“Leadership is an ambiguous term in the Christian situation where everyone is equal at the most fundamental level which is the essence of our being. Everyone is designed to assist everybody else so that whatever anybody else possesses is ours as well as theirs and whatever we have is not just ours, but theirs.”
– Consenting to God as God Is (2016) p.12.
This quote captures a key precept that all life is service. Additionally, this quote also enables us to see how a chapter coordinating team can function well. Whatever the coordinating team does, the coordinator should be part of the picture, not the whole picture. The coordinator can help the gifts of the others be expressed as well as her gifts. Hence, the coordinator avoids the pitfall of doing too much of the work and feeling like everything depends on her. Of course, all the team members must “embrace the process of transformation in Christ, both in ourselves and in others through the practice of Centering Prayer” since we all bring our false selves with us to the effort. It is important to show one another grace.
Surely it is also important that the team have listening hearts aligned with the Holy Spirit and listening for Her inspiration. For our team in Columbus, Ohio, this inspiration did not happen overnight as we sought to build out a new chapter. It definitely helped to foster consensus since we have always begun each meeting with Centering Prayer and a brief Lectio Divina. Our lectio considers one of the Theological Principles or Guidelines for Service such as “All who provide CO services do so in consideration of their personal, family, and professional responsibilities which come first.” It took a minute, but over the course of 2021 and 2022, our coordinating team found its way as each individual member possesses a sense of vocation. As Fr. Thomas says in the book cited above, each person “Knows what they want to do, like to do, and then do it.” (Ibid. p.15)
Of course, there were obstacles to overcome. Bob Gorman, the lead coordinator, was encouraged at a coordinator enrichment meeting when someone shared with him in a breakout meeting, “You cannot do it wrong!” One of these obstacles was forming a chapter during covid which did not allow us to meet in person. No doubt, covid slowed the formation of the chapter. Through the teaching and example of Fr Vinny McKiernan CSP and Adele Sheffieck, there was an already robust Centering Prayer community in Columbus. However, the CO organism and its informal non-hierarchical structure were generally unfamiliar to everyone. 30 potential members dipped their toes in the water at organizing meetings led by Marie Howard. About a half-dozen raised their hands to provide service.
Provide service they did. We found our rhythm in late 2022 and 2023. Initially, Tom Davis helped to organize the various contacts and mailing lists and to migrate them to Mailchimp for quarterly newsletters. He also provided one Zoom link for the then three Centering Prayer groups in 2021. Others soon agreed to facilitate an additional five groups online. We could meet somewhere online Monday through Friday. These groups were a life-saver during covid. A Monday evening group that typically had less than 10 participants in-person had over 50 online. There are now 12 Centering Prayer groups with three in-person groups recently formed. Two of these three include groups started by Scott Heller who has also been commissioned as an 11-Step Presenter.
Our floater, Bill Sparks, since deceased, jumped into help wherever he could make difference. He kept the checkbook, asked great questions, encouraged the lead coordinator, and provided help to all the other team members in the areas that they chose to pursue.
Katy Kram provides support to all members of the chapter and beyond as she leads and facilitates Days of Prayer or Silent Saturdays three times a year. These times of prayer start at 8:30am and go until 2:30pm. The days typically include two one-hour periods with meditative walks of Centering Prayer with each one followed by 20 minutes of Lectio Divina. There are also 45-60 minutes of presentations in the morning and afternoon by speakers such as Fr. Bill Sheehan, Julie Saad, Sr. Carol Spencer O.P., and Fr. Vinny prior to his birth into eternal life. Generally, 50-75 people from all over the US and sometimes internationally register to participate through Zoom.
Presenter formation is ongoing. Since 2019, most of the members of the coordinating team have become presenters. Bob Gorman, Kathleen Gorman, Tom Davis, Scott Heller, and Katy Kram have been formed. Centering Prayer Introductory Programs are offered regularly three or four times a year by varying members of this team.
A benefit of the presenter training is that all these individuals discovered intensive retreats as part of their formation. They now regularly attend the retreats annually if not two or three times a year. The Mercy Retreat Center in Auburn, California, is a favored location. By means of the mentoring of Susan Turpin, Marty Badgett, and Fr. Bill Sheehan, Bob and Kathleen Gorman have become members of their retreat team. In fact, with Marty and Bill, Bob and Kathleen brought this intensive retreat structured along the lines of Snowmass, Colorado, to Ohio in 2024. God willing, the plan is to offer a 9-day intensive annually in Ohio. Fifteen long-time practitioners of the prayer from Ohio brought a great depth of stillness to the times of prayer at the 2024 retreat. This richness of the silence was reinforced and observed by a dozen more participants from around the country some of whom were drawn by the presence of Fr. Bill.
Finally, our lover of book groups, Teri Leitwein, organized 10+ people to participate in the Spiritual Journey (SJ) series offered by the Colorado chapter after one of our Centering Prayer practitioners, Taye Moody, was looking for something more. Because the group still longed for more upon the completion of Spiritual Journey series, Teri followed up by offering an 18-month journey through Julie Saad’s Contemplative Life, Discovering Our Path into the Heart of God. Teri observed the chapter simplification model by having a different member of the group present a different chapter of the book each month. The whole group then discusses how they integrated or failed to integrate the one or two contemplative practices contained in the chapter.
The Columbus Chapter seeks to keep our approach simple. We generally focus on supporting the ongoing Centering Prayer groups, offering Introductions, and providing additional support to practitioners through the newsletter, Silent Saturdays, retreats, and the book group. The facilitators of the Centering Prayer groups are mostly members of the coordinating team and naturally support one another through weekly interaction at the groups. The work of nurturing this precious prayer is spread among the coordinating team. May God bless us as we seek to awaken the contemplative heart that we all possess and “to guide people attracted to the Christian understanding of the practice of contemplative transformation.” (Ibid. p.6)
