Fall/Winter 2001/02
Newsletter
Alta,
WY
I am happy to announce that the Alta Retreat
Center has purchased property to build a new retreat facility. In order to
provide a more comfortable retreat space in the interim, and to meet our growing
demands for space, we have secured the use of the Teton TeePee Ski Lodge across
the street. ARC's monthly 2002 retreats, May through November (off ski-season
months), will offer private rooms with double bed and private bath! This is
truly good news for all of us. See schedule page for retreat programs/dates.
The ARC also reports a successful completion of Contemplative Outreach's first
30-Day Intensive. Eleven retreatants and staff negotiated the uncharted waters
and no one drowned! We learned a great deal about the process of prolonged
community living in silence and prayer. Our weeks together became one continuous
meditation. Our shared intent to consent to God's will sustained us all through
the sometimes difficult challenges of close living quarters, electrical outages,
plumbers, bugs, and thunderstorms! We all enjoyed our "Sundays off"
and the food was great!
30-Day retreatants report:
"This has been a month-long process and there is a new joyful sense of
freedom rising. "During the last 30 days, I have feasted on the "bread
of life, the soup of good neighbors, and the fish from local markets."
"I have received the gift of original blessing." "I know that I
am deeply loved warts and all. I know that if I am willing to batter His door,
keep throwing stones at His window and make a terrible racket…the lights will
go on upstairs, He will wake up his wife and tell the children to go back and He
will come down and open the door. He will open all the cupboards, heap my arms
with all I need and go down to the cellar to get me a bottle of His best wine
and then help me carry everything home."
Our 30-Day retreat next July
will be limited to 14 participants. Fr. Dan Krettek of Emmaus House in Des
Moines, Iowa, and Fr. Alex Nagy of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Palm Desert
will assist. The retreat will begin on June 29th and conclude on July 29th. If
you are interested please write or call for an application. All Are Welcome!
Peace in Christ,
Rev. Sandy Casey-Martus,
ARC Director
(307) 353-8100
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Birmingham,
AL
Contemplative Outreach Birmingham
This past summer our chapter sponsored a Ten-Day and
Post Intensive Centering Prayer Retreat at the Benedictine Spirituality and
Retreat Center in Cullman, AL. Our directors were Sr. Mary McGehee, Fr. Bill
Fickel and Betty Giardini. There were thirty participants. More recently, we had
our Annual Leadership Weekend at which eighteen of our leaders were present. Dr.
Bill Clemmons, a retired teacher of spiritual formation and a certified
presenter with Contemplative Outreach, Ltd., led several sessions. This was a
time for spiritual enrichment, evaluation of the previous year's work and
planning for the coming year. Our area is anticipating our 11th Annual
Contemplative Conference on February 23-24, 2002 with William A. Meninger, whose
subject will be "The Cloud of Unknowing." Also, we are anticipating
Bonnie Shimizu of Snowmass, CO, coming April 5-7, 2002, for a weekend training
at Cullman, AL, for those who will become trainers of small group leaders. Those
who are interested in receiving a flyer on these upcoming events can contact
Caroline Humphreys (see end of paragraph). Betty Giardini and Lora Arnold of
Huntsville, AL, attended the Annual International Conference in Puerto Plata,
Dominican Republic. We are excited about our new website, which was developed
and is run by one of our steering committee members, Karen Pilman. We invite you
to check this out. We continue to see people responding to God's invitation to
come and sit in silence in His presence. At the same time, we see those within
our group being trained for leadership. We stand in awe and are grateful. Thanks
be to God. For more information you can contact
Caroline Humphreys at
205-979-1159
or carolinecob@home.com
or see our website http://bham.net/cobweb
Boulder,
CO
In March we had a wonderful turnout of people from the
Northern Colorado chapters for a mini-retreat (prayer, potluck, supper, and
presentation) with Fr. Thomas Keating, which included Fr. Thomas' 78th birthday
celebration. Everyone enjoyed his presentations as well as the joy and intimacy
that were prevalent throughout the evening. We look forward to his return visit
in April 2002! Other spring activities included a four-week Lenten course,
"Centering Prayer and the Christian Contemplative Tradition," that was
taught by David Frenette. June included a six-day Post Intensive Retreat with
Fr. Steve Connor C.S.P. in the beautiful surroundings of the Abbey of St.
