Quiet Center Ministry Expands To a Second Location
Rev. Jo Bentley Reece is honored to announce that in September she will be offering guided personal spiritual retreats at Mercy Convent, expanding her Quiet Center Retreat Ministry to a second location in the city. Just minutes north of downtown nestled on 9 wooded acres, Mercy Convent is located at 2629 Pennington Bend Road across Briley Parkway from Opryland Hotel.
According to Sister Suzanne Stalm, RSM, Coordinator, “The Spirituality Ministry of the Sisters of Mercy at Mercy Convent offers a place for individuals and groups of all faiths to deepen their relationships with God, others and self. Whether it is a time for quiet reflection or building a sense of community, Mercy Convent offers an ideal setting, from the serene environment and day facilities, to lodging and meals.” The web site for further information is www.MercyRetreats.org
Rev. Reece looks forward to continuing to offer retreats at Glendale UMC, the first location where she opened The Quiet Center two years ago. Glendale UMC, located at 900 Glendale Lane near I-65 South and Harding Place, is a welcoming place offering the ministry of hospitality to those seeking a quiet place of healing in the city.
A Quiet Center guided personal retreat is a place for quiet time with God. There is no expectation except to come with a spiritual companion waiting to guide you. The Usui Method of Natural Healing, or Reiki, is an ancient healing art. It involves intercessory prayer while laying on hands guided by the energy/nerve centers of the body. Retreats may include: music, art, guided meditations, and hands-on prayer.
During the past two years, The Quiet Center at Glendale UMC has continued to grow offering 20 + personal retreats/month for 60-90 minutes or more. Persons that have come include: laity and clergy who need a quiet place for re-creation; persons dealing with trauma, stress, illness or pending surgery; persons who live alone seeking a companion for the journey; and persons who are grieving to name a few. Couples and friends have also come together to celebrate their anniversary, share a retreat time together, or deal with a difficult decision.
Henri Nouwen, in A Spirituality of Waiting, says that the role of the church is to “be the body of Christ in the world by using our gifts to love, serve and heal a hurting world while making space to wait together patiently in expectation.” Our world today is hungry for rediscovery of the art of resting in God’s presence and being truly present with one another in our daily lives and life journey.
You are invited to come and fill your cup with God’s love and grace! For questions or appointments: contact Rev. Jo Reece by phone -- 615-367-3586 (h) 943-9092 (c) or email -- MinisterMama@juno.com Her website is www.thequietcenter.mysite.com with further information. Individual guided retreats are available for one-hour or one-day. Donations for retreats are suggested but not required. Retreat gift certificates are also available.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Whether you need ‘rhythm or fire’—God is there for you
Editors believe that those who are not “churched” — and those who are burned out with the church — will find a prayer, poem or essay in “Rhythm and Fire” that will bless or challenge them in their journey with God.
NASHVILLE, Tenn., August 15, 2008/GBOD/ --Upper Room Books has published a new resource, Rhythm & Fire – Experiencing the Holy in Community and Solitude, edited by the Revs. Jerry Haas and Cynthia Langston Kirk of the Desert Southwest (regional) Conference.
Haas, director of the Academy for Spiritual Formation, conceived the idea to compile the stories of people who had experienced the Academy in a collection that other people could use in developing their faith life.
“People who go through the Academy have a rather intense experience and need and want to talk about it or write about it. Participants share prayers, poems or essays that they have written in response to a faculty presentation or to something inside themselves. It was easy to think of sharing some of these writings with a wider audience,” said Haas.
This resource is important for the church because it reflects the experience of people who have had an encounter with the Living God.
“The material here is not ‘canned’ or highly processed. It’s very authentic, reflecting how people make sense of sometimes very difficult things in life (such as sexual molestation, suicide, depression and aging) and sometimes very beautiful things in life (natural beauty, love, music, gospel and relationships).
“My prayer is that this book will open up readers to their own experience of encounter with God and help them claim it for themselves. I also hope that they can see that they are not alone or meant to be alone with their own experience,” said Haas.
Haas believes the church really needs to hear expressions of authentic spirituality. Since many of the writers have not been published before, their voices are being heard for the first time,” said Haas, who invited Kirk to co-edit Rhythm & Fire, which is dedicated to the founder of the Academy, the Rev. Danny Morris, the saints who worked with him in creating it, and the members of Academy #25 for their prayers and financial support.
“Jerry wanted people who had experienced the Academy to tell their stories … so that other people could use and be touched, transformed and changed by them,” says Kirk.
“We created chapter titles that are indicative of the journey — that awakening that sort of stirs our souls initially, the longing that we all go through, and listening to the silence — which is something the Academy offers. [Participants] come to appreciate and experience silence for the first time, and that moving into the rhythm of God’s grace,” she said.
Among the fifty-four writers are published faculty members who contributed to the work: Don Saliers, Wendy Wright, Roberta Bondi, Luther E. Smith Jr., Marjorie J. Thompson, Robert C. Morris, Robert Mulholland, Larry Peacock, Robert Benson, Linda Douty, Hee-Soo Jung, Stephanie Ford, E. Glenn Hinson, Jane Vennard, Barbara Wendland, Wil Hernandez and others.
