                                                                             Day Eleven

Attention/Intention Slides 1-10 (40-Day Practice)

                                                               Day One

Attention/Intention Intro Slides (40-Day Practice)

 

Lectio Divina Template 69

 "He even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

Guidelines for Faith Sharing (21 Slides)

 

Lectio Divina Template 68

 "It is... from [within] the human heart that evil intentions come."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

Lectio Divina Template 67

 "You are the Holy One of God."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

Help With Zoom Settings

Bill Dingas, a member of  Linda Dollins' Centering Prayer group at the First United Methodist Church in Escondido, helpfully offers some welcome guidance on Zoom settings. 

To access your settings, go to your Zoom home page (see below). On the top right, you can find a little "knob" under your avatar. Click on that to see your settings page. (If you don't see a knob, click on your avatar image):

Then, you'll see--

MAIN SETTING PAGE: GENERAL

• The General Page has the basic settings, some of which may affect other settings.

• Note that the skin reaction tones help to make your image on the screen closer to your own color. This will show up in other settings when the camera is on.

• Just make your other choices.

VIDEO SETTINGS

       

• On the Video Settings, there are several ways to customize your video image. Just try them out. For example, I used auto for adjusting for low light after trying other options.

• Notice that I adjusted the appearance option to clear up the picture. Just slide the bar back and forth until you are happy with the image.

• The image sees whatever your camera shows, so other settings like skin tone will be apparent.

• Yes, that is my office and guest room. But I moved out of the way so my face does not show when I made the screen capture for this document. The camera sees everything in its path.

AUDIO SETTINGS

The audio settings have several options, which are mentioned as follows:

• You can play around with these settings and there are more at the bottom for Advanced Settings (but I did not find useful).

• Scroll down this page if you are having a problem with noise suppression, especially using a gong or other music background. You may find original setting as Auto. Try changing it to low. And voila, the gong will be heard – because the system considered it noise.

• Note at the top of this option there is an audio mic and speaker test. You can click on the test, begin speaking and/or playing a gong and the system records it. After recording, it plays back what you did. Perhaps both voice and the gong, and begins a play back. That is how you will know you fixed the problem if the music or gong plays.

• Sometimes you may have a problem with a YouTube video becoming garbled audio and choppy video. There are many reasons including erratic Internet or using an alternate TV connected to your computer via HDMI cable. Try disconnecting the alternate TV to see it helps.

• Another “fix” is to clear your router cache. You do this by unplugging the router, give it 10 seconds or so and plug the router in again. This can also help watching TV via streaming with similar choppy video. But I caution you to shut your computer down before you unplug the router, as it may create a spike surge in your computer. A computer surge can occur even if you have a stand-alone power stick with surge protection.

• Some Internet providers, like COX, offer an app that has the function of resetting your router from your smart phone app.

OTHER ITEMS

• I will add more tips as time goes by for the other pages

• Here is a link with all kinds of Zoom tips. top 20 zoom tips - Bing video

Lectio Divina Template 66

 "My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

A Model for Hosting Hybrid Centering Prayer Groups

Via Prayer Group Facilitator Diane Langworthy:

I purchased an MXL AC-404 omni-microphone from Amazon. It was about $65.00 plus tax, totaling $70.16 (shipping was free because we have Amazon Prime).

It says,  “It is designed to capture crystal clear speech intelligibility. A wide pick-up pattern and 25-foot range makes it ideal for capturing any conversation.”

There were some less expensive, but they only pick up sound 10 feet away. This one works so well for our group. It plugs into the side of any laptop.

The setting must be changed only once to tell Zoom to use the omni-mic rather than the laptop mic. Once changed, it is good for each subsequent time.

Lectio Divina Template 65

 "I am the living bread."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

Lectio Divina Template 64

"I am the bread of life."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

SLT Meeting Minutes from July 17, 2021

In attendance: Elena Andrews, Linda Dollins, Parth Domke, Diane Langworthy, Kathy Mendoza, Diane Oldfield, Jan Simpson, Susan Wheeler, Mary Williams, Joan Thompson.

The Zoom meeting began at 9:32 with ten minutes of Centering Prayer.

COSD UPDATE: MARY WILLIAMS

COSD's current leadership is looking to step back by the end of this year. They are asking members to discern possibly taking over leadership. Keep our sister chapter in prayer with these changes.

PRAYER GROUP FACILITATOR SUPPORT: MARY

Facilitator gatherings will be happening on Zoom to share formation materials.
• Parth will do the next one on August 28 at 9:30 am
• Kathy Agnew will do another on October 23.

