Each Friday @ 1:00-2:00 in the church...

Contemplative prayer has been part of Christian worship since the earliest days of the Church. It was always associated with the prayerful reading of scripture, and in practice, the two are intertwined. Historically, there was a long period of time in the Western Church where this type of prayer was reserved for people in monasteries. It was thought to be too mystical for the everyday Christian. The Orthodox Church, on the other hand, has maintained a connection with this type of prayer, which they call the "Prayer of the Heart."

Centering Prayer is a title which became associated with contemplative prayer in the Western Church, where it began to be used by spiritual leaders Merton, Pennington and Keating, among others. Their goal was to help all Christians realize that this type of meditative prayer is a part of everyone's Christian heritage. It is not a form of prayer reserved for the saintly few. The goal of the prayer is to spend each prayer session with the intent of truly letting God be the center of your life. To do this, all personal agendas, including thoughts and emotions, are relinquished. In fact, this simple prayer consists mainly of sitting quietly with God.

The St. James Centering Prayer group is a source of learning and support for those who would like to make quiet prayer a part of their personal spiritual practice. We meet once a week to support each person's personal daily prayer practice. Each hour-long meeting includes a study of the scripture readings for Sunday - reading, pondering, and sharing insights--and 20 minutes spent in quiet prayer. Those who meet together practice small group dynamics, including careful listening and confidentiality.

The Centering Prayer group is unlike a typical Christian Education or Formation class, since the sessions are ongoing. You do not need to sign up to join, nor do you have to feel guilty if you have to miss. Our purpose is solely to support you as you continue on your spiritual journey.

There is information on Centering Prayer on the literature rack, and you can learn more about Centering Prayer at the Contemplative Outreach website.

Mepkin Abbey (Photo by Janet Atkins)

We clasp the hands of those that go before us,
And the hands of those who come after us.
We enter the little circle of each other's arms
And the larger circle of lovers,
Whose hands are joined in a dance,
And the larger circle of all creatures,
Passing in and out of life,
Who move also in a dance,
To a music so subtle and vast that no ear hears it
Except in fragments

Wendell Berry