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“The Secret Embrace"
Before being born into the world of time,
The silence of pre-existence was all absorbing.
The transition from eternity to time
is full of sufferings, fears, and little deaths.
But, in the transition from death
To eternal life,
The silence of pre-existence
Bursts into boundless joy.
All that can be manifested emerges
From the endless creativity of
That Which Is.
But
The Secret Embrace
Of
The Source of all creation
With
Infinite Transcendence
Can
Never be revealed.
—Thomas Keating, “The Secret Embrace”
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As servant leaders, we are meeting weekly for Centering Prayer and discussion of the book, "The Circle Way," as a means of discerning our shared roles and the needs and activities of the chapter. We will be hosting a Visioning Session on Saturday, May 10th from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. to envision our future together. All are welcome to attend. We will be inviting others to join us in this leadership circle as we transition and grow under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
If you have a passion for the mission of COPNS and want to share your time and talents in leadership, please contact Doug Heatwole at copensacola22@gmail.com. Candidates should have two years or more practicing Centering Prayer, and (preferably) training and/or experience as a facilitator.
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United in Prayer Day
March 14-15, 2025
One of the blessings of video-conferencing technology is the ability to come together as one with Centering Prayer practitioners from all over the world. Our parent organization,
Contemplative Outreach, Ltd., is hosting the 33rd annual “United in Prayer Day,” on March 14-15, 2025.
As stated on the CO, Ltd. website, the intention of the event is:
“In the global unity of silence as God’s first language,
we hold vigil for suffering humanity and all creation,
and we honor Thomas Keating’s birthday (March 7),
and the growing presence of Christ among us.”
This free,18-hour global prayer vigil begins at 7:00 pm CT on Friday, March 14, and is
accessible via Zoom. Each hour a different Contemplative Outreach group hosts the hour, which consists of at least 20 minutes of Centering Prayer, as well as other offerings from the hosting group, which may include a video segment, the practice of Lectio Divina, selected readings, community sharing, chanting, etc.
As each hour unfolds, new faces from countries all over the globe enter into the virtual chapel, some in darkness of night while others are sitting in bright sunlight. Some sit in groups, some alone in their kitchen or living room, some from the prisons or jails where they are incarcerated.
We all come together to celebrate the prayer and our kinship as one. Many who have
participated in the past have experienced the movement of the Holy Spirit within and among the community of pray-ers. We encourage you to join this transformative, global event.
You can join at any time, and as often as you like, throughout the 18-hour period. The schedule with hosting organization and content, as well as the Zoom link, is posted on the Contemplative Outreach website.
CLICK HERE
| Contemplative Outreach of Pensacola is co-hosting a Lenten Retreat with St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Milton, Florida, on Saturday, March 29. The event will include a brief Centering Prayer instruction and a 20- minute sit, and be followed with breakfast and a Taize service. See the announcement below for more details. | |
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“Seeing with God’s Eyes"
You are invited to the visioning session with the Servant Leadership Circle on Saturday, May 10 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. (Location TBD) Join us as we envision the path laid before us for our Centering Prayer Chapter. More details to come in the April newsletter.
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Save the date ~ Mark your calendar
March 14-15, 2025
United in Prayer Day
A free, globally hosted 20+hour day of prayer accessible via Zoom
CLICK HERE
March 15, 2025
Contemplative Outreach Birmingham
Annual Conference
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church
CLICK HERE
March 29, 2025
Lenten Contemplative Retreat
St. Mary's Episcopal Church
Milton, FL
CLICK HERE
May 10, 2025
COPNS Visioning Session
10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Location TBD
June 6 - 8, 2025
2025 June Eight Day Centering Prayer Retreat — St. Mary's Sewanee
CLICK HERE
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with Doug Heatwole...
“Contemplative practices make us more human.”
--Neuroscientist Andrew Newberg
"The path of contemplation supports the resilience needed to choose love and peace over anger, denial, and despair. Building a more loving future begins by finding it within ourselves and then working together to face the hardships in our world with greater love and deeper awareness. The wisdom and practices of the Christian contemplative tradition need to be accessible to all sincere seekers to meet the needs of this beautiful, but hurting world."
--Center for Action & Contemplation
"A prayer practice- contemplation- is a way of maintaining the fruits of great love and great suffering over the long haul and in different situations. And that takes a lot of practice- in fact, our whole life becomes one continual practice."
-- Richard Rohr
I started practicing Centering Prayer with a desire to grow closer to God, but somewhere along my journey, as the world has unfolded over the last decade, I recognized a larger purpose for practicing Centering Prayer: to restore and promote our humanity, our way of being in community. We become more human, we attain what Jesus called "an abundant life," not as much within our selves as within and through our relationships with each other.
This is a driving force for sharing the prayer, for teaching Centering Prayer and promoting the contemplative way of life: to make us whole as a society, to create a world that manifests the glory of God, that reflects the goodness of God that He planted in us.