Mary sent an email to all facilitators re: how they are continuing to meet - looking also for any changes that might need to be updated on the website. She’s heard back from 11,12 groups. People are considering meeting in the fall and considering hybrid structures: a mixture of in-person and Zoom. Mary noted some of the groups and how they are currently meeting. With the uptick in COVID among the unvaccinated, meeting (and continuing to meet) on Zoom in some fashion will be probable.

Lectio Divina Template 63

 "Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them..."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

Lectio Divina Template 62

"Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

Lectio Divina Template 61

 "O, that harmony might dwell among the nations."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

The Wisdom and Teachings of Fr. Keating, with Chris Hagen

In this video, Chris Hagen speaks out of the depth of his experience as a contemplative and as a student and directee of Fr. Thomas Keating. Following the video is Chris's written outline of this presentation.

Outline (with some time stamps)

1. The Purpose of Centering Prayer: Become the Image of God (beginning at 9:23). “God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” ~Genesis 1:27.

—Keating recognized that humans seek happiness – but we tend to seek the wrong experience, and we seek it in the wrong places.

—Happiness is usually defined as a positive emotional state that is brought about by an external experience.  

—But from a spiritual perspective, happiness is a state of contentment and well-being and balance that is not caused by an external experience. It is “the peace that passes all understanding.”

—This peace we seek is imprinted into our being; it is part of our fully human and fully divine DNA.

—The unconscious beliefs that we accrue as we develop can create obstacles to this peace.

 

— (17:30) Scientific analogies are useful in understanding how these obstacles arise:

   • Homeostasis is a state of equilibrium, our instinctual need for physiological balance.

   • Homeostasis can be compared to a thermostat, which sets an optimal temperature in a room.

   •  Biologically, mentally, & emotionally, we have a preset optimal “temperature.” However, temperature always changes, and we can tolerate variations in temperature. Biologically, we are at our healthiest when we are operating within a certain tolerance range.

   •  As we develop mentally and emotionally and encounter our needs for survival and security, affection and esteem, and power and control, unconscious learning occurs. This creates our personal “thermostat” and our unconsciously learned tolerance range.

   •  When this tolerance range is exceeded (e.g., when an emotional need is not met in a way that satisfies our unconsciously & often immature or misguided beliefs), we experience afflictive emotions: fear, anxiety, anger, frustration, etc.

   •  We seek relief from these afflictive emotions by creating ‘programs for happiness,’, i.e., outsized demands for security, affection, and control). This is how the so-called false self comes into being.

— (28:00) While our biological tolerance range cannot be changed, our unconsciously learned tolerance range, our beliefs about how and how much our needs ‘should’ be met, can be changed.

—These three things happen when we are stuck in false beliefs about how happiness is achieved:

   •  Our sense of where we find happiness is too narrow.

   •  Our optimal “temperature” on our thermostat is set too high.

   •  Our tolerance range is too limited and is often stuck at earlier levels of development.

 

—The treatment for this is to reset our thermostats: change our beliefs about the source and experience of authentic happiness.

—This will enable us to meet our instinctual spiritual needs, described by Maslow as the need for transcendence, the need for connection beyond ego, and the need to help others.

—This can also be stated as: becoming and expressing the image of God, the divine DNA, in our lives. Jesus Christ provides us the human model and path for doing this.

—To follow Christ’s new commandment in daily life – to “love your neighbor as I have loved you,” is to satisfy the spiritual yearning that will lead us to genuine happiness, the “peace that passes all understanding.”

—Ultimately, the self is not “false.” It is our unconscious beliefs about the source and experience of happiness that are false. The self develops over time.

 

2. The Spiritual Journey: Take Up Your Cross (37:15)

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”

                ~Luke 14:26

 

—The purpose of this journey is not to eradicate our needs for security, affection, or esteem. It is the distortion of these needs that must be dismantled.

—This dismantling entails the death of the false self and the resurrection of the true self.

—This requires that we abandon those unconscious beliefs / ‘programs for happiness’ that are inconsistent with unconditional love.

—The spiritual journey is not a quest for something we do not have; rather, it is the unfolding of what is already within us.   

—The divine DNA within us propels our metamorphosis into the true self.

 

3. Centering Prayer in Daily Life: Love Your Neighbor (47:17)

“In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God….And the Word became flesh and lived among us.” ~John 1:1, 14.

