Session 6
Contemplation
Christianity for the Rest of Us:
How the Neighborhood Church Is Transforming the Faith
by Diana Butler Bass
"Consider this an invitation. I invite you on my pilgrimage to some very different kinds of churches, old Protestant churches that have found new life in the face of change. They reminded me that Christianity is a sacred pathway to someplace better, a journey of transforming our selves, our faith communities, and our world." ... from the Introduction.
Index Chapter Summary Commentary - Jan Hornford Discussion Notes References
Summary Notes -
Ch 8 Contemplation - Open for Prayer.

Contemplative services are created by these new churches. An "invitation to dine with God, not to submit to ... judgment." In an increasingly noisy society, the church is becoming here a place of "silence, meditation and contemplation." They are learning to listen to God and not just ask for things. Thomas Merton's work on contemplative prayer is heard in these churches "Prayer is then not just a formula of words, or a series of desires springing up in the heart - it is the orientation of our whole body, mind and spirit to 'God in silence, attention, and adoration. All good meditative prayer is a conversion of our entire self to God." Contemplation becomes practical wisdom - a way open for all Christians.

Bass describes how at Holy Communion Church they have a 3 phase model of sanctuary-house-closet. Sanctuary is sunday worship, house is small-group fellowship and closet is contemplation.

"Silence serves as spiritual white space between the words allowing each person to hear the word within." "I figured that "Open for Prayer" referred to their hearts."
Commentary - Contemplation Presentation - Jan Hornford
Wise Woman Introduction

My name is Jan, daughter of Ileen & Norm, wife to Dave, Mother to Nathan & Taylor. My soul finds joy in singing and needs to spend some time outside each day to see what the wind and sky are up to. I love walking and animals of every description. I love trees and I feel most at home in the wild places of the earth.
By at home, I do not mean that I was born and raised in a wilderness area, or that I spent lots of time in the wild while I was growing up, nor do I mean home as a nurturing shelter for family and loved ones. By At home I mean coming home to myself. I feel most myself in the wild places of the earth. I feel deeply connected to my own soul and to God. I believe that God resides in the eternal place of the soul within me. For me contemplation is about returning to this eternal place of wild divinity.

Contemplation

There is a world within us, the world of the soul. Contemplation is about this interior journey to meet your own Soul and to encounter Divine love and grace.

Thomas Merton wrote this about contemplation "…it is the intimate union… of God's spirit and your own secret depths of your heart, of God's spirit and your own secret inmost Self, so that you and He are in all truth One Spirit." Letter to Dom Francis Decroix, August 21, 1967. p.54

When you do this, there is a natural rhythm that develops, an inner knowing and peace that flows from this connection. It is easier to know what must be done. Change and action flow naturally and do not need to come from a force of will. A vast well of creativity and possibility is awakened within you. If you allow yourself to be the person you are then everything will come into rhythm. Solitude and silence allows you to get a clearer glimpse of who you are, what you are doing, and where life is taking you. Contemplation is a way to wholeness.

Journey Inward

Dostoyevsky said that many people lived their lives without ever finding themselves in themselves.
We tend to experience our life through our mind and thinking rather and through our heart and soul. The busyness of our outer life often makes us numb to our inner world. Author Parker Palmer says that the soul is like a wild animal; tough, resilient, savvy, self-sufficient, and exceedingly shy. When we are quiet and silent we will encounter this wild soul animal. When we get out of our heads and into our selves we will find meaning that goes beyond words.

We tend to look for the answers outside of ourselves when the answers are within. Maybe it is because we are afraid of our solitude of that vast eternity so we fill up our life with busyness and goals. Sometimes we look within but do so with a critical and judgmental heart. If we do not enter our solitude with a kind and loving heart for our self, we will not find our soul self.

My Experiences

Within the church experience my most profound experiences of contemplation occur when I am singing. When I am singing I am able to move beyond my head and my thinking and engage body and soul in worship. I feel very connected to the divine when I sing.

