Fall Practice

Practices for the Suburban Stronghold

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Nearly everyone I know – including my wife and I – wrestle with the busyness, noise, and the complexity of modern life. The rush and racket feel relentless and overwhelming at times. Many of us are just plain exhausted.

Jesus invites us into “life to the full”, but full calendars and full shopping carts can’t possibly be what he means. Especially when it can feel so empty.

We need to find another Way.

And so this fall, we’re going to learn how to recover our lives through three spiritual practices: Centering Prayer, Sabbath, and Simplicity. These historic disciplines have been around for generations, and yet nothing could be more timely for our overly-connected, overly-busy, frazzled culture…

In SEPTEMBER, we will explore the practice of Silence and Centering Prayer.

“Silence is God’s first language; everything else is a poor translation. In order to hear that language, we must learn to be still and to rest in God.” (Thomas Keating)

The noise of our lives is deafening. We sincerely want to hear from God, but quickly find that God rarely speaks in the wind, earthquake, and fire of our stereos, strip-malls, and twitter feeds. Instead, our Maker is gently whispering. (1 Kings 19). And we’re missing it.

But thankfully, God keeps whispering and is gloriously patient with those who can be hard of hearing…which is all of us! Grace, grace, grace.

So let’s learn how to listen. Really listen.

During the month of September we will discover why silence is so central to the life of a Christ-follower, and learn a handful of tangible tools that help us practice it. Phileena Heuertz and few wise guides will walk with our community to teach and invite us into this life-giving practice of silence and centering prayer. Please join us.

And may this fall begin the next era of your walk with the Loving God. From busyness to groundedness. From anxiety to peace. From burning out on religion to learning the unforced rhythms of Grace…