 

—Jesus was the Word, incarnation, and enfleshment of God’s image. His life shows us how to live as the image of God. As Raimon Panikkar noted, “We are asked to continue the incarnation; it didn’t stop with Jesus.”

—The spiritual journey is not just the twice-daily practice of Centering Prayer, but also a way of being in the activities of daily life – a way of incarnating the image of God day by day.

—As Keating writes in Open Mind, Open Heart: “The ordinary events of daily life become our practice. I can’t emphasize that too much. A monastic structure is not the path to holiness for lay folks. The routine of daily life is. Centering Prayer is aimed at transforming daily life with its never-ending round of ordinary activities.”

—Our encounters with people and situations in our daily life provide opportunities to respond in ways we would want to be responded to.

—We cannot will ourselves to be unconditionally loving. But over time, Centering Prayer and meditation changes the brain in ways that increase our capacity for empathy and compassion.   

—We can intend to respond to others with respect, understanding, etc.

—We can nurture our innate capacity for spontaneous unconditional compassion, non-judgementalness, forgiveness, humility, patience, etc.  

 

 

4. Helps on the Way: Responding Rather Than Reacting to Conflicts (53:43)

“The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you.” ~John 14:26.

 

—Reacting, i.e. “fight or flight,” is our default mode during conflicts.

—Responding is the mode of being and acting in the image of God in daily life.

—Conflict happens when our perceptions & interpretations of the outside world do not match our beliefs, values, and unconsciously learned concepts.

—Thus, conflict actually occurs within us and not between us and other persons/ situations. 

—To respond to conflict, we must learn to pause between stimulus (trigger of the conflict) and response.  

— “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response…..to stand back from ourselves….not attached to our thoughts or our knee-jerk reactions, we can find the space we need to choose the way we want to act or the words that would be most helpful.” –Victor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning.

 

— (1:03:38) We can intend to create the space for the Holy Spirit to guide us in a number of ways:

A. Before the Conflict: Daily Contemplative practices: Centering Prayer, Lectio Divina (monastic method), Welcoming Prayer, Prayer of St. Francis, Guard of the Heart, praying a scripture such as 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.

B. During the Conflict: Be aware of your early warning “fight or flight” signs (feelings in stomach, chest, heart rate, flushing, sweating, muscle tension).

    i. Create space by choosing flight.

    ii. Take a moment to breathe with wisdom of God in and the guidance of the Holy Spirit out. Wisdom=Spirit=Breath.

    iii. As you listen and observe, gently return to your sacred word or active prayer phrase.

C. After the Conflict: No analysis, commentaries, or internal monologues.

    i. Do not react to your emotions. Notice and sink into your feelings while letting go of thoughts, commentaries, or analysis.

    ii. Practice the Welcoming Prayer Method.

Lectio Divina Template 60

"Then he went out among the villages teaching."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

Lectio Divina Template 59

 "Go in peace, and be healed of your disease."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

Lectio Divina Template 58

 "Why are you afraid? Have you . . . no faith?"

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

Lectio Divina Template 57

  "The Kingdom of God...is like a mustard seed."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

Lectio Divina Template 56

  "If a house is divided against itself... [it cannot] stand."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

Lectio Divina Template 55

 "You must be born from above."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

Lectio Divina Template 54

"The Advocate ... will testify on my behalf."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

Lectio Divina Template 53

 "Jesus prayed for his disciples."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

Lectio Divina Template 52

 "Love one another as I have loved you."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

Lectio Divina Template 51

 "I am the true vine."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

SLT Meeting Minutes from April 17, 2021

In attendance: Elena Andrews, Linda Dollins, Parth Domke, Diane Langworthy, Diane Oldfield, Joan Thompson, Susan Wheeler, Mary Williams, Chris Hagen, Vicki Rehkopf, and Jan Simpson.

The Zoom meeting began at 9:30 AM with ten minutes of Centering Prayer.

Reports:

Registration: Susan Wheeler

·      Susan shared that we now have a new gmail address specifically for registrations, which is consd.cal@gmail.com

COSD Liaison: (Currently an open postion) Mary Williams

·      This is currently an open position.

·      Mary and Linda met with COSD leaders Ardy Woodmansee and Karen Downs on Zoom to share what the chapters and prayer groups are doing. Ardy assisted Mary with the 'CONSD / COSD hour' during Contemplative Outreach's global United Day of Prayer, which was a wonderful international experience delivered virtually.

Media Librarian: Diane Oldfield

·       We still have media (CDs and DVDs) available for check-out.

·       Diane’s email address will be included in Facilitator Resources (in the Be Still blog) for easy contact.

