A Quiet Place

This group meets Sunday mornings for about an hour starting at 8:45 in the church parlor. Worship begins with a scripture reading or Lectio Divina, which leads us into 40 minutes of silent worship. Following silence, individuals will often talk of their experience during prayer, comment on scripture or just share what is in their heart. Other times a short reading from a contemplative master may be given.

A Quiet Place is for those who are drawn to silence as a way to establish an ongoing relationship with the indwelling Christ. "Hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he has given us." (1 John 3:24) Individuals use whatever form of silence they are comfortable with. Quaker silence, centering prayer, calm abiding, vipassana, or Christian meditations are all forms of silence that can be practiced in community.

We practice silence in the monastic tradition, which Christ modeled throughout his ministry. We are a small community, patterned after Quaker Meetings, listening to God, seeking truth. We realize that this is not the only way to God, but a practice that gives deeper meaning to all forms of spiritual practice.

The group is open to all who are called as the psalmist intoned: "Be still, and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10

Solitude is not something you must hope for in the future. Rather, it is a deepening of the present, and unless you look for it in the present you will never find it.
Thomas Merton