Spiritual Rules of Life in a Workaday World

A rule of life is an aid to mindful daily spirituality. Some people have very complicated rules, such as praying five times a day, reading the Bible meditatively for one hour each day (Lectio Divina), or saying Morning and Evening Prayer daily. Others may have simpler or looser guideline, such as pausing to meditate several times a day, turning their attention to God's presence in nature for a few minutes each day, or playing or listening to music connects them with the divine.

On Thursdays in Lent, the Oak Park Deanery will welcome excellent speakers, each of whom has some association with a religious order and practices a rule - or perhaps just an approach - to the spiritual life each day. Each session is held at a different church in the deanery.  

A full schedule is at this link. 

The next gathering of A Benedictine Experience will be Tuesday, March 10, 2015, at 7:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall of Grace Episcopal Church.

All are welcome.  There is no fee and reservations are not necessary.

The book study group organizes itself around authors who focus on living more fully from one's soul in the second half of life. The life of Christ is often used by such authors as a paradigm for this.

The group won't meet in March; the next discussion will be on Wednesday, April 8, 2015 at 7:30. If you are interested in joining the group, or would like more information, please contact Bets Howland.

The new book chosen is: God at 2000, edited by Marcus Borg and Ross Mackenzie. (From the book jacket) "At a February 2000 conference, seven scholars of religion were asked to explain how their 'personal experiences...study, and ...faith perspective influence' the way they, as individuals, 'see God.' This volume recounts the conference proceedings, offering luminous essays by prolific writer Karen Armstrong, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, rabbi Lawrence Kushner, nun Joan Chittister, and others," including Marcus Borg. Each chapter begins with a biography of the scholar who wrote the essay.

Here is the reading assignment for the April discussion (43 pages):

• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Seeing God Again: What's at Stake, by Marcus Borg
• Chapter 2: Honest to God: The Universe of Faith, by Diana Eck

God at 2000

by Marcus Borg and Ross Mackenzie by MOREHOUSE PUBLISHING

Paperback

List Price: $22.00

Our Price: $8.98

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