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Twelve persons gathered at St. Benedict’s Retreat and Conference Centre in Winnipeg for this workshop, June 21-27.
We were a diverse group; male and female, lay and religious, of various Christian denominations, and from differing locations. George Dendias came from Minneapolis,
while the remaining eleven were Canadians who represented Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The unifying bond between us was our love for and dedication to Centering Prayer. We each thirsted for a deepening of our prayer practice and we were searching for ways to extend Centering Prayer to others. The formation workshop provided these opportunities.
Bonnie Shimizu, administrative assistant for Father Keating in Snowmass, Colorado, facilitated the workshop. She has broad experience in giving workshops and retreats in Centering Prayer. Sr. Catherine, who has worked faithfully in building a strong and growing Centering Prayer network through St. Benedict’s, co-facilitated. They supported us on their "eagles’ wings" as they shared their knowledge and wisdom and urged us to fly.
We began with an evening of orientation and then plunged into six days of experientially- based learning. Our goal was to internalize and communicate the essentials of the Introductory Workshop on Centering Prayer.
The daily schedule included two intensive periods of Centering Prayer, presentations by our facilitators, preparation time, individual and small group presentations and feedback from facilitators and peers. We were also asked to evaluate our own presentations. It was a challenging process. Some of us wondered if we would have registered if we had known we would be doing a presentation to a group on the first day! Misgivings vanished when our efforts were so respectfully and positively received by both facilitators and peers. Bonnie had promised in the orientation that the workshop would be formative, informative, sacred, and safe. She was right!
The learning environment felt comfortable and supportive. We worked together in small and large groups learning more about the workshop as well as methods for presentation. There was much sharing and laughter yet each day a period of silence was maintained after dinner until the end of breakfast the next morning. Included in the schedule was a silent retreat day. This balance of activity and rest, communication and silence, interaction and solitude created the contemplative atmosphere needed for the formation process. Surely the Holy Spirit was present and working among us as we responded to the challenge to go more deeply into Centering Prayer.
With the successful completion of the workshop we are now able to practice being presenters. Two participants will be presenters at the Fall introductory workshop at St. Benedict’s . One will be presenting Centering Prayer at a downtown university and two will be off to Chicago to participate in the Contemplative Outreach Annual Convention, Sept 27-Oct. 1. Others continue to lead support groups and prepare for future presentations. We are, as Father Keating urged us last May and as Sr. Catherine continues to encourage, setting out "to proclaim the contemplative aspect of the gospel to the whole world."
Vol. 1, No 1
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