Consenting to Divine Love: 25 Years of Contemplative Outreach

CO2009 - A Weblog of the Annual Conference of Contemplative Outreach Chicago, Illinois, USA, September 24-27, 2009 
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September 27, 2009

Saturday Reflections

Today I presented two Lectio Divina (Praying with Scripture) enrichment sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.  The afternoon session was audio taped and will be made available with the tapes of the other enrichment sessions for those who were not able to attend.  After I made brief presentation, we spent about 30 minutes experiencing this ancient way of praying scripture and then shared our experiences of God in the text.  We used 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a:

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

Each of these sessions were very moving for me, as I observed the work of the Holy Spirit in touching the hearts and minds of the participants, who opened themselves to Divine Love and experienced God's indwelling Presence in new ways.  The effectiveness of this means of prayer never ceases to amaze me.

The enrichment sessions were followed by a viewing of a portion of the new DVD: "Heartfulness - Transformation in Christ", which is a wonderful series of interviews of Fr. Thomas by Dr. Betty Sue Flowers, a gifted interviewer.  Fr. Thomas was virtually present with us in his talk, The Pursuit of Happiness.  One thing that struck me in this presentation was his statement that repentance is changing the direction that we are looking for happiness - not by latching on to other programs for happiness, but by simply opening to God's grace by cultivating regular periods of silence.  Our part is to consent to the work of the Divine Therapist - "It's easy, just accept it!", he said.

I've enjoyed how Fr. Thomas has been present to us at this Conference through serveral presentations from the two new DVD programs (including the new Centering Prayer DVD by Sounds True) that have been offered throughout the Conference, as well as through Gail's frequent updates of his messages of love and gratitude for all of us.

This has been a wonderful Conference.  The baquet and celebration is next - we have much to celebrate!

Blessings,

Mike

Mike Potter, Team Leader
Lectio Divina Service Team
Contemplative Outreach, Ltd

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September 9, 2009

Lectio Divina (Praying with Scripture) at the 2009 Annual Conference

Hi! My name is Mike Potter. I'm one of the contributors to the CO2009 Blog. I'd like to tell you a little about myself and some of the activities that I'll be involved in at the 2009 Annual Conference in Chicago.
 
I currently serve on the Resource Faculty as the Team Leader of the Lectio Divina Service Team, as well as Co-Coordinator of Contemplative Outreach of West Tennessee. I'm a commissioned presenter of both Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina.
 
On Friday, I'll be participating in two panel discussions with members of the Resource Faculty and how each of the Faculty members and their Service Teams serve the Contemplative Outreach community. My presentation will include a description of the Lectio Divina Service Team and the programs we have developed to promote and support the practice of Lectio Divina (Praying with Scripture), as well as practical advice about how to introduce this practice in your local community. These sessions will give you a clear picture of the Resource Faculty and it role in providing and supporting the programs of Contemplative Outreach, Ltd.
 
On Saturday, I will be working with several of my Service Team members as we present a Spiritual Enrichment Session on the practice of Lectio Divina. This will be a mini-workshop that will give participants the actual experience of this ancient method of praying with scripture. It will be first presented at 11:30 a.m. and again at 2:00 p.m.
 
This Conference promises to be a wonderful event. I look forward to seeing many of you in Chicago!
 
Blessings,
 
Mike
 
Mike Potter, Team Leader
Lectio Divina Service Team
Contemplative Outreach, Ltd.

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