f engaging spirituality facilitators only out to the light ...a priest begged us, “when you leave...

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Out to the Light

© JustFaith Ministries, 2014 . www.justfaith.org . 502-429-0865

Sess ion 4

Li s ten ing Sess ion

Part 1MeditationBearings PresentationBearings DialogueBreak

Part 2Prayerful Listening (2 small groups)Community BusinessMeditation

75 Minutes20 Minutes20 Minutes20 Minutes15 Minutes

75 Minutes60 Minutes5 Minutes

10 Minutes

Overview of the 21/2 hr Session

JustFaith Ministries P.O. Box 221348 Louisville, KY 40252 (502) 429-0865www.justfaith.org

All EngagingSpirituality™ materials are copyrighted by JustFaith™ Ministries, 2013.

For Engaging Spirituality Facilitators only

© JustFaith Ministries, 2014 • www.justfaith.org.

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Out to the Light


These notes are summarized in Pointers for Participants 4. Please review these comments BEFORE Session FOUR.

DEEP Listening Draws Us Into DEEPER SharingO God, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise. Psalm 51: 15

Sessions 4, 11 and 18 are designated Listening Sessions. They have a slightly different format. The second half of each session is dedicated entirely to the sharing of personal Bearings letters by one or two members of your group. Two co-facilitators model the first of these personal Bearings presentations. If you have a large group (10-12 participants) you will need to divide into 2 smaller groups for the second half of these listening sessions as suggested below.

Divide the large group into 2 smaller groups with one presenter in each group. Follow the pattern of the other Bearings presentations:

• Invite the small group into stillness.• Offer a few words of personal introduction.• Present your Bearings letter to your small group, prayerfully, with pauses.• At key points (between the 3 sections) invite people into Lectio-style reflection. • At the conclusion, open a period of silent reflection.• Open the floor for listeners to share a heart response to your letter.

Presenters offer their responses to questions or reflections surfaced by the listeners. In addition to the 3 designated Listening Sessions, participants can choose to present their personal Bearings letters during the Immersion Day (after session 7); during the Pilgrimage Day (after session 14) and on the Commissioning Day (after session 21).

Practice Prayerful Listening We let go our need to capture information to allow wisdom to capture us.Bearings letters are intimate and personal presentations. They are not documents designed for mass distribution. These letters are exercises in the discipline of prayerful or spiritual listening – the way we listen to Scripture readings or personal stories. In other contexts we listen selectively, sifting, filtering, categorizing what we hear into what we like or dislike. By contrast, the discipline of auditory prayer allows the truth or challenge we hear to resonate, without trying to retain, analyze or memorize it. In this way, truth penetrates as we let it in, let it be and let it speak to us. Please refrain from making or distributing copies of the Bearings letters. Focus instead on the insights the letters generate as they resonate among the members of your group.

The ES Journal includes a page entitled Baring Your Soul for each session. Invite those who wish to make use of this page to briefly note the words, phrases or insights that resonate, as they listen to the Bearings presentation.

Have copies of the next spiritual reading text (EMBRACING THE WORLD) available.The Bearings letter for session five was written by Marie Dennis, Co-President of Pax Christi International.

Note to Facilitators

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Out to the Light


You will need: Copies of spiritual reading text Embracing the World; copy of the Bearings Letter (Marie Dennis) for the next session; 2 pillar candles; a small cross; the covenant cloth; matches; a music player and reflective music; bible; refreshments. Co-facilitators will need their personal Bearings Letters. Participants will need journals and pens.

Co-Facilitator Prayerful PreparationArrive at least 10 minutes before the group. Set the room (circle of chairs, with one additional Bearings seat; small central table; candle; covenant cloth; cross; bible; reflective music; CD player). Light the candle and have reflective music playing. Sit together in silence for 3 minutes.

Silence Silence SilenceOffer a word of blessing to one another O R invoke the Spirit by echoing this prayer:

Reader EchoCome Spirit of justice overwhelm us. Spirit of justice… Fill our hungry hearts. Fill our hearts… Ignite in us the fire of compassion. Ignite compassion… Reshape our lives and send us out, Send us out… To restore and renew To restore... The beauty of the earth. The earth.