Walburga in Virginis Dale, Colorado. Fr. Terry Ryan came from Knoxville,
Tennessee, for a mini-retreat and presentation on Celtic spirituality.
Barbara Hayden
303-494-2845
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Denver,
CO
Contemplative Outreach of Colorado
Fall 2001 marks the beginning of our 15th year in
Denver. As I reflect upon our past or look forward to this year's programs and
events, I see God's work! Over the past five years, the Center for Contemplative
Living has evolved into an oasis where people on their spiritual journey gather
for prayer, instruction, and support. Each year, we have experienced a deepening
sense of community amongst our volunteer staff of 30 full-time and 32 auxiliary
members who participate in the Center's operation and activities. We graduated
18 participants from our first formation training in July and in September,
began our third session of the Nine Month Course: The Practice of Contemplative
Living. We have become a spiritual family committed to the vision of
Contemplative Outreach and to serving those who seek a prayerful relationship
with God.
The Center offers daily
prayer and a network of prayer groups in addition to an extensive course and
event schedule. With the Spiritual Journey Series by Fr. Thomas Keating as the
foundation of our curriculum, we have incorporated days of prayer, weekend
intensive retreats, mini-retreats and special events into our schedule for
2001-2002 to meet the needs of our community. Fr. Thomas Keating was the guest
speaker for our fall Mini-Retreat on November 11, 2001. Fr. William Meninger
from St. Benedict's Monastery in Snowmass, CO presented a workshop on the
effects of contemplation according to the Cloud of Unknowing on Friday, December
7. On December 8, he presented a workshop on the Enneagram as a tool for
spiritual transformation. We will host weekend intensive retreats in November
2001, and February and June 2002. I attribute the success of our center to the
gifts and talents of our staff, their commitment to serve in faith and prayer
and to God's grace.
Sr. Bernadette Teasdale
303-698-7729
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Long
Island/Queens, NY
Centering Prayer and Contemplative Outreach
Programs continue to grow on Long Island. Newsday, the most widely read Long
Island newspaper, recently interviewed the coordinating committee members and
published a very well-written and comprehensive article about Centering Prayer
and our community. As a result, we have received numerous inquiries about
Centering Prayer and our upcoming programs. We are again offering our Enrichment
Program, which is a series of four monthly presentations including the Welcoming
Prayer, Centering Prayer and Art, the Forgiveness Prayer and Making Our
Spiritual Quilt. The Formation for Contemplative Outreach Service is being
offered in six monthly meetings, beginning in October 2001 and ending in May
2002. Coming to Long Island in the fall of 2002, is the Nine Month Course: the
Practice of Contemplative Living at Our Lady of Grace Center in Manhasset, Long
Island. Introductory Workshops are planned in Nassau and Suffolk Counties and
our facilitators have requested that we offer the opportunity for them to gather
and share at a second Facilitators Workshop this fall. Five members of our
Coordinating Committee attended the Annual Meeting . They enjoyed visiting our
neighbors in the Dominican Republic, as well as bringing new ideas back to Long
Island/Queens.
Long Island Steering Committee
-
Barbara Sullivan
516-481-0472
Louisville,
KY
Contemplative Outreach of KY
The highlight of this year was having Gail Fitzpatrick-Hopler share with us the
"Welcoming Prayer" practice. An enthusiastic group of Centering Prayer
practitioners welcomed the opportunity to learn how to bring this spiritual
practice into daily life. We plan a monthly Day of Prayer and are encouraged by
those who participate. The day is planned so that an individual can be present
for the day or if their life plans are such they can come for either the morning
or afternoon. As an indication of the Spirit at work, we have frequent requests
for information about the Centering Prayer practice and Introductory Workshops.
We have a dedicated group of presenters and volunteers who are most helpful in
meeting these requests.
Jean Johnson
502-549-3122
jeanj@centralky.com
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Walden,
NY
Contemplative Outreach of Orange County
Hello everyone from Walden, NY!! Our new, wonderful happening is the
21-Day Centering Prayer Immersion Retreat. The first one in June 2001 was an
incredibly deepening, life-changing experience. We are privileged to continue
offering this opportunity in January and June 2002 (see Calendar of Events). Our
Contemplative Living Communities continue to grow after each Nine Month Course
ends. In March 2002 we are excited to have weekend retreats on Celtic
Spirituality with Sr. Kathleen O'Brien and Spirituality and Sexuality with Fr.
