CONTEMPLATION

CONSIDER

GOD'S TRUE GRACE

My neighbor, Mary, was sitting on her front porch, watching the hurricane winds assault the trees and houses near the height of the storm. She told me later, "I'm an Oklahoma girl, that's what we do." But as the ferocity of the storm increased, she sensed that it was time to go inside. A few minutes later, a towering 12-ton water oak fell, crushing her covered front porch and breaking the concrete slab where she had been sitting.

When some saving or fortunate act like this happens to us, we may invoke the words, "By the grace of God...."

LIBRARY CORNER - NOVEMBER

Miriam Rowland attended the Facilitator’s Gathering last February. The group recommended books for centering prayer groups and Miriam suggested the following titles:

Amazing Grace,

by Kathleen Norris



Kathleen Norris provides redefinitions of religious terms. In her usual lectio divina style, she offers wisdom and a unique perspective on the vocabulary of faith

Taste of Silence,

by Carl Arico



An introduction to contemplation by one of the founding members of

Contemplative Outreach. Arico’s writing is warm and profound, making his

book a good model for describing a method that brings us closer to God.

The Practice of the Presence of God,

by Brother Lawrence



A beloved book that describes Brother Lawrence’s simple, mindful faith that is always aware of God even in daily chores.

Miriam also recommended two books that are not in our collection:

Right Here, Right Now: The Practice of Christian Mindfulness, by Amy Oden 

Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living, by Shauna Niequist

Amazing Grace, Taste of Silence and the Practice of the Presence of God, as well as other books on contemplative prayer may be borrowed from the Carol D. Lewis Library housed in the Centering Prayer Room on the second floor of Christ Church's Education Building. The collection is listed by author, title, and subject in the library catalog:

https://CenteringPrayerLibrary.librarika.com.

There are no due dates or fines charged to use the collection. If you have any comments, questions, suggestions or would like to donate materials, please contact the librarian Caroline Thompson, (cthompson57@gmail.com).

COMMUNITY

CALL TO SERVICE

The Diversity Outreach Team of Contemplative Outreach is seeking volunteers.

 

The team meets monthly on the third Tuesday of the month from 5-6:30pm/ET. To learn more about their work click here:

CONTINUING

You are invited to enjoy the monthly Contemplative Outreach, Ltd E-Bulletin for beautiful offerings and E-bulletin.



CLICK HERE to read the mid-October E-Bulletin.

Contemplative Outreach, Ltd. website: CLICK HERE

The Contemplative Outreach YouTube Channel offers a treasure of free videos of

shorter and longer lengths:



Contemplative Outreach - YouTube

Theological Principle # 7- The conceptual background of Centering Prayer grounds and supports the growing silence and stillness of contemplation.

Commentary - In order to be well grounded in the conceptual background of Centering Prayer, we urge beginners to view the Spiritual Journey videos and to study Open Mind, Open Heart, Invitation to Love, and Intimacy with God. These are a summary of the Christian contemplative tradition in dialogue with contemporary psychology and the wisdom teachings of other religions. The method of Centering Prayer is drawn from The Cloud of Unknowing by an anonymous fourteenth century English writer.