Meditation (20 minutes)Welcome everyone into the circle and into the silence. Invite people to put everything down, sit in a receptive posture, and become attuned to the rhythm of their breathing. Share this insight: There is nothing so much like God as SILENCE. Meister EckhartOpen 5 minutes of silence.

Silence Silence SilenceStrike the chime again to break the silence.

Pause then repeat There is nothing so much l ike God as Si lence .

There is nothing so much l ike God as Si lence .

Alternate voices as you prayerfully share A L L or A N Y of this reflection. Slowly You who have ears, listen…. to the voices of Haiti…

Pause A priest begged us, “When you leave Haiti, please remember the voices you heard here.” And these are the words that haunt my dreams:

Pause

Session 4 • L i s t e n i n g S e s s i o n • 2 ½ h o u r s

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“We don’t want to be rich,” the peasant woman pleaded. “We only want not to be poor.”

Pause “Why are the dogs so thin?” someone asked the guide. “They are thin because the people eat the garbage,” was the answer.

Pause

“Women are used as brooms,” explained the young feminist organizer. “Used then thrown in the corner.”

Pause The political analyst instructed: “This is the attitude of the powerful toward our nation: Some countries have no reason to exist. They should be dropped in the ocean. One is Haiti.”

Pause “Haiti?” It’s like we’re lying on a hospital bed in a coma but still able to hear,” said the bishop. “Gathered around the bedside, people are discussing us as if we were already dead. But Haiti is not a corpse and resents being treated as one.”

Pause The peace activist was passionate: “Tell our friends in the United States not to forget us. As long as we know there are people who stand with us we can go on.”

Pause “J’ai faim (Shay fam). I am hungry,” said the old woman, lifting her dress to show an infection.

Pause “J’ai faim (Shay fam). I am hungry,” pleaded the young boy, pressing his face against the window of our locked van and following us for blocks through Port-au-Prince (Port-OH-Prance) traffic.

Pause “J’ai faim (Shay fam). I am hungry,” the child begged, tugging at my skirt and pointing silently to her swollen stomach and her mouth.

Pause “J’ai faim (Shay fam). I am hungry. I am hungry.”

Pause “Please listen to the voices you heard in Haiti,” the priest begged us.

“Listen to the voices and follow your conscience.” Mary Lou Kownacki, A Monk in the Inner City, Used by permission.

Pause

Sacred Listening

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Let anyone who has ears to hear listen.

Strike the chime to open 3 minutes of silence.

Silence Silence SilenceStrike the chime again to break the silence.Close with these words:

When asked what she did when she prayed, Mother Teresa said: “Oh, that’s easy. I listen.” And what does God do? “Oh,” she replied, “God listens.”

Pause There is nothing so much l ike God as Silence. There is nothing so much l ike God as Silence.

Bearings Presentation (20 minutes) The participant responsible for presenting the Bearings letter places Arthur’s picture on the empty chair. After the reading, the presenter returns the letter to the co-facilitators.

Bearings Dialogue – Invitational Mode (20 minutes)Pause after the reading and final Lectio sharing. Offer this question:

What resonated with you in Arthur’s letter? Invite someone to share ONE heart response to the letter. After sharing, that person nominates someone else to share her/his heart response.This process continues until everyone has been invited to share.

Break (15 minutes) Select a reader to present the next Bearings letter (Marie Dennis). If possible, match the gender of the author and the presenter. Give the Bearings letter to the reader. Remind him/her NOT to make additional copies, but to reflect on it and come prepared to lead the Bearings process at the next session. Distribute copies of Embracing the World.

Prayerful Listening – Personal Bearings Presentations (60 minutes)

Call everyone back to the circle. Open with a minute of silence.

Silence Silence SilenceShare O N E of these comments:

It is impossible to over emphasize the immense need humans have to be really listened to, to be taken seriously, to be understood. Paul Tournier

Pause Remember that time when someone was deeply listening to you– what it felt like to have someone really get what you were saying. It most likely inspired you to articulate your innermost thoughts and feelings, freed you to express the essence of yourself. Kay Lindahl, Practicing the Sacred Art of Listening.

