Centering Prayer
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All are welcome!
The purpose of our group is to consent to the presence and action of God within each of us through the practice of Centering Prayer and to nurture an open, supportive, and inclusive environment. All are welcome.
Please contact Eileen McCaffrey Schuman at [email protected] for the link if you wish to join us.
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Our Gatherings
We gather on Zoom on Tuesday evenings from 7 to 8:15 p.m. A typical evening in our group begins with 20-25 minutes of centering prayer, followed by lectio divina (a contemplative way of listening to the Scriptures) or discussion of a book or video supporting us in our spiritual journey.
Please contact Eileen McCaffrey Schuman at [email protected] for the link if you wish to join us.
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Guidelines
- Begin promptly (7 pm Tuesday)
- Accept one another as we are
- Listen attentively and open-mindedly without interruption
- Refrain from judgment
- Allow for silence within discussions
- Offer caring and support as God heals
- Enable anyone to share – or to remain silent -- within the confines of our meeting time (finish ~8:15 pm)
- We keep our sharing in the group absolutely confidential.
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About Centering Prayer
"We trust the soul, its reality and power, its self-sufficiency, its capacity to speak truth, its ability to help us to listen and respond to what we hear." -- Parker Palmer, A Hidden Wholeness
The four guidelines for centering prayer:- Choose a sacred word as the symbol of your intention to consent to God’s presence and action within
- Sitting comfortably and with eyes closed, settle briefly and silently introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to God’s presence and action within
- When engaged with your thoughts, return ever-so-gently to the sacred word
- At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with your eyes closed for a couple of minutes
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Resources
- The Contemplative Outreach, Ltd website provides more information about centering prayer:https://www.contemplativeoutreach.org/centering-prayer-method/
- Contemplative Outreach of NJ offers additional opportunities to support the practice of centering prayer: https://centeringprayernj.com/events/.
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