Contemplative Spaces

About Contemplative Spaces

Contemplative Spaces is a program that explores contemplative spirituality in the Christian mystical tradition. This group is currently held on Fridays at noon, roughly every other week (see full schedule below).

For each meeting, we use a format when we meet called the Circle Group Process, which is a very gentle, contemplative way to encounter one another in a group setting. This format allows everyone the chance to be heard and respected without judgment. You are welcome and invited to show up as who you truly are.

  • 12:00PM in the RCHP Sanctuary, every other Friday from June through November.

  • Contemplative Spaces is starting a new book with a schedule that will take us through the summer and up to Thanksgiving! I'm excited that the group collectively has chosen to read Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps by Richard Rohr. Richard calls the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous "America's most significant and authentic contribution to the history of spirituality." Quite a start!

    In the introduction he writes, “Although in this book [we] first look at the trapped individual, [we will also look at] the very similar parallels in institutions, cultures, and nations…[O]ur society itself shows all the signs of classic addiction. We cannot stop the drowning waters of our addictive culture from rising, but we must at least see our reality for what it is… and learn to breathe under water. The New Testament called this salvation or enlightenment, the Twelve Step Program called it recovery.”

    He believes that by learning to breathe in the midst of addiction, brokenness, and pain, we can reach out to help others: "only people who have suffered in some way can save another."

  • Week 1: June 27
    Reading: Introduction, Chapter 1: Powerlessness

    Week 2: July 11
    Reading: Chapter 2: Desperate Desiring

    Week 3: July 25
    Reading: Chapter 3: Sweet Surrender

    Week 4: August 1
    Reading: Chapter 4: A Good Lamp

    Week 5: August 15
    Reading: Chapter 5: Accountability IS Sustainability

    Week 6: August 29
    Reading: Chapter 6: The Chicken or the Egg: Which Comes First?

    Week 7: September 5 2 PM
    Reading: Chapter 7: Why Do We Need to Ask?

    Week 8: September 19
    Reading: Chapter 8: Payback Time

    Week 9: October 3
    Reading: Chapter 9: Skillful Means

    Week 10: October 17
    Reading: Chapter 10: Is This Overkill?

    Week 11: October 31
    Reading: Chapter 11: An Alternative Mind

    Week 12: November 14
    Reading: Chapter 12: What Comes Around Must Go Around, & Postscript: Only a Suffering God Can Save