Upcoming Retreats & Workshops
| Unless otherwise noted, all retreats are at the Bethany Retreat CenterJun 19, 2010, 9 - 11 am, Saturday Morning of Centering Prayer, in the chapel of Good Shepherd RC Church in State College (Gray's Woods). There will be two 20-minute sits of Centering Prayer followed by a DVD of Fr. Thomas Keating on Living the Contemplative Life. All are welcome. A free will offering will be taken. For more info, contact Nancy Cord-Baran by email or by phone 814-237-1002. Jun 27, 2010, 11 am - 1 pm, a Centering Prayer workshop called "A Taste of Silence," at St. John's Lutheran Church in Bellefonte. For more info, contact Nancy Cord-Baran by email or by phone 814-237-1002 Centering Prayer 8-Day Post Intensive Retreat Jul 28 - Aug 1, 2010 5-Day Intensive Centering Prayer Retreat Aug 27 - 29, 2010 The Contemplative Dimension of the 12 Steps Sep 3 - 4, 2010 Welcoming Prayer Retreat Nine Month Course: The Practice of Contemplative Prayer In 2010: Sept 10-12; Oct 22-24; Nov 12-14; Dec 3-4. In 2011: Jan 14-16; Feb 18-20; Mar 18-20; Apr 8-10; May 13-15. |
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Welcome to the June 2010 issue of the Contemplative Outreach of Central Pennsylvania newsletter. We are a chapter of Contemplative Outreach. In the last issue we asked the question, "Have you seen changes in yourself that you think came about because of Centering Prayer?" Christine, from State College, and J.S. wrote wonderful responses to this, and they are included below. Please consider sending us a few words on this month's question for the next issue. We'd love to hear from you, whether it's for the first time or you've contributed in the past. We're really fortunate to have so many retreats and workshops available. Notice that there are two new ones coming up very soon this month in State College and Bellefonte. And also you'll see that dates have already been set for the nine-month course on Contemplative Prayer. If you have suggestions or comments on the newsletter, please send them! Gwen Stimely and Jet Schneider, Newsletter Co-Editors p.s. The outdoor photos in this issue come compliments of Oedi Oudshoorn, who took them in Cornwall, in the United Kingdom. The beautiful magnolia trees were on the grounds of Caerhays Castle. |
Food for Thought
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|  From Intimacy with God, Thomas Keating, Crossroad Publishing Company, 1999, p. 89.What can we say about the distress that arises when the same old temptations recur? For example, difficulties with a particular person that we thought we had resolved once and for all recycle. In actual fact, it is not the same temptation at all. We encounter it again because there is a circular structure to a spiral staircase and hence horizontally we seem to meet the same old problem. But vertically we are now dealing with it at a more mature level. Hence, we are capable of making a more complete surrender of that attachment or that aversion. If the Spirit asked us in the beginning to make a total surrender of every difficult person or situation, nobody could do it. By leading us gradually (the way human things work),through growth in trust and humility, we are able to make an ever deeper surrender of ourselves to God. In this way we reach a new level of interior freedom, a deeper purity of heart, and an ever increasing union with the Spirit. Back to Top |
 Have you seen changes in yourself that you think came about because of Centering Prayer? |
| How Centering Prayer Changed My Life
from Christine, State College
I was first introduced to Centering Prayer at a session led by Fr. Basil Pennington in Washington, D.C. A few years later I attended another session led by Fr. Mark Begley from St. John the Evangelist Parish in Altoona. At the time my life was becoming increasingly complicated and stressful. I felt that Centering Prayer would be helpful to me, and although I tried to practice it, I did not stay with it faithfully.
A few years later, after many more complications and stressors, many caused by close family members, I found myself with health problems, emotional pain, and an inability to forgive the people who had caused me so much pain.
At the beginning of Lent 2009, I received an email from Spirituality & Practice, an online educational organization, offering a retreat for Lent with Contemplative Outreach called Forgiveness - Growth in Love. It taught the Contemplative Prayer of Forgiveness and featured essays and audio clips from both Fr. Thomas Keating and Fr. Carl Arico. The Prayer, and the teachings of Frs. Keating and Arico, taught me about forgiveness vs. reconciliation, the physical damage caused by holding on to pain and hurt, and most importantly to me, the reasons that people act in hurtful, destructive ways toward others.
Up until this point, I struggled to forgive, but did not know how. I firmly believe that through this retreat, the Holy Spirit sent me exactly what I needed to move past these negative situations and move forward with my life. While it may not be what speaks to some, Fr. Keating's insights and explanations on what makes people act destructively toward others filled my need to understand why. Fr. Arico spoke to feeling victimized, and how these stressors affect one's physical health.
I completed the retreat, but I can actually pinpoint a day during the retreat when I gained understanding and this hurt and pain was lifted from me, with the help of the Holy Spirit. It was the first time in my life that I felt that God had personally touched and healed my life.
Since then I have been able to put past hurts behind me, become physically and emotionally more centered and healthier, and really change the way I live. I am able to focus on what is truly important and not on superficial things that have no long-term meaning. My family and close friends have also taken notice and can almost pinpoint the day it happened as well.
For the first time in my life, I feel that God is always with me. I wish that I could help everyone experience this.
from
J.S.
The contents of this blessing tell the story
of how my heart changed with the daily practice of Centering Prayer.
Bless
O God,
Source of All that is,
Bless to me my heart
May it beat for You
May
it sing for You
May it give Your Love to others.
Bless O God,
Source of All that is,
Bless to me my heart
So that it can dance
for You
So that it can
burn for You
So that it can share Your Love with others
Bless to
me my heart
O God, Source of All that is
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Donation Request
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|  Tim Reddington and Nancy Cord-Baran would like very much, as Co-Coordinators of Contemplative Outreach of Central PA, to attend the national Contemplative Outreach Conference in Georgia this fall. They would be grateful to anyone who would like to help sponsor their trip.
If you would be willing to make a small donation, please make the check out to "Contemplative Outreach of Central PA" or "COCPa," add a couple of words to note that the check is for sponsoring Tim and Nancy, and mail it to:
COCPa
PO Box 129
Frenchville, PA 16836
Thank you!
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Please Share!
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| What advice do you have for someone just starting to practice Centering Prayer?
 Please write a few words (or lots of words!) and send them to us. Submissions received by May 1st will appear in the May newsletter. Please include your town and note how you would like your name to appear - Anonymous, Initials, or Full Name. Suggestions?If you have suggestions for the newsletter, suggestions for "Please Share" questions for future issues, or comments of any sort, please send them to us. Back to Top |
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