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Volume
21 , Number 2 · January / June 2006
News From the Field
12
Step Outreach § 20th Anniversary Tour
§ Yesterday I did not Welcome § Programs
12 Step Outreach
“Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our
conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for
knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.”
Step 11 of the 12 Step
Programs
Dedicated teams from a variety of fellowships are willing to
bring this precious contemplative practice to those you love. In January an
Intensive Retreat will be held at St. Benedict’s Retreat Center in Snowmass,
Colorado, for people who have attended an Intensive Retreat and who have had
significant recovery in a 12 Step program. Many of those who will attend are
members of the 12 Step Outreach teams that were organized last January in
Snowmass at a 12 Step Formation retreat and workshop. While the retreat is
currently full, interested persons may request a brochure from Jenny Adamson, adamsonje@cfu.net
or 319-266-8225. Those interested, if they meet qualifications will be put on a
waiting list.
If you are a member of a 12 Step Group or are part of a faith
community that wants to host an Introductory Workshop or a Weekend Retreat for
12 Step groups, there is a dedicated team from a variety of fellowships who will
try to bring this precious gift of contemplative practice to you.
For information or to set up a workshop or retreat, please
contact:
Beth Berkeley, bethsanders2000@yahoo.com
or
Jay Stinnett, jaays@earthlink.net,
310-874-2341(PST)
See the 12
Step Program's highlights for dates around the country. |
20th Anniversary Fundraising Tour:
Transforming The Heart Of The World
Thank You, Thank You, Thank You
 Our
five-year campaign, Transforming the Heart of the World 20th
Anniversary Tour is coming to a close and what a marvelous experience
it has been! We had three main purposes: to strengthen the spiritual
network by deepening the membership’s understanding of the vision and
mission of Contemplative Outreach as an international organism, to surpass
our goal of $2,500.000, and to plant seed for ongoing growth and financial
support by the membership and their friends.
Fr. Thomas Keating, Gail Fitzpatrick- Hopler, Marie
Howard and Fr. Carl send our heartfelt gratitude to the Chapters that
hosted our tour. We are deeply grateful for all the work done by the
coordinators, their committees and the many (hundreds) of volunteers
(throughout the network) who helped with the planning and execution of the
weekend events. You made the events of 2005 a real blessing across the
country: in Austin, Santa Barbara, Oakland, San Diego, Los Angeles, St.
Paul, Pittsburgh/Greensburg, Washington, DC, St. Louis, Atlanta, Phoenix,
Portland, Cincinnati, New Jersey and northern Kentucky.
Carl Arico,
Fundraising Co-Chair
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12
Step Outreach § 20th Anniversary Tour
§ Yesterday I did not Welcome § Programs
Yesterday was Holy Thursday. On Wednesday, Sammi my secretary
called me in the Goshen office and said, "Dr. Ferro - did you see
tomorrow's schedule? You start at 9 AM and you go to 6 PM without lunch and you
have some double bookings."
Yesterday I did not welcome.....
Wednesday night my answering service called me, "Dr Ferro you have a
consult to do tomorrow, at your convenience." But I had no convenient time
on Thursday....
Yesterday I did not welcome.....
Thursday dawned and I was in a hurry. I had to get to the hospital and do the
consult, then off to the office, see the patients quickly and in an efficient,
concise way - regardless of their problems.
Yesterday I did not welcome.....
The patient studded marathon, however, did not occur. Patients missed their
appointments and some "free" time opened up to do paper work.
Relaxation began to settle in and the question arose, "Why do I let the
'external' drive my 'internal' welcome?
Then the last consult came in for "after" office hours. When I arrived
in his hospital room Mr. WJ remembered me from an office visit one and a half
years before, " I remember you Doc, you said you could not help me, you
said I was too old..." How could I have given no hope?
Yesterday I did not welcome.....
Yesterday was Holy Thursday. When I got home my wife Emily suggested that we pay
a visit to our Parish Church. It was 11:15 PM -but the church was staying open
till midnight. We prayed - witness to the Last Supper and the beginning of
Christ's last hours alive before his passion and death. He died because He loved
too much - more than the rules and laws allowed. I realized life is not about a
busy schedule to get through, but about a love of the gift of life and a love of
our relationships and relationships of love. I said to myself, "John, stop
thinking so much, stop worrying so much, start loving and living. Start to
welcome each moment and open up to them. Feel and be free of your
thoughts."
Last night I began to welcome once again.
Dr. John Ferro, Congers, NY, CLP Program
12
Step Outreach § 20th Anniversary Tour
§ Yesterday I did not Welcome § Programs
Living Flame
Living Flame is a national program on contemplative
issues, designed to heighten the awareness of the dynamic of Centering
Prayer in the context of the Spiritual Journey, offering guidance needed
to stay faithful to the practice. It’s an opportunity to receive and
share conceptual background at a deeper level, as well as experiential
insight, building a faith community committed to the Centering Prayer
practice. Meets one Saturday a month during seven consecutive months. The
Living Flame Program is flourishing in chapters all across the country! To
schedule this program in your area for 2006 call Marge Rafftery,
727-345-7908, mraffter@tampabay.rr.com |
External Study Program
The Contemplative Outreach Ltd. External Study Program
in the Contemplative Tradition is a twelve week course divided into two
parts; covering contemporary expressions of the Christian contemplative
tradition, reaching back, during the last six weeks, to the beginnings of
the systematic practice of contemplative prayer among the desert monks of
Syria, Egypt and Palestine. The objectives include facilitating a deeper
understanding of the Christian contemplative tradition and the chance to
engage beyond the intellectual level to personally interact with the
living tradition in everyday life. For more information, call Bonnie
Shimizu 970-927-0331, bjs@rof.net |
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