NEWS RELEASE
ST. JAMES’ ANGLICAN CHURCH
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St James’ Anglican Church is home to The Centre for Spiritual Growth.
The aim of the Centre for Spiritual Growth is to be a hospitable place to explore and experience spiritual growth through spiritual direction, experiential workshops, day retreats on various themes, and space for quiet reflection.
Wendy Passmore is the co-ordinator of the Centre for Spiritual Growth. Her extensive work includes co-ordination of a storefront ministry, oversight of various community projects, leadership role in a retreat centre ministry which included spiritual direction for individuals and groups and facilitation of day and overnight retreats for all ages.
There are also two advisors: Rev Canon