If you would like to have the packet in full for this month, please join one of our small groups. Contact Rev. John T. Crestwell, Jr. at:
October 2020 Ideas for Groups (compilation of Attention, Presence, Emergence)
Option A:
Uncover A World in Itself (presence 2016)
“The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself.” – Henry Miller
This exercise invites you to tap into Henry Miller’s magic.
Option B:
The Presence of God (presence 2016)
“Joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God.” – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Teilhard de Chardin’s quote reminds us that “otherness” is not other. The presence of the divine presents itself in very ordinary forms. And it is a different form for each of us.
Option C:
Emerge From the Tomb of Worry (emergence 2018)
“We suffer more often in imagination than in reality.” – Seneca
When it comes to the tombs that keep us trapped, worry tops the list for many of us. The tragedy is that, as Seneca points out, many of those worries are imagined. In other words, we are the creators of worry, not just victims of it. And to the degree we contribute, we can also escape and free ourselves.
Option D:
Leaning Into & Emerging From A Week’s Worth Poetry (emergence 2018)
There are many sources of awakening and emergence. Poetry is among the most potent. Below are seven different poems, each with its own unique call to emerge into something new. Take a week and use them as your daily meditation practice, letting the voice of the poets help you better identify the particular voice of new growth inside you. How is life calling you to emerge into deeper or greater living? What form of new being and becoming are you being invited to lean into? Treat these poems as partners helping you answer those questions.
Come to your group ready to share which single poem spoke to you the most. What did it help clarify for you? What challenge, guidance or comfort did it offer?