By Jim Babin
When visiting family in Mesa, Arizona last February, I decided to look up Centering Prayer group locations on the Contemplative Outreach website. While there were a number of groups in the Phoenix area, I discovered one right in Mesa where I was staying. To my surprise it met every Wednesday morning in a Children’s Home called Sunshine Acres. It was much larger than one home as it was actually a good sized campus where over 70 children resided. These children were abandoned or from parents who were incarcerated or who had physical or mental health issues. In the center of this campus is a small A-frame chapel, where each Wednesday morning a Centering Prayer group meets. It’s hosted by Martha, a retired social worker who worked and still lives on the campus. I was able to attend 2 meetings. The group did a 20 minute sit, Lectio Divina and a short reading from Father Keating’s book, Open Mind, Open Heart. Some of those attending were local residents, some were snow birds and some were short term visitors like myself. One person was from Canada, another was from Iowa, and of course I was visiting from Minnesota. Attending this group was faith building and unifying. This centering prayer group is an oasis in the desert, a jewel in the center of some powerfully good work whose motto is “More than a home … we are family”. The spirit of God never fails to amaze me.
When visiting family in Mesa, Arizona last February, I decided to look up Centering Prayer group locations on the Contemplative Outreach website. While there were a number of groups in the Phoenix area, I discovered one right in Mesa where I was staying. To my surprise it met every Wednesday morning in a Children’s Home called Sunshine Acres. It was much larger than one home as it was actually a good sized campus where over 70 children resided. These children were abandoned or from parents who were incarcerated or who had physical or mental health issues. In the center of this campus is a small A-frame chapel, where each Wednesday morning a Centering Prayer group meets. It’s hosted by Martha, a retired social worker who worked and still lives on the campus. I was able to attend 2 meetings. The group did a 20 minute sit, Lectio Divina and a short reading from Father Keating’s book, Open Mind, Open Heart. Some of those attending were local residents, some were snow birds and some were short term visitors like myself. One person was from Canada, another was from Iowa, and of course I was visiting from Minnesota. Attending this group was faith building and unifying. This centering prayer group is an oasis in the desert, a jewel in the center of some powerfully good work whose motto is “More than a home … we are family”. The spirit of God never fails to amaze me.
RSS Feed