Spirited Centering Prayer

Spirited Centering Prayer: A 7-Week Communal Practice of Being Still

The principal method of centering prayer, really, is to sit down.”

Fr. Thomas Keating

When’s the last time you had a good, mind-emptying, soul-filling sit? Maybe you tried it once or twice and found it impossible to be still. Perhaps it frustrated you to try. With the world burning and November looming and a plethora of other crises near and far, many Do-ers wonder, “Who has time to sit?” Just thinking about Being Still can bring on the fidgets!

If that rings true for you, it is certainly true of our facilitator, Sheri Brown. She is not very good at sitting still. She needs practice. Lots of practice. She knows, deep down – just as you do – that the world isn’t served by our frantic efforts to Do More Better but by God doing more through us.

The more God does and the less you do, the better the prayer.”

Fr. Thomas Keating

So come, join Sheri and other recovering overachievers during Easter to practice Centering Prayer. Let’s see what happens.

What is Centering Prayer?

Centering Prayer is founded on the basic goodness of human nature and is a way of cultivating union with God through silence and surrender. It is said that one may or may not “feel” the presence of God during centering prayer but, with repeated practice, one grows into a deeper sense of God’s abiding presence in all places and at all times.

• WHEN: Mondays at Noon, beginning April 1 through May 13
• WHAT: We’ll watch a 10-15 minute video teaching on Centering Prayer from Father Thomas Keating, followed by a 10-15 minute communal sit–with a really cool timer!

The Centering Method

The “method” as taught by Thomas Keating has four guidelines:

1. Choose a sacred word as the symbol of your intention to consent to God’s presence and action within.
2. 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.
3. When engaged with your thoughts, return ever-so-gently to the sacred word.
4. At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes.

The guidelines sound simple. They’re not as simple as they sound. The teachings will unpack the guidelines in a refreshing way. For instance, in the first teaching we’ll listen to, Father Keating talks about the importance of having a “jolly” attitude.

Closing Benediction: The God of Peace send you to rejoice in the Lord always, giving to God your anxiety, being gentle to everyone, and letting God’s peace guard your hearts and minds in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Facilitator

Sheri Brown is a retired special education teacher, news reporter, and video producer who has written liturgy, prayers, poems, and reflections on scripture for 15 years. She facilitates faith adventures through Spirit in the Desert and various congregations, often with a strong emphasis on climate justice. She also participates in a number of book groups and facilitates Spirited Book Club discussions. Sheri and spouse, ELCA pastor Kirk Anderson (retired), live near Prescott, AZ, but are currently on interim assignment in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

Read more about Sheri Brown.

Resources

• Free Online Meditation Timer (meditation-timer.com)
• The Method of Centering Prayer – Part 1, with Thomas Keating (youtube.com) This is a 5-part series. We’ll watch some parts in their entirety and break others into two parts. We may or may not get through the entire series in our 7-week program. Participants will be provided with the link in order to listen, learn, and practice on their own.)