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Snapshots
News from the School of the Spirit Ministry June 2009
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Dear Reader,
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It was a joy to meet on June 8 with the Admissions Committee to consider the applications for the next On Being a Spiritual Nurturer class. We celebrated each life encapsulated in those applications, each dedicated to listening and responding more faithfully to the living Christ. The discernment regarding the applications received to date is ongoing, but we anticipate with gratitude a full class beginning in September. We will continue to welcome fresh applications through the summer months.
In this issue of Snapshots we anticipate our annual contemplative retreat at Powell House, celebrate the presence of Holy Spirit among The Way of Ministry class at their closing residency, and share with you a wall hanging by Jan Blodgett, a participant in the last Spiritual Nurturer class.
Blessings,
Michael Green
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Mixed Metaphors, by Jan Blodgett
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Jan prepared this wall hanging as a part of her final integrative project for the On Being a Spiritual Nurturer program in November 2008. Her commentary can be read here.
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Living from the Divine Center
A Contemplative Retreat, June 19-22
Co-sponsored by Powell House and the School of the Spirit Ministry
Led by Linda Chidsey
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In A Testament of Devotion, Thomas Kelly writes:
"Deep
within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul, a Holy
place, a Divine Center, a speaking Voice, to which we may Continuously
return. Eternity is at our hearts, pressing upon our time-torn lives,
warming us with intimations of an astounding destiny, calling us home
unto Itself. Yielding to these persuasions, gladly committing ourselves
in body and soul, utterly and completely, to the Light Within, is the
beginning of true life."
There are those who have found and
those who are finding that a deep life of prayer and attentiveness to
God can be genuinely compatible with an active and effective
spiritual/Christian presence in the world. What canst thou say?
Come
live into both the questions and the promise as we seek to establish a
more contemplative rhythm and practice during this extended weekend.
There will be times of group discussion and reflection; opportunities
for solitude and the practice of both individual and corporate
disciplines--prayer, lectio divina (divine reading), journaling,
walking the labyrinth. We will share overnight silence and a silent
meal. Perhaps in these times, more than ever before, we long to touch
the Divine Center and lay hold of the Source of our lives.
Linda Chidsey, a member of Housatonic Meeting, is a recorded minister
in New York Yearly Meeting. She carries a concern for spiritual nurture
and pastoral care. Linda recently served as clerk of NYYM. She was also a participant in the first class of the School of the Spirit Ministry's program On Being a Spiritual Nurturer and has served on its Board for many years.
$270 + $10 (School of the Spirit) = total $280
No childcare for this conference
To register, click here.
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An Epistle
The Way of Ministry Program
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May 25, 2009
You yourselves are our letter,
written on our hearts, to be known and read by all;
and you show that you are a letter
of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink
but with the Spirit of the living
God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
2 Corinthians 3:2-3
Dear Ones
Whom We Love,
We are going out from our year of shared study and formation in the ministry,
carrying a letter to you.
This epistle we bring you is the word written on our hearts. The letter
is our lives.
This word has been etched by tears, by laughter, by struggle, by fear, by joy.
Our letter is written in the hand of God. The hand which touches and
cradles each of us, which nurtures those who are unsure, comforts and
strengthens those in fear, frees those who are caught in pain and inadequacy.
This hand writes on each of us in the language of Love, of Truth, of Harmony,
and of Justice.
We bring our changed lives to you as an invitation to join us in the Power and
Life that reawakens.
Allison Randall Peggy
O'Neill
Barbara Bellus Sarah
Spencer
Carolyn Schodt Therese
Miller
Eric Evans Tom Gates
Janet Hough Vivienne Hawkins
Jean Eden Wade Wright
Joan Broadfield Will
Taber
Karen Verveda Beckey
Phipps, teacher
Ken Jacobsen Laura
Melly, teacher
Maia Tapp Marcelle Martin, teacher
Margery Post Abbott Barbarajene
Williams, elder
Marianne Lockard Katharine Jacobsen,
elder
Noah Baker Merrill Matt Drake, board
member
 Photo by John Meyer
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A Ministry of Prayer and Learning devoted to the School of the Spirit is dedicated to all who wish to be more faithful listeners and responders to the inward work of Christ. Donations are always welcome. Checks may be sent to the address below, made out to Philadelphia Yearly Meeting earmarked for the School of the Spirit.A Ministry of Prayer and Learning devoted to the School of the Spirit is a ministry under the care of
the Worship and Care Committee of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting.
the School of the Spirit Ministry | c/o 1306 Hillsborough Road | Chapel Hill | NC | 27516
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