The End Times

One of the themes the church reflects on in the early weeks of Advent is “watching and waiting for the coming of the Lord” at the end of time. Daniel 12:1 says “At that time…there will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then.” We are culturally living in a “time of distress.” The rate of cultural, institutional and ecological change and uncertainty is mind boggling. There is loss of trust in every form of institution: religious, social, political, and economic. Even our ecosystem is on the precipice of collapse. We are living in a time of great cultural anxiety. And on the margins of a society that is in disarray, the Church is in the “end times” of decline and change. But because of the Incarnation that we celebrate at Christmas, that Christ is in our lives, we have every reason to hope for a new tomorrow. 

Institutions and individual lives ebb and flow with rise and decline. There is a universal pattern that we can notice and apply to our lives and cultures: Order - Disorder - Reorder. You may recognize this pattern in your own life: when things seemed to be going along smoothly (Order); and then you were dealt some great loss (Disorder); and then in time, a new normal emerged for you (Reorder). This same pattern happens historically in the rise and fall of civilizations. And the same has happened and is happening in the church. As a church we are in a time of decline and Disorder. But underneath the surface chaos there is the incarnated Christ, our life, and we will trust in a Reordering in a new and emerging Church. 

We are constantly evolving and changing, and God’s incarnated life in the world is evolving and changing. Ilia Delio encourages us with these words: “On the whole we are not conscious of evolution, and we do not act as if our choices can influence the direction of evolution. What will it take for us to realize that we are unfinished creatures who are in the process of being created? That our world is being created? That our church is being created? That Christ is being formed in us? . . . The good news of Jesus Christ is not so much what happens to us but what must be done by us. The choices we make for the future will create the future. We must reinvent ourselves in love.” 

Let us not fear the times we live in, but let us trust in the Incarnation, that God is in our lives and unsettled society as it is. Let us go a little deeper into our Spiritual Hearts, and notice our Original Goodness, the emerging Spirit that is Creative Love, and let us choose and create a more compassionate, loving and inclusive tomorrow.

It is You that I desire

It is 

you

that I 

desire,

always 

and forever.

You are

a constant 

friend,

always 

with me,

always

deep 

within me.

My desire

for you

draws you

to the 

surface

of my 

awareness,

and there 

you are,

within 

me,

within 

the face

of the other,

within 

everything created

that emerges 

before

my eyes.

19 September and 2019

Summer Closes her Wings

Summer’s warmth

has begun 

to cool.

The forest’s leaves

are beginning

to turn.

Fall is opening 

her arms,

as summer closes

her wings.

The spirit

is still resisting 

the annual

and familiar

letting go

of the vibrancy

and rest

of summer.

Such resistance 

is futile.

Let go

dear spirit,

and lean in

to the ever new

and emerging,

cycle of life.

22 September 2019

Come to the Table

There is

one God.

There is

one Table.

All

are invited,

All

are welcome.

There is 

One Source,

One Giver,

One Host,

One Banquet.

Come

to the Table,

Come

as you are,

Come

as your life is.

Come 

with your brokenness.

Come

with your pain.

Come

to be fed.

Come

to be made

whole. 

31 August 2019

Spiritual Guidance

We all recognize significant change in the structures and institutions in the 21st Century. Dr. Rick Singleton, provost of Queen’s College says, “The challenge in this time of change, is to be prophetic … we must do our best to determine how to prepare for the future.  At Queen’s College, that means ensuring people going into leadership must have spiritual resilience. They need to be grounded in spiritual practices that will sustain them in times of challenge but also equip them with spiritual skills and practices that will guide them in their ministries.” This approach at Queen’s mirrors some of the recent invitations of Bishop Geoff Peddle. 

Clery Conference 2017

In response to the Spirit’s promptings, Bishop Geoff, in the fall of 2015, invited leaders from the Shalem Institute of Spiritual Formation (based in Washington DC) to come to the Diocese of Eastern NL to lead a clergy conference on contemplative spirituality. After that initial positive experience of contemplative teaching and practice, the Bishop invited the Shalem Institute back to the diocese again in the fall of 2017 for more practice and encouragement on the contemplative path. Consequent to this conference, and noticing that if we were encouraging the church to deepen in contemplative prayer, we would need to instruct and form local qualified spiritual directors that can companion others. So Carole Crumley, Winston Charles and myself met with Dr.Rick Singleton of Queens, and began discerning the possibility of a Spiritual Guidance Program. Noticing the Spirit’s invitation to further exploration, the circle of discernment widened and we clearly heard the call to move forward with planning and preparation for a Spiritual Guidance Program at Queens. 

With guidance, assistance and classroom contributions from Shalem leaders such as Tilden Edwards, Margaret Benefiel, and Shalem graduates of the Spiritual Guidance Program, a three semester/one year program was put into place to start in the fall of 2018. Students could do the course for credit towards their degree, and/or they could do the three semesters and complete a Certificate in Spiritual Guidance. 

The first semester focused on the foundations for spiritual formation, and the introduction and practice of contemplative prayer. The second semester centered on the practice of spiritual direction, and, in addition to deepening the practice of contemplative prayer, each student entered into a one to one spiritual direction relationship with a trained spiritual director. And the third semester was a practicum in which students, in addition to continuing in the above, took on two spiritual directees themselves, and began the process of Peer Group Spiritual Direction.

It has been an amazing journey to witness these students deepen in their conscious union with the Divine, and also to deepen in their capacity to listen for and assist the Spirit’s emerging in others. 

2019 Graduates of Queens Certificate in Spiritual Guidance Program

Although this contemplative listening is in the art form of one to one Spiritual Guidance, it is the very same deep spiritual heart listening that the Spirit is inviting the Church as a whole to do in this time of great change and transition. The Spirit is calling us to go deeper into the Heart. Each and every one of us needs a companion or guide along the Way.

Our Love Self

Jesus,

You are

the Way,

the

narrow

Way,

the Way

of denying self,

of dying to self,

the Way

of opening

to our 

True Self,

our 

Love

Self,

our

Self 

in

Love

forever.

22 August 2019

Christ my life

Christ

my life.

Christ

who is life.

Christ

who always was.

Christ

who always is.

Christ

who always will be.

Christ

who awakens my soul

to Christ’s coming

in 

every

moment

disguised

as

my 

life

as 

your 

life.

6 August 2019