The Four You's ~ From the President ~ 2007 Annual Conference
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From the President
by Gail Fitzpatrick-Hopler

The Unfolding of Contemplative Outreach
Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Lama I Retreat

Father Thomas Keating has been the spiritual wisdom figure of Contemplative Outreach from the beginning. His guidance and formation, along with his published works and videotape series, provide the main content for our workshops, retreats, and ongoing programs.

Members of Contemplative Outreach come from every walk of life. We are women and men interested in living a contemplative life in contemporary society. We touch people of all faiths and all denominations, and we recognize that there is unity in prayer. We are united in our goal to renew the contemplative dimension of the Gospel in daily life through the practice of Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina.

The history and evolution of Contemplative Outreach demonstrates to me the remarkable ways in which God orchestrates our lives if we put ourselves in God’s hands.

How did this movement of the Holy Spirit come about? Two important events happened in the second half of the 20th century, each seeming to move monastic life out of the cloister and into the world: Vatican II in the West, and the exile of the Dalai Lama in the East.

At St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts, in the early 1970s, Fathers Basil Pennington, William Meninger, and Abbot Thomas Keating lived as contemplative monks. Vatican II opened doors for them that initiated a dialogue with other contemplative monks from the East and West. Through the dialogue they became interested in sharing the monastic treasures of contemplative prayer with individuals seeking silence and the fruit of silence.

A Live-In Community

Efforts to establish a live-in community began in Colorado. After it was disbanded in 1985, two of the members, David Frenette and Bob Bartel moved east, joined Mary Mrozowski, and began again. During those early years the live-in community took a prominent role in the growth of Contemplative Outreach because it provided a consistent and established place to hold ongoing workshops and retreats of various lengths. Mrozowski, Frenette, and Bartel staffed weekend retreats, weekend introductions to Centering Prayer, and ten-day intensive retreats. The community at first lived in West  Cornwall, Connecticut, and eventually settled in Warwick, New York, where it existed for ten years as Chrysalis House. Cathy McCarthy joined the community in 1988. Chrysalis House closed in 1996, but McCarthy carries on the work of Contemplative Outreach in Cornwall, New York, where she hosts people from our worldwide Contemplative Outreach network.

In 1986 Contemplative Outreach became a New York corporation, and the name “Contemplative Outreach Limited” was born. This corporation was founded to serve as an information and resource center for the spiritual network of Contemplative Outreach.

At the end of 1986 we moved to the Shalom Center in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, the Mother House of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace. In 1987, however, we moved again because the sisters needed space to expand their programs. I took my file box, telephone answering machine, and portable typewriter and set up the office on a dining room table in my home in Butler, New Jersey. In February, 1988, the office outgrew its table, and 277 square feet, one-car garage.

In 1997 we moved into a professional space in a renovated mill building in the downtown area of Butler. We now have 2000 square feet of space, six good-sized rooms and ten workstations. We have seven full-time employees, two part-time employees, and five volunteers. Today our office is the international headquarters for the network.

Francis Stafford, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Denver, Colorado, invited Fr. Keating to offer parish programs on Centering Prayer as a follow-up to their renewal program to all the parishes in the Denver archdiocese in 1987. Sister Bernadette Teasdale was hired by the Archdiocese to coordinate the programs. This was the first diocesan-wide systematic approach to teaching Centering Prayer.

It became apparent that we had to train individuals to offer the introductory workshop to Centering Prayer, and Fr. Keating appointed a faculty made up of people who had been teaching Centering Prayer since the early years. Over the years the faculty trained and commissioned some 850 individuals to give introductory workshops and follow-up sessions on Centering Prayer.

Interest in the method of Centering Prayer has spread beyond the boundaries of the United States to Australia, Bahamas, Brazil, Canada, Cuba,  Denmark, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, France, Ghana, Guam, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Venezuela, Virgin Islands and the West Indies. Specialized outreach has bloomed: the Hispanic outreach, Extension Contemplativa Internacional, a flourishing Prison outreach, and a course in the contemplative dimensions of the Twelve-Step Program.

We have also ventured into cyberspace, creating a website on the Internet at www.contemplativeoutreach.org. Our newsletter has reached a circulation of 50,000 copies. We have 120 active chapters throughout the world. The weaving together of the Contemplative Outreach network is an evergrowing, work- in-progress in the artistic hands of the Spirit of God.

The volunteer nature of our network relies on the gift of time, talent and treasure of many people, starting with the leadership groups and filtering down to the individuals that offer service in various capacities. The generosity is overwhelming and most inspiring. I believe it is the fruit of their commitment to the Centering Prayer practice.

We are living up to our purpose to renew the contemplative dimension of the Gospel in every day life. A commitment to live a contemplative life in contemporary society is a way of listening to the spirit in silent prayer as a means to discover how to live ordinary life with extraordinary love.

In my role as president, I have had the pleasure of working closely with Fr. Thomas Keating. He has been my teacher, my mentor, and my dear friend. We have had the opportunity to pray and work together over this labor of love called Contemplative Outreach. Through Fr. Keating’s example, I believe that I have begun to learn how to follow the inspiration of the Spirit, waiting, listening, and watching for our next movement. As we continue to grow and share our vision with people seeking the values of silence, solitude, and simplicity, I wonder what the 21st century will have in store for Contemplative Outreach. In any case, I trust we will continue to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit and, day by day, move gently into the mystery of the cloud of unknowing.

The Four You's ~ From the President ~ 2007 Annual Conference
Reader's Reflections ~ New Resources ~ Regional Updates ~ Newsletter Index