Bill Sheehan. We are working on a 5 day retreat in May - Spiritual Stories in
the world traditions with Sr. Mary Ann Flanagan. We continue to tithe 2.5% of
our gross income each month to Contemplative Outreach, Ltd., as well as meet our
5-year pledge. Our intention is to dedicate more time and energy to reaching out
to the Orange County practitioners with Days of Prayer, etc., as well as
Introductory Workshops to spread the seed of Centering Prayer to as many as
possible in our Chapter. We thank God for the great gift of serving God's people
in and through Contemplative Outreach.
Cathy McCarthy
845-778-2102 or
Email cathymc@frontiernet.net
West
Tennessee Contemplative Outreach
Exciting things are happening in the West Tennessee
Chapter of Contemplative Outreach. In 1997, Sr. Joann Mascari, OP, retired from
a position of pastoral ministry in Southaven, MS, and with the permission of her
community at St. Catherine, KY, began a ministry of Centering Prayer. Because of
a previous relationship in campus ministry in the 1980's in Mississippi, she
joined Sr. Teresa Jacobs, BVM, and Alan Cooley, a psychologist in private
practice, in developing Centering Prayer in North Mississippi. Last year (2000)
the group hosted a two-day event with Fr. Thomas Keating in Jackson,
Mississippi. This year they hosted a one-day event on Lectio Divina with Fr.
Carl Arico.
As a workshop on Centering
Prayer was being planned for Jackson, MS, a call came to Sr. Joann from a group
in Jackson, Tennessee, who had an interest in Centering Prayer and were
rejoicing that a workshop was being planned for "Jackson," not
realizing that it was for Jackson, Mississippi. So, the first Centering Prayer
workshop was then planned for Jackson, Tennessee which took place in January
1998, repeated again in 1999; and in 2000 a Day of Prayer was observed.
Bill Clemmons moved to
Memphis in September 2000, after retiring from 20 years of teaching in two
Baptist theological seminaries, the last being in Chicago. There he had been
involved in helping to develop the Contemplative Outreach of Greater Chicago. In
October of 2000 that group hosted the National Contemplative Outreach meeting.
At that meeting he met Sr. Joann and they began to make plans for Contemplative
Outreach West TN. The first event they did together was a Contemplative Outreach
Day of Enrichment on January 13, 2001, in Jackson, TN, followed by an
Introductory Workshop in Jackson on February 24, 2001, plus six follow-up
sessions. For the February workshop Norma Moore of Jackson, a recent graduate of
the Presenter's Training at Sewanee, joined them in the leadership.
Sr. Joann, Bill Clemmons and
Norma Moore have been meeting since the early part of the year to plan the
Contemplative Outreach activities for the West Tennessee Chapter. At this time,
an ecumenical committee has been formed to coordinate on-site Centering Prayer
programs in Jackson. Norma Moore is the contact person for the Jackson Cluster
group. Joy Boller of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Jackson has agreed to serve
as Treasurer for the West Tennessee Contemplative Outreach. This is the
beginning of a West TN Contemplative Outreach Leadership Team.
Three weekly Centering
Prayer groups now meet in the Jackson, Tennessee area with Norma Moore acting as
co-convener. A Day of Prayer was held on Saturday, October 6, 2001, at the
Catholic Diocesan Conference Center in Danceyville.
In Memphis, two initiatives
have begun with Sr. Joann Mascari, who has been serving as Acting Coordinator of
West TN Contemplative Outreach, and Bill Clemmons. Fr. Edward Everitt, OP,
pastor of St. Peter's Catholic Church in downtown Memphis, has agreed to a
one-hour, noonday Centering Prayer experience to begin October 1 to December 3,
2001. Also, Sr. Joann and Bill Clemmons will be offering a Centering Prayer
experience during the fall to faculty, staff and parents of St. Agnes/St.
Dominic Schools.
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Other Newsletter Articles:
The Theological Foundations
| President's Letter
Spanish Corner | Locked Up ... And Free |
Reflection
Imprisonment and Transformation
| 2001 Updates
The Central American Experience