I also find being in Nature to be a very powerful contemplative experience. The earth is full of soul. I feel that our senses are guides to take us deep into the inner world of our heart. So for me walking silently in Nature, paying close attention to all of my senses helps me to stay attuned to the wisdom of my senses, of the body and I do not lose sight of myself in the busyness of my daily living.

I think stillness and solitude are very important for contemplation. For me this has been lost within the prayer experience. Prayer, I have found, tends to be all about words. When I pray I tend to give thanks, offer praise, ask for guidance and support, pray for the sufferings of others. All this is very well and good, but I am rarely silent. Even during silent prayer I tend to lift up my own praise and concerns. Now, this is an important part of the conversation with God, but a conversation, by its nature implies a 2 way street. A conversation requires both talking and listening. To me, contemplation is the listening part of the conversation with God. John O' Donohue says that true listening is worship. And I would like to see more of this in our religion.
Another profound experience of contemplation that I would like to see more of in the church is walking the labyrinth.

Labyrinth

The labyrinth is a simple winding path that leads you to a centre and back out again. It is not a maze.
Used for thousands of years as a ritual object to express spiritual values. Purpose: At its simplest, a labyrinth is a metaphor for the journey to your own centre. People walk the labyrinth to find their center and be in touch with eternal truths.

A labyrinth is a tool for contemplation, for connection with ourselves, with God, and ultimately with others too. It is a path to connect with Sacred truth. It is a sacred journey to your soul.

The labyrinth connects us to the depths of our soul so we can remember who we are.

It is a safe and sacred place where you can experience the presence of God.
People walk the labyrinth for many reasons, to pray, to meditate, to find peace and guidance. All of these things flow through the labyrinth because it helps to connect us with our soul and with the Divine. It helps us to pay attention to the rhythm of our inner life.

The soul is presence form the divine mystery. It did not invent itself but comes from and through God.

Activity

Before we close this evening I would like to ask you a few questions and then take you through a simple contemplative prayer experience.
First of all, please write down Where do you feel at home or most connected to your own soul and to God? What are the activities, where does this happen? What is your experience of this?

Body Prayer
I have read that the soul does not reside within the body; rather it is the other way around. The body resides with the soul. Your body is in the soul and the soul suffuses you completely, so all around you there is a beautiful soul light. We do not have to travel far to encounter our soul, we just have to pay attention to it.
Body Prayer - this is a lovely way to pray that takes you away from words and thoughts and helps you to be in a place of listening. I invite you to follow me in this body prayer.

Close your eyes and relax into your body. Imagine a light all around you, the light of your soul. Then with your breath, draw that light into the body and bring it with your breath through every area of the body. Listen to your body, the body remembers, it holds great wisdom and can help us hear the truths that lie beneath our external lives.

A Blessing of Solitude

May you recognize in your life the presence, power, and light of your soul.
May you realize that you are never alone, that your soul in its brightness and belonging connects you intimately with the rhythm of the universe.
May you have respect for your own individuality and difference.
May you realize that the shape of your soul is unique, that you have a special destiny here, that behind the facade of your life there is something beautiful, good, and eternal happening.
May you learn to see yourself with the same delight, pride, and expectation with which God sees you in every moment.

"A Blessing of Solitude" from "Anam Cara A Book of Celtic Wisdom" by John O'Donohue (HarperCollins Publishers Inc. 1997) p.125
Summary of Discussion Notes after Small Groups
Jan asks what are we struggling for? What are we searching for? We don't always find certainty. The journey may be the important thing.
Religion is the practice of spirituality.
Spirituality is the relation to the divine.
Perhaps God finds us not we him/her.
Elders enjoy the practice of contemplation more.
Quiet meditation does not mean being turned "off".
Quiet invites the demons. Needs spiritual direction. Can lead to "dark night of the soul".
Silence refocuses us into creative modes - paint, music, furnishing.
Nature reaches all people.

St. David's should consider retreats, nature ventures, more silence in service, more quiet music for background.
Clicking the icon left will activate the e-mail on your machine and direct your comments to us. Comments are welcome and will be posted with usual editorial courtesies.
EMAIL

St. David's United Church.Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Sep
2007