Meditation cont’d

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Pause Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force… When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand. Karl Menninger

Intimate Listening Circles (2 Small Groups) (If necessary) Light the second pillar candle. Divide participants into 2 small groups. One co-facilitator joins each group. Locate the groups out of earshot of one another. Keep the same circular dynamic as the large group. Each group takes a lit candle, placing it at the center of their smaller circle. Open with a period of silence.

Silence Silence SilenceShare these 3 invitations of heart listening:

Let it in… Let it be… Let it move you…Co-facilitators make their Personal Bearings Presentation to their small group.

• Begin with a few words of personal introduction. • Read your letter in the format used for the other Bearings presentations: pausing briefly between paragraphs, breaking for Lectio Divina style reflection. • Pause for a few minutes of silence at the end of your letter.

Open Response DialogueI wonder… I noticed… I appreciate… I am curious about… Open the door to responses from the heart.Encourage small group participants to respond ANY of these or other prompts:

What did you wonder about…? What did you notice…? What resonated…? What did you appreciate…? What are you curious about…?

Going DeeperRemind everyone to pause before and after sharing their responses. The presenter contributes to this dialogue, responding to reflections of the group. Utilize the remaining time with your small group to deepen the dialogue prompted by the sharing of your struggles, practices and insights.

Close by thanking everyone for listening. Invite people into a moment of stillness before returning to the large group.

Community Business & Pearls of Wisdom (5 minutes) A participant shares a quote from the ES Journal and a brief excerpt from a current spiritual reading text. Invite someone to bring two quotes to the next session. Inform everyone of the date and time of the next session and the personal Bearings commitment. Remind everyone about ongoing commitments to spiritual reading (in Pointers for Participants) and outreach ministry. Offer a brief stretch break.

Personal Bearings Presentations cont’d

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Invite the group into stillness. Alternating voices, offer A N Y part of this reflection:

It is a great delusion to think our times of prayer ought to differ from other times. We are as strictly obliged to cleave to God by action in the time of action as by prayer in the season of prayer. Brother Lawrence

Pause Contemplation is only a vehicle in which God may come to disrupt as well as comfort us. Parker Palmer

Pause Let us make space for the disturbing presence of the Holy Spirit – the silent, listening God…

PauseInvite the group into 3 minutes of silence:

Silence Silence SilenceAsk everyone to stand. Lead this reflection (alternating voices): Prayer invites God’s presence to suffuse our spirits, God’s will to prevail in our lives.

Pause Prayer might not mend a broken bridge, nor rebuild a ruined city.

But prayer can water an arid soul, mend a broken heart, rebuild a weakened will.

Who rise from prayer better persons, their prayer is answered. Rabbi Isserman

Pause If there is a situation that cries out to be heard, share it with us. If a word of gratitude rises in you, speak it aloud. After people have prayed, conclude with this blessing:

Let us bless one another with a word, a sign, a gesture of God’s “disturbing” peace.

Co-facilitator Afterglow (5 Minutes) When everyone has gone, revisit the session together.

• Begin with a few minutes of silence.• Let a grateful word surface. • Offer a word of affirmation to one another. OR Share your response to A N Y of these:

I felt the Holy Spirit…I was stretched or challenged by...I have learned…

Meditation (10 minutes)

This concludes the session.

Look ahead to the next session or activity.

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© JustFaith Ministries, 2014 . www.justfaith.org . 502-429-0865For Engaging Spirituality participants only

Pointers for ParticipantsReflect on these insights BEFORE the session

Wake Up To WonderFaithfulness shall spring up from the ground, and justice will look down from the sky. Psalm 85: 11Ever since human consciousness emerged, people have looked beyond the horizon, followed the stars, gazed at their loved ones, wept over their departed, risen early to greet the splendor of the sun... and wondered.

Wondering is a deeply human way to embrace the mystery of life, putting our mind (with its appetite for answers) at ease, and liberating the expansive power of imagination. Wondering acknowledges our deep, gnawing sense of incompleteness. It enables us to be human AND the children of a mysterious and universal Creator at the same time. Wondering represents another way for us to engage and seek to understand the miraculous gift we call reality.

