Purpose Statement: Create contemplative spaces in your community by making room for people to pause, reflect, and encounter God’s presence.
Who: This practice is for anyone with experience inviting people into contemplative, quiet, and reflective spaces.
Why: As Christians, we get to create environments where people can have an authentic encounter with a loving God. This practice allows us to be together and breathe together while seeing God’s presence in our life.
How:
- Pick a poem.
- Pick a date.
- Gather a group of people (online or socially distanced); stretch yourself to reach outside traditional Christian groups or networks.
- During the gathering, read the poem slowly 5 times.
- After each reading, hold a space of silence, share a prompt, and invite people to pay attention to the inner voice emerging within them. Prompts could include: “What word shimmered for you?” “How do you experience the poet?” “What feelings are surfacing?” “Do you sense an invitation for your life today?”
- Gather again in a month.
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