Spirited Examen

Spirited Examen: Prayerful reverence, reverent action

The Spirited Book Club is trying something new!

Are you ready to stretch your spiritual muscles and try something new? Beginning in October, the Spirited Book Club discussion becomes the Spirited Examen! Through guided meditation, readings, and prayer, we will strengthen our relationship with God, Creation, and one another.

Facilitated by Sheri Brown, Spirited Examen will be a group practice intended to help participants grow more congruent in their faith – body, mind, and soul!

Spirited Examen is based on an outline developed by the Office of Justice and Ecology of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States and the Ignatian Solidarity Network.

Each 30-minute examen will contain elements that:

• Give thanks to God for creation and for being wonderfully made. 
• Ask for the grace to see creation as God does – in all its splendor and suffering. 
• Ask for the grace to see how my life choices impact creation and the poor and vulnerable.
• Ask for the grace of conversion towards justice and reconciliation. 
• Ask for the grace to reconcile my relationships with God and neighbor, and to stand in solidarity through my actions. 
• Closing prayer and invitation to share the work of the Spirit.

Spirited Examen Dates and Time

Spirited Examen meets Thursdays at 2:00 – 2:30 pm AZ (PDT)

• October 5
• October 19
• November 2
• November 16
• November 30
• December 7
• December 21

About the facilitator

Sheri Brown is a retired special education teacher, news reporter, and video producer who has written liturgy, poems, and reflections for nearly 18 years. Her writing has been described as “sometimes raw but always real,” and as a “fresh perspective on old words.” Her writings, when she writes, are distributed to an email group under the heading, From the Edge of the Inside. (The reason for that obtuse self-descriptor became clear when she learned she is a healthy 4 during an Enneagram retreat at Spirit in the Desert this year.)

Sheri and spouse, ELCA pastor Kirk Anderson (retired), live near Prescott, AZ. With the kids grown and gone, Sheri and Kirk delight in being Airbnb Super Hosts. Sheri is also an avid DIY-er and a walking enthusiast. She walked her way to wellness in 2018 after losing mobility and identity from a physical assault while teaching. She has led contemplative retreats via Zoom for both Advent and Lent in recent years and currently facilitates the monthly Spirited Book Club discussion for Spirit in the Desert (also on zoom). Sheri led Tidings of Comfort & Joy: An Advent of Making for Advent 2022, and 40 Days of Caring for Creation: A Lenten Practicum for Lent 2023.