Rooted in Scripture Read ISAIAH 6: 1-8. Reflect on the statement: Prophecy begins with wonder and draws us toward deeper engagement.

Resting in God Deliberately opening SACRED SPACE in our lives leads us to listen. Listening causes us to wonder. Wonder invites us deeper, into stillness and presence.

You are challenged to practice personal, quiet prayer every day. There are many approaches to attentive, prayerful presence, each with its own merits. Your Engaging Spirituality journal invites you to explore prayer in a variety of ways, hopefully leading to the integration of prayerfulness as a way of being deeply connected AND engaged in this world.

Consenting to the Spirit The opening meditation for Engaging Spirituality sessions introduces the Centering Prayer method. This gentle invitation into stillness, to “rest in God-presence,” uses a sacred word to express our desire to be drawn into God’s silent embrace. Silence and stillness may feel challenging, and the process of waiting on God, being receptive and available, may feel awkward or passive. Though it appears simple, Centering Prayer requires practice.

Between Session 4 & Session 5

Practical Applications Prayer Notice, but do not judge, any resistance you have to the discipline of daily prayer.

Spiritual Reading Embracing the World, pages xi - 15.

Journal-Keeping Read and respond to pages 62 - 66.

Spiritual Practice Give “ear to your world,” [ES Journal, p. 63] and invoke the mercy of God.(Lord have mercy...) Practice giving everyone a second hearing, a compassionate glance, another chance. Isn’t this how you hope to be received?

Outreach Ministry How does “listening with your heart” affect your encounters with God’s people in need?“When I admit that God is in charge, I am willing and ready to change, probably time and again... ready to open myself up to a process of transformation... asking of me the triad of silence... listening... emptiness... and the commitment to BE a disciple.” Esther de Waal

Wondering is not to be confused with daydreaming, since true wondering prompts critical questions: Why are things the way they are? How do we tend to this fragile gift of life?

Prayer is the expression of our longing to come into full presence.

Preparing for Session FIVE

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STILL in the STORMVisit the Engaging Spirituality blog: http://stillinthestorm.wordpress.com/

1© JustFaith Ministries, 2014 . www.justfaith.org . 502-429-0865

BEARINGS Letter

Bearings Letter

Rev. Arthur SimonTo be read aloud at Session FOUR.

DirectionsTo be read aloud to participants of Engaging Spirituality.This material is copyrighted. Print ONE copy of this document.Do NOT forward or make additional copies.Detach and retain this cover page so the co-facilitator can mail the Thank You Note to this address:

Rev. Arthur Simon 5403 38th Ave. #4 Hyattsville, MD 20781

Invite a participant to read the letter to the group.

The letter is returned to the co-facilitators after the session.

© Copyrighted material. For co-facilitators of Engaging Spirituality ONLY. Do NOT copy, share or forward.

JustFaith Ministries P.O. Box 221348 Louisville, KY 40252 (502) 429-0865www.justfaith.org

All EngagingSpirituality™ materials are copyrighted by JustFaith™ Ministries, 2014.


BEARINGS Letter

O that today you would listen to God’s voice, harden not you heart. Psalm 95: 8 Directions for Readers General Remarks Bearings letters are meant to be read aloud, listened to and received as auditory prayer. Do NOT copy or electronically distribute the letter to participants.Each letter is read aloud by a different member of the Engaging Spirituality group. The reader is responsible for: prayerful preparation; introducing the author; reading the letter aloud; inviting people to respond in the Lectio Divina format; crafting a note of thanks to the author.

Before the SessionCo-facilitators print only ONE copy of the Bearings letter.At a prior session (a week before the letter is read), co-facilitators identify a reader from among the participants. The reader takes the Bearings letter home to review it in prayerful preparation.

At the SessionAdd an empty chair to the circle to represent the author of the Bearings letter. Using the attached introduction, the reader introduces the author (in the first person) and then passes the author’s picture around the circle. Before prayerfully reading the letter, the reader places the picture on the empty seat.

