Desert: Mystics

Showing posts with label Mystics. Show all posts

Friday, March 14, 2014

A Life of Prayer featuring Sheila Upjohn - the second day Saturday 15 March. All Welcome!

Further to previous posts here and here relating to the event at Saint Paul's Ballarat concerning Julian of Norwich featuring Sheila Upjohn who has written a number of books about Blessed Julia. Clicking on the picture below will take you to pictures of the event.

A Life of Prayer Event 14-15 March 2014

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

A Life of Prayer featuring Julian of Norwich + Taize Prayer + Praying with the scriptures + Charismatic Prayer + Praying with icons + Healing through prayer + Spiritual direction

Ministry Development Committee

"Water into Wine, Baptism to Mission"

A Life of Prayer

[download the flier]

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Dates & Venues

March 14 & 15 2014
St. Paul's Bakery Hill
5 Humffray Street South, Ballarat

August 1 & 2 2014
Christ Church Warrnambool

"Pray always and never lose heart" Luke 18:1
"We don't go to prayer to get something from God; we go to prayer to be like God." Cassian
"God is home, it's we who have gone for a walk." Meister Eckhart

Sheila Upjohn is the author of In Search of Julian of Norwich, All Shall Be Well and Why Julian Now? She also translated the extracts from Julian's book for the best-selling anthologies Enfolded In Love and In Love Enclosed. Like Julian, Sheila Upjohn is a Norwich woman, and for most of her life has lived in the city where Julian wrote her book. She now lives in Australia and is delighted to share with us her knowledge and enthusiasm for Julian.

Timetable

FRIDAY

5.30pm: Gathering, Introduction & Opening
The Very Revd. Chris Chataway

6.00pm: Life of Prayer and Praying with the Saints
Sheila Upjohn
This presentation provides an introduction to the weekend.

Participants will be invited to reflect on their understanding of prayer, their own life of prayer and the place it has in their lives. Prayer is foundational to spiritual life and growth and at the same time it is very personal. Each one of us needs to discover the forms of prayer which are most helpful and to be faithful to a discipline of prayer. Our preferred ways of praying will change during our life and the weekend offers an opportunity for participants to explore new ways of praying and to learn from holy men and women like Blessed Julian of Norwich. Her messages of God's unqualified love for us are as true and needed today as they were when she wrote them in the middle of the 14th century.

7.15: Pizza & Drinks

7.45pm - 8.30pm Taize Prayer
Fr. Constantine Osuchukwu & Rev. Catherine Tierney

Taize prayer is a contemplative style of prayer based on music and silence. Created by the Taize community in France it has been found to be a very attractive form of prayer for young people all over the world.

SATURDAY

10.00am: Arrival and Morning Tea

10.30am - 11.30am: Julian of Norwich
Sheila Upjohn

11.30am - 12.10: Prayer workshops
Participants will be able to choose one of three workshops.

Workshop 1: Praying with Scriptures
Rev'd Dr. Tim Gaden

The traditional form of prayer known as Lectio Divina helps people to engage with the living word of Scripture. It allows the person the opportunity to hear this word three times in the voice of different people. The first time allows a person to water the earth of their lives, the second time allows that water to sink deep into the earth, and the third time recognises the small shoots that start to push up through the earth seeking light. This method of prayer allows a word or phrase to stay with you each day in a way which allows you to recognise how God is working in your life.

Workshop 2: Charismatic Prayer
Rev. Anne McKenna

"With gratitude in your hearts sing psalms and hymns and inspired songs to God" (Col 3:17).

Prayer is also about praise and joyful expression of our love for God. Rev. Anne will help us explore Charismatic prayer and its relevance for us today.

Workshop 3: Introduction to Christian Meditation
Fr. Cliff Cheong

"Be still and know that I am God" (Ps 46:10)

12.15pm - 1.00pm: Holy Eucharist

1.10pm - 1.35pm: Lunch

1.45pm - 2.15pm: Prayer workshops
Participants will be able to choose one of three workshops.

Workshop 1: Praying with Icons
Rev. Robyn Schakell

Icons are written (written, not painted, because they are the Word of God) using traditional shapes and colours which help elucidate the theological mystery presented in the image and also help the viewer to be in a state conducive to prayer.

Workshop 2: Healing through Prayer
Fr. George Parker

For many years Fr George has witnessed to the healing power of Jesus Christ through the celebration of the Healing Mass. He will share his experiences with us and teach us more about faith in the healing power of the Sacraments and the power of God's healing touch to bring physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wholeness.

Workshop 3: Spiritual Direction/Accompaniment
Fr. Graham Snell

An introduction to the practice of spiritual accompaniment and direction, its brief history and a look at how it can help us deepen our inner lives and grow in our spiritual journey.

2.20pm - 2.45pm: Time to write one's own prayer
Followed by Feedback and Closing Prayer

RSVP / Enquiries:
spacb@bigpond.com
03 5332 6479

Cost:
If you would like to share the costs of running this weekend we suggest:
$10 waged, $5 unwaged
but if you can't share the costs,
please feel very welcome to come for free.

Introducing Julian of Norwich - woman of wisdom, mystic, author

Julian of Norwich - Wikipedia

Julian of Norwich Music

Free E-books by Julian of Norwich

Tuesday, March 04, 2014

2014 Shrove Tuesday

The picture below is from this site

To-night we will gather to-night at The Parish Centre, St Paul's, Humffray Street, Ballarat for our annual dose of pancakes - Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday.

To-morrow is Ash Wednesday and so continues a mindful forty days until we celebrate the Risen Christ.

On 4 March 2012, the Second Sunday in Lent, the Revd Katherine Hedderly preached at St Martin in the Fields on Sacred Space. Below is some of what she had to say and the whole may be found here.

But what does it mean to let Jesus live in us? Perhaps this journey of Lent is about allowing God to show us – show us where we need to de-clutter our lives, make space, enlarge our hearts and deepen our understanding – so that we can flourish in the bigger picture of his love – offered to us in the sacred space of Jesus’ life and death and resurrection.

Etty Hillesum, a young Jewish woman, whose inspiring and hope filled diary and letters, written during the holocaust years before her death in Auschwitz in 1943, that we are using as inspiration for our Lent Course this year, wrote of this sacred God-filled space within, at a time when she was surrounded by the worst human suffering and evil:

‘There is a deep well inside me. And in it dwells God. Sometimes I am there too. But more often stones and grit block the well and God is buried underneath. Then he must be dug out again.’

Picture at left from this site

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Now when are we? A look at liturgical calendars in the Christian tradition

Picture from here

The major feasts of the Christian community known as The Church are behind us in this liturgical year. We are well and truly forging along in The Green Season. This time (as marked above) is known as The Green Season because green vestments are the norm in this period - and it is a substantial period. It is the 'Ordinary' period of community life. Given the connotation of Green in our culture at this period of history, it is fitting to have to face our greenness Sunday in and Sunday out if we are part of a community which supports a vestment-ed clergy.

Christians keep track of these events through liturgical calendars and the net has quite a few for us to use. I like the Cyberfaith one. It is clear and concise and one can move around it to check the right Sunday/week and get the best information. Just a caution though. This is a Roman Catholic calendar in the Western tradition of Christianity. The Eastern tradition has a different calendar. As well, the feasts and fasts marked on Cyberfaith relate to Roman Catholic practice so Anglican practice, for instance, will differ.

Most of the Western tradition are using a common lectionary these days so unified liturgical calendars go hand in hand with this.

So to-day is the 11th Sunday in ordinary time.

In the Anglican Calendar for Australia, we have two favourites of mine to remember this week.

To-day, we remember Antony of Padua.