Home » Adult Ed » Centering Prayer: A Spiritual Resource For These Times
  • Centering Prayer: A Spiritual Resource For These Times

    Wednesday, September 9, 2020 at 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM

    September 9 and 16, 2020

    The Health & Wellness Team is pleased to offer Centering Prayer in our series of webinars to promote resilience in the Southern New England Conference UCC. Rev. Dr. Jessica McArdle has engaged Terry Shaughnessy, Centering Prayer Retreat Leader and Spiritual Director, to teach us this valuable practice to promote well-being.

    Terry Shaughnessy, Retreat
    Leader and Spiritual Director

    Shaughnessy will introduce participants to the meditation/prayer practice known as Centering Prayer which has deep Christian roots, is easy to learn, and provides a tremendous resource for navigating these times of pandemic.  In this two-part webinar, we will learn about the “prayer of quiet” and how some measure of silence, outside and within us, is necessary for spiritual growth as well as for strengthening the spiritual immune system.

    The first session will focus on understanding the conceptual background of Centering Prayer and how this form of “divine therapy” offers possibilities for purification and healing.  The fundamental disposition of this prayer is one of opening to God through self-emptying. Conditioned patterns of thoughts and emotions are released as an act of surrender.  Participants will have an experience of Centering Prayer and time for sharing afterward.

    The second session will occur after participants have had the opportunity to deepen daily practice before returning to the group. The Welcoming Prayer Practice is a corollary to Centering Prayer and will also be taught as a quick and simple way to provide spiritual resources for daily living. Centering Prayer can provide peace and joy to the human spirit along with the resilience and self-care required for ministers to serve in current times.

    Terry Shaughnessy has been a dedicated practitioner of Centering Prayer for over 30 years. He’s a retreat leader for extended Centering Prayer retreats at St. Benedict’s Monastery retreat center in Snowmass Colorado and at various retreat settings. A full-time Spiritual Director, in 1997 Terry received his certifications and MA through Creighton University’s Christian Spirituality Program. He specializes in working with people in a variety of ministries as well as supporting men’s spiritual well-being through the dual lens of contemplative and Ignatian spirituality. He lives in St. Paul Minnesota and is married with three adult children.

    “God’s first language is silence.” John of the Cross