Note to Readers: • Use the pauses to moderate the pace of your reading. • Take three slow breaths when you pause. This will give your listeners

time to let the words penetrate. • Follow the directions for the Lectio Divina reflection. • Allow 2-3 minutes for those who wish to share a word, a question or a

brief insight, before resuming the reading. • After the reading and during the ensuing dialogue, note one or two

insights (in your journal) generated by the letter.

After the SessionAt the close of the session, return the picture and letter to the co-facilitators for safekeeping. Do NOT make copies of the letter after the session. Using the attached stationery, the reader writes a brief personal response to the author, including: a word of thanks; the name and location of the group; a few insights from the group’s reflection. Co-facilitators are responsible for mailing the Thank You Note to the author (not to JustFaith Ministries). Respecting the author’s privacy, the co-facilitators do not share the personal mailing address of any author.


BEARINGS Letter

Personal IntroductionMy name is Art and I founded “Bread for the World,” an ecumenical organization dedicated to ending hunger at home and abroad. In the 1960s I was pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in the Lower East Side of New York city. I have also served as director of the Washington DC Office of the Christian Children’s Fund, and as an advisor to the Center for Public Justice. I have written several books on faith, hunger, poverty and public policy. My book Bread for the World was recognized with a national award. My work to end hunger has been recognized with a Presidential Award and the Pacem (PAH•chem) In Terris Award. Arthur Simon


BEARINGS Letter

My Struggle

Dear Fellow Pilgrims, My main struggle for integrity is to build a solid connection between my activities and the nourishment of my soul. I am ashamed to say that for most of my life I considered myself too busy doing God’s work to give adequate time to spiritual growth. A personal crisis many years ago served as a wake-up call that helped focus my attention. And in retirement, having run out of excuses, I am learning how much richer my life might have been had I more faithfully tended to prayer and reflection. Pause Thanks to others, my neglect was not complete. I grew up in a Christian home in which we had family devotions, memorized numerous psalms and other biblical texts such as the Beatitudes and 1 Corinthians 13. We read Bible stories and talked about them in ways that brought them to life. Sunday school, church, and youth events were a cherished part of my early years. As a seminary student, then inner city pastor, then CEO of Bread for the World, the church became the occupational center of my life. All of the above- not to mention the mercy and patience of God- carried me through several decades during which I was very busy, but not very wise. Pause

Because authentic Christian spirituality is anchored in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and draws its strength from him, my underlying struggle is to grow in God’s love, celebrate that love, and find true joy in Christ who sets us free to serve others. Out of this, my engagement with the world finds its proper place and becomes more fruitful.

It has slowly penetrated my reluctant mind that God wants much more for me than I want for myself. A few years ago I wrote a book entitled How Much is Enough?, with the subtitle, Hungering for God in an Affluent Culture. The subtitle is good, but the title misleads, because it suggests that the underlying problem is that we want too much, and implies that the solution is to adjust our wants downward. There is a lot to be said for adjusting downward, of course. However, my underlying problem (and yours, I suspect) is not that I want too much, but the very opposite: that I want way too little. I am like a prisoner on death row who wants a steak dinner for his last meal, while God wants to set me free. We pursue dreams that fade and perish, but God wants to give us the Kingdom. Pause


BEARINGS Letter

So my struggle — a happy, not a frantic one — is to open my heart more trustingly to all the good that God wants to give me through Jesus. The challenge is to let go of the fears, dispositions and restraints that inhibit trust. In this I struggle against myself and my contrary dispositions. Pause

Said another way, my struggle is that of learning to see myself and others and all things through the eyes of God. Until I was eight years old I had extremely poor vision, but no awareness of this until an eye examination showed that I needed strong corrective lens. When I received my new glasses and put them on, the world suddenly looked different. People were no longer fuzzy and I could see individual leaves on trees, even blades of grass. The world hadn’t changed, but my ability to see the world had. In a similar way, baptism and faith in the risen Lord enable us to begin a journey in which we learn to see everything in a different way: with the eyes of God, through the lens of the kingdom. We are helped to understand ourselves and relate to others and all creation through the heart and the mind of Christ. Because I do this so imperfectly, I am in constant need of God’s help to do it better. I try to remember who I am, sense the presence of God, and trust God’s presence even when I don’t feel it. I struggle to discern the will of God, which often eludes me; but I believe that the

struggle to discern is also part of God’s gift.