While the writers all have one thing in common — the Academy for Spiritual Formation — Rhythm & Fire is a gift to the church from the Academy, not an advertisement for the Academy. It is above all to say to the church — whether you need rhythm (i.e., rest, renewal, engagement, balance, peace) or fire (i.e., passion, call, commitment, mission, desire), God is there for you.
The book progresses from awareness to community to help readers recognize that they share a journey with a community of faith that is much larger than they had imagined. The chapter titles are: Awakening to Sacred Fire, Longing and Wrestling, Listening to the Silence, Moving to the Rhythm of Grace, Living Community/Living Flames and Radiating Faith.
“The Academy is not about just one person; it is about how we are in community. So the last chapter is about living in community, reaching out and being the Light of Christ in the world,” Kirk said.
Kirk and Haas believe that all readers — including those who are not “churched” as well as those who are burned out with the church — will be able to find a prayer, poem or essay in Rhythm & Fire that will bless or challenge them in their journey with God.
The Academy for Spiritual Formation is a two-year experience in the spiritual practices of prayer, silence, worship and study, which offers a setting for lay and clergy to deepen their sense of call to follow Christ and to serve the church and the world.
Editors believe that those who are not “churched” — and those who are burned out with the church — will find a prayer, poem or essay in “Rhythm and Fire” that will bless or challenge them in their journey with God.
NASHVILLE, Tenn., August 15, 2008/GBOD/ --Upper Room Books has published a new resource, Rhythm & Fire – Experiencing the Holy in Community and Solitude, edited by the Revs. Jerry Haas and Cynthia Langston Kirk of the Desert Southwest (regional) Conference.Haas, director of the Academy for Spiritual Formation, conceived the idea to compile the stories of people who had experienced the Academy in a collection that other people could use in developing their faith life.
“People who go through the Academy have a rather intense experience and need and want to talk about it or write about it. Participants share prayers, poems or essays that they have written in response to a faculty presentation or to something inside themselves. It was easy to think of sharing some of these writings with a wider audience,” said Haas.
This resource is important for the church because it reflects the experience of people who have had an encounter with the Living God.
“The material here is not ‘canned’ or highly processed. It’s very authentic, reflecting how people make sense of sometimes very difficult things in life (such as sexual molestation, suicide, depression and aging) and sometimes very beautiful things in life (natural beauty, love, music, gospel and relationships).
“My prayer is that this book will open up readers to their own experience of encounter with God and help them claim it for themselves. I also hope that they can see that they are not alone or meant to be alone with their own experience,” said Haas.
Haas believes the church really needs to hear expressions of authentic spirituality. Since many of the writers have not been published before, their voices are being heard for the first time,” said Haas, who invited Kirk to co-edit Rhythm & Fire, which is dedicated to the founder of the Academy, the Rev. Danny Morris, the saints who worked with him in creating it, and the members of Academy #25 for their prayers and financial support.
“Jerry wanted people who had experienced the Academy to tell their stories … so that other people could use and be touched, transformed and changed by them,” says Kirk.
“We created chapter titles that are indicative of the journey — that awakening that sort of stirs our souls initially, the longing that we all go through, and listening to the silence — which is something the Academy offers. [Participants] come to appreciate and experience silence for the first time, and that moving into the rhythm of God’s grace,” she said.
Among the fifty-four writers are published faculty members who contributed to the work: Don Saliers, Wendy Wright, Roberta Bondi, Luther E. Smith Jr., Marjorie J. Thompson, Robert C. Morris, Robert Mulholland, Larry Peacock, Robert Benson, Linda Douty, Hee-Soo Jung, Stephanie Ford, E. Glenn Hinson, Jane Vennard, Barbara Wendland, Wil Hernandez and others.
While the writers all have one thing in common — the Academy for Spiritual Formation — Rhythm & Fire is a gift to the church from the Academy, not an advertisement for the Academy. It is above all to say to the church — whether you need rhythm (i.e., rest, renewal, engagement, balance, peace) or fire (i.e., passion, call, commitment, mission, desire), God is there for you.
The book progresses from awareness to community to help readers recognize that they share a journey with a community of faith that is much larger than they had imagined. The chapter titles are: Awakening to Sacred Fire, Longing and Wrestling, Listening to the Silence, Moving to the Rhythm of Grace, Living Community/Living Flames and Radiating Faith.
“The Academy is not about just one person; it is about how we are in community. So the last chapter is about living in community, reaching out and being the Light of Christ in the world,” Kirk said.
Kirk and Haas believe that all readers — including those who are not “churched” as well as those who are burned out with the church — will be able to find a prayer, poem or essay in Rhythm & Fire that will bless or challenge them in their journey with God.
The Academy for Spiritual Formation is a two-year experience in the spiritual practices of prayer, silence, worship and study, which offers a setting for lay and clergy to deepen their sense of call to follow Christ and to serve the church and the world.
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