January 2000 Newsletter

Birmingham, Alabama

Contemplative Outreach Birmingham was born in 1991 after Fr. Andy Kennedy and Judge Aloysius Golden attended the first Coordinators Workshop in Leavenworth, Ks.  In January of 1999, Fr. Thomas was the speaker at our Seventh Annual Contemplative Conference - 400 people attended - it was a glorious time of refreshment and support.  In June of 1999, we had a Formation for Contemplative Outreach Service.  Of the 29 participants, 15 are serving as presenters.  Contemplative Outreach Birmingham now comprises twenty prayer groups.  Our steering committee of nine persons is led by Judge Golden, the regional Contact Person for CO, Ltd.  Sr. Mary McGehee is our staff person, and Caroline Humphreys is our staff  office manager.  Contemplative Outreach Birmingham now ministers to a little over a thousand persons, many of whom have watched the past eight years with profound gratitude as the Spirit has blessed this movement and the efforts of its members. We look forward to our future with great hope and confidence.  Our Eighth Annual Conference will be Jan 29-30, 2000, and our speaker will be Roberta Bondi, Professor of Church History at the Candler School of Theology of Emory University.  She has written about the spiritual journey in general and about the desert mothers and fathers of the early church in particular.  Contact Caroline Humphreys at 205-979-1159 or carolincob@aol.com.

Brooklyn, Michigan

DeSales Center is a 240 acre woodland located on Lake Vineyard.  Eight buildings make up the center, including Lawrence Lodge, the Family Village, the Village Commons, four hermitages, a chapel and novitiate.  A quiet, reflective atmosphere surrounds the Center and is strongly conducive to silent prayer.  A 10 day Intensive Retreat is being offered for the first time at DeSales Center in the Irish Hills of Brooklyn, MI., March 6-15, 2000.  Reservations are being taken by DeSales Center, 1124 Ventura, Brooklyn, MI 49230, or Fax 517-592-8218; E-mail mcKenna@desales.org.

Denver, Colorado (The Center for Contemplative Living)

The schedule at the Center offers a wide variety of events designed to support those who are new to Centering Prayer, as well as those who are more experienced.  Recognizing the importance of supporting staff (over 50 volunteers) in their own spiritual journeys, and of providing ongoing formation to enhance their ministry to others, two opportunities are currently being offered.  Sixteen persons are participating in The Nine Month Course: The Practice of Contemplative Living presented for the first time in Denver by Cathy McCarthy, NY and Joanne O'Neill, NJ.  Other staff members are participating in a program designed to "support the personal spiritual growth of each member of the staff, encourage the staff to continue to grow closer to each other as a faith community, and to strengthen the ministry of the staff as they reach out to others."  Thoy Smith, 303-698-7729.

Driggs, Idaho (St. Francis of the Tetons)

One of our retreatants expressed deep gratitude for the parish of St. Francis and its flexibility in sharing the parish space with the Alta Retreat Center.  "The willingness of these two ministries to cooperate and turn this space inside out to accommodate us, strangers in a strange land," she continued, "is simply unbelievable!"  "We are not considered intruders in the parish hall and Sunday School rooms for our week, but we are welcomed guests."  This statement reflects the experience of a variety of people who come together in silence to pray.  Each is appreciative of Contemplative Outreach and Thomas Keating for this extraordinary gift. Here in the Tetons we continue in gratitude to be sheltered and held "in the palm of God's hand."  Rev. Sandy Casey-Martus, 307 353-8100.

Spanish Speaking Ministry

We celebrated our first International Conference in Orlando July 17-19 with 32 people from different Latin American countries attending.  Some live in the States but are anxious to help establish the practice of Centering Prayer in their countries of origin.  It was an excellent meeting, with Dr. M. Scoppetta's talk titled "America Latina Contemplativa", a brain-storming session under the expert direction of Monica Freeman, Fr. John Martin's two homilies, one in Spanish and one bilingual, and Fr. Thomas Keating's keynote address on "The Contemplative Dimension of the Gospel.  We hope this to be a fruitful journey through South, Central and North America.  On July 30,2000, we are having an Introduction to Centering Prayer in Spanish, followed by a 7-week program to establish a Centering Prayer practice.

Introduccion A La Oracion Centrante en espanol

Para el 30 de julio, 2000, se ofrecer una Session de Introduccion, a ser seguida por el programa de 7 semanas que lleva a establecer la practica de la oracion centrante, en Orlando, FL.  Para mayores detalles, llame a Ilse Reissner, 407-767-7567 y 8271, o a Carmen Sanchez, al 305-661-6966.

Walden, NY (Contemplative Outreach of Orange County)

Our October 9th Day of Enrichment with Thomas Keating  launched Contemplative Outreach of Orange County, a newly-formed Chapter of  Contemplative Outreach, Ltd.  Cathy McCarthy was appointed Coordinator for Orange County.  The Day was a huge success, and we donated 10% of our gross income to Contemplative Outreach, in addition to a commitment to 2.5% of our gross income on a monthly basis. It's our way of supporting what supports us - we count on that continued support in the development of  Orange County.  A new website is under construction covering all the programs and retreats at St. Andrew's.  In September, Joanne O'Neill and I went "on the road" with the 9 Month Course: The Practice of Contemplative Living - to Denver -a grace-filled experience. Cathy McCarthy e-mail cathymc@frontiernet.net.

Washington, DC

In September,  Contemplative Outreach of Metropolitan Washington (COMW) sponsored a Centering Prayer retreat day at St. Columba's Episcopal Church in DC, with the theme, "Resting in God: The Art of Being." In early October, Eugene Sutton, April Swofford and Janet Aldrich co-led an overnight introductory retreat at Richmond Hill in Richmond, VA., and COMW staff led another in Hunting Ridge Retreat (Baptist) in Winchester, VA late October.  In early December, we led an introductory with a Taize service the evening before at Gloria Dei! Lutheran Church in Arnold, MD.  Janet Aldrich 202-255-2367

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