Our Servant Leadership Team has evolved into the Servant Leadership Circle, following the paradigm of the Circle Way, where everyone shares in co-creating and sustaining our chapter as we act together "to embrace the process of transformation in Christ, both within ourselves and in others through the practice of Centering Prayer."
The authors of "The Circle Way " say it this way: "We have all the gifts we need and we need all the gifts we have." All of you reading this are needed. Each of us has an important role to play in supporting our chapter of Contemplative Outreach.
And so, we are emphasizing the word "Outreach," asking each person to add their light to our collective flame. As Christians we are all ambassadors of Christ's love, so by belonging to this chapter, we are also ambassadors of the contemplative life whereby we experience God moment by ordinary moment in a way that others notice and desire transformations in their lives.
We will host a chapter event on May 10 where we will come together to envision our future in living out our calling to promote and teach and sustain the movement of Centering Prayer as a means of transforming ourselves and our community and the world. More details will be forthcoming in the April newsletter. As the Servant Leadership Circle, we hope that you will join us, because "we need all the gifts we have."
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Mark your calendars for a morning of contemplative worship at St. Mary's in Milton. On March 29, from 9 to 12, there will be a centering prayer session and a Taize worship service. If you are not familiar with the Taize service, there are a couple of books in the library that describe this tradition (there are also YouTube videos of Taize recordings that are available to explore).
The Songs of Taize and Spiritual Journey: 1,000 Young Adults Share the Reconciling Experience of Taize With the Archbishop of Canterbury. Both books and other resources are available in the Carol D. Lewis Centering Prayer Library, housed in the Centering Prayer Room on the second floor of the Education Bldg. at Christ Church. Feel free to come and view the collection and borrow any of the materials (no fines, no due dates) - there is a notebook on the table between the shelves with instructions.
These and other resources are available in the Carol D. Lewis Centering Prayer Library, housed in the Centering Prayer Room on the second floor of the Education Bldg. at Christ Church in Pensacola. Feel free to come and view the collection and borrow any of the materials (no fines, no due dates) - there is a notebook on the table between the shelves with instructions.
You may browse the collection online: https://centeringprayerlibrary.librarika.com.
If you have any questions, please contact Caroline (cthompson57@gmail.com).
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The Contemplative Outreach of Pensacola website (centeringprayerpensacola.com) is being updated and expanded to include more content and more opportunities for readers to engage and interact. Changes will be occurring over the coming months and we invite you to visit the website and provide your feedback and suggestions to our webmaster, Jenni Arnold, at copns44@gmail.com.
Contemplative Outreach of Pensacola
PRAYER GROUPS
We welcome all those new to Centering Prayer as well as established practitioners to our Pensacola area prayer groups. Check with each group's facilitator to learn the current meeting status.
CLICK HERE for updated information
12 Step Outreach- Contemplative Outreach
For those interested in or currently practicing Centering Prayer as the 11th step, discover new opportunities to participate in monthly on-line Introductory workshops and countless other offerings.
CLICK HERE
The Meditation Chapel
Find the Meditation Chapel schedule with instructions to register for access to the calendar of daily listings for opportunities to pray with others globally throughout the day and night. These groups have grown and matured since the early days of the pandemic. If you are looking for new connections for practicing centering prayer in community, give the Meditation Chapel a try.
CLICK HERE
Websites of FL, AL, GA, LA, TN
Check out the websites of these regional Contemplative Outreach chapters to learn about their events, which include many free Zoom & in-person meetings.
CLICK HERE for a specific chapter's events.
Contemplative Outreach of Colorado
Website of events:
CLICK HERE
Closer Than Breath~ Founder Keith Kristich offers a weekly newsletter, monthly contemplative days, and events and resources to deepen contemplative practices.
CLICK HERE
Lindsay Boyer: Spirituality for Questioning Minds including teachings, contemplative practices, prayer groups, special Quiet Days:
CLICK HERE
Fr. Richard Rohr: Center for Action and Contemplation offerings for daily meditations, podcasts, subscriptions and other resources:
CLICK HERE
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You are invited to enjoy the monthly Contemplative Outreach, Ltd E-Bulletin for beautiful offerings and E-bulletin.
CLICK HERE for the mid-February E-Bulletin.
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Contemplative Outreach, Ltd. website: CLICK HERE
Theological Principle #1 - Contemplative Outreach is a network of communities and individuals seeking the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit and to contribute to the renewal of the Christian contemplative tradition through the practice of Centering Prayer.
Commentary - "The fundamental purpose of Centering Prayer and of Contemplative Outreach is to further the knowledge and experience of God’s love in the consciousness of the human family. Contemplative Outreach provides basic instruction in Centering Prayer and additional programs to sustain the development in contemplation and the process of transformation."
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