Longer PauseLectio Divina: What WORD, QUESTION or INSIGHT resonated with you?

Pause

Invite people to share

Pause

My PracticeMy daily discipline begins when I awake and turn the day over to God-- though distractions often clutter my mind before it occurs to me that I have forgotten to do so. Next I read the prayers and Scriptures for daily Mass, as well as a meditation on one of the texts, from The Word Among Us. It is a Catholic publication, so as a Lutheran I allow for occasional theological bumps; but I find the prayers and meditations (and of course the Scriptures) to be centered on God’s grace in Christ, and connected to daily life in a way that is warm and nourishing. Pause


BEARINGS Letter

I then divide an hour between personal reflection and intercessory prayer. Most days I am helped by doing part of my prayers while walking in a park near my home. I think of my life in the light of God’s love and God’s purpose for me. I find the Lord’s Prayer a way of listening to God, praising God, seeking God’s will, and entering more fully into the presence of God throughout the day. I reflect on my waywardness and give thanks for God’s patience and mercy. I offer praise for many blessings. I pray that I not be blind to the fingerprints of God in the beauty and majesty of creation. I am reminded of God’s providential care and redemptive work. I pray for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Pause I pray for each member of my family by name and circumstance, for friends and friendships, for the unity and mission of the church, and for the world and its needs. This intercessory prayer encompasses the greater part of my praying. I name pastors, missionaries and others from around the world with special vocations or needs, people I know who are in distress (sick, dying, grieving, poor, hungry, homeless, victims of violence, those who live in fear, pain, danger, prisoners, etc.). I pray for peace with justice, for works of mercy, for the care of the earth, and that all might be set free to serve and to seek the common good. Pause I pray that I and others may draw near to God, and pursue the love and justice of the Kingdom, for God alone empowers us to be steadfast in doing so. I know that I am never praying alone, that Christ is with me and the Holy Spirit assisting me. I am also connected with all believers on earth and in heaven who join me in prayer and praise, especially in church when I am nourished by

God’s word and the Eucharist.


Pause Invite people to share

Pause

My Challenge

What practical challenge can I offer you for your walk in life? Here are a few thoughts: 1. Be less foolish than I have been. Spend more time in prayer and reflection, guided by Christ. You and others will be greatly blessed. Pause


BEARINGS Letter

2. Celebrate the Kingdom. God has not only brought us into the Kingdom through baptism and faith, but has given us the holy purpose of reflecting his love in all that we do. So celebrate that love with all your might.

Pause 3. Love starts at home with (possibly difficult) members of your family. It extends to those with whom you worship or work. It includes neighbors and strangers, even people in distant lands who need you. God gives each of us a host of opportunities almost moment-by-moment, every day to practice that love. We can smile at others when we feel like ignoring them or frowning. We can share more generously with those whose life depends upon our doing so. Of course, I am much better at advising these things than doing them, so I need constant reminders; which is why prayer and reflection is so necessary for me. Pause 4. Seek Justice for the weak and lowly. It’s one of the most effective ways of loving others. What good does it do to volunteer in a soup kitchen or contribute to help poor people overseas, if by our silence on public policy we lock people more deeply into hunger? In addressing global climate change, how effective is it to turn down the thermostat a few degrees and drive less, if we do not insist that our leaders establish policies to make us a more energy-efficient nation? The former things we ought to do without neglecting the latter. You want to love others? Become a citizen advocate. Pause 5. Begin with small but specific steps. Do not try to be an instant St. Francis, for you will quickly fail and get discouraged. Take one or two manageable initiatives. Stick with them and ask God to prepare you for the next step, and then the next. I think you will be surprised at the miracles God works in you and through you.

In God’s peace and love, Art


Pause

Invite people to share

Please return this letter to co-facilitators.

With heartfelt thanks for your wisdom and your witness.

May you remain rooted and grounded in love...

JustFaith Ministries · P.O. Box 221348 · Louisville, KY, 40252 (502) 429-0865 · www.justfaith.orgThank You

f engaging spirituality facilitators only out to the light ...a priest begged us, “when you leave...

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