·       We discussed the changing communications technologies, and Linda D. suggested we may need to dedicate more funds into our modes of delivery in the future.

Prayer Group Facilitator Support: Mary Williams for Kathy Agnew

·       The facilitator retreat on 3/27 was a great success. The 20 participating facilitators had an opportunity to share how their prayer groups have been faring during this past year on Zoom. As Kathy Agnew reported, prayer groups “have been an absolute lifeline during this pandemic season.”

·       Parth reported on plans for a facilitator resources meeting to share formation ideas to use with prayer groups. She described a program she developed with her group based on one of the Contemplative Life Program’s “Forty Day Practice” books, including meditations she sends out daily. She will present that concept to the facilitators at the upcoming facilitator resources meeting. The date of the meeting is still to be decided.

Financial Report: Linda Dollins (Treasurer)

• Linda shared that there is currently $10,856.00 in the CONSD treasury account.
• CONSD has received $200 in donations. We granted $150 in scholarships for a recent Bill Sheehan retreat. After the discussion at the January SLT meeting, CONSD donated $500 to Holy Spirit Retreat Center. Also, we donated $50 to Buddha at the Gas Pump as a “thank you” for the use of their video during United in Prayer Day.

Communications (Website & Newsletter): Mary Williams and Diane Langworthy 

• Mary spoke about the CONSD website, which relies on WordPress for formatting.  It still needs to be updated to the most recent version of WordPress, and early this summer she will seek out a professional to assist in making that transition and in adding a donation tab to the website.
• Diane L. will help seek out potential article writers for the next newsletter in August 2021. Linda suggested including articles in which prayer groups share what they are doing in their groups.   
• Mary screen-shared the updated Facilitators Resources page from the Be Still and Know blog. It now includes YouTube links to 2020 recordings of Contemplative Outreach’s Introductory Program and a link to Fr. Keating’s Spiritual Journey series.

Events: Linda Dollins and Chris Hagen

·      Linda presented the idea of a “Chat with Chris Hagen” presentation with a question-and-answer format. Chris has had 12 years of spiritual direction with Fr. Thomas Keating and would be willing to share insights accrued over those years as well as his wisdom about Centering Prayer and contemplative living. We discussed the format, whether to separate it into one or more sessions, but he would be most comfortable with one 1.5-hour session. He would prefer to respond to questions that are emerging now among the community rather than prepare a talk based on his personal experiences. He encourages each of us in the Servant Leaders Team to ask our own prayer groups about their concerns and questions as they practice Centering Prayer. These concerns and questions can be emailed to Chris. We plan to hold this event on Saturday, June 12^th at 9:30-11:00 AM.

·    Chris has also prepared a new presentation for a future event: "Transformation of Consciousness: Becoming the Word of God."  It is a follow-up to his "Putting on the Mind of Christ" presentation. 

·      We discussed the possibility of hosting an online local Introductory Workshop soon, with many advantages presented by doing it virtually.  Mary mentioned Patti Smith as one possible workshop presenter.  Patti volunteers with the Denver Center for Contemplative Living and facilitated a six-week course on “The Human Condition” (a section of Keating's Spiritual Journey video series) for CONSD in 2019. Mary will contact the Intro team to plan further.  

·      We discussed the future of prayer groups, post-COVID, whether ‘live’ or on Zoom or both and the impact on group members.  

Calendar Items: 

 

• Next SLT meeting: July 10, 2021, 9:30-11:30 AM. 
• June 12: “Tea and Conversation with Chris Hagen,” 9:30-11:00 AM.
• June 27-July 4: Holy Spirit Retreat Center's 8-Day Intensive & Post-Intensive Centering Prayer Retreat.
• October 15-17, CONSD retreat at Prince of Peace Abbey (pending due to COVID).
• Rev. Susan Latimer of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd has invited the local Contemplative Outreach communities to partner with her prayer team for an upcoming San Diego event: The Good News Festival, with Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, on December 3-5. A group has been formed to investigate and plan participation, with Deborah Lewallen, Cindy Dodson, Elena Andrews, Kathy Mendoza, and Mary Williams.

• 2021 Events: Mary will keep us updated on any changes to the calendar.  She will also continue to share links and information on events and retreats from other centers and chapters.  

The meeting ended at 11:20 with John O’Donohue’s “Friendship Blessing” read by Linda Dollins and the “Prayer of Abandonment to Love” read by Diane Oldfield.  

Respectfully submitted,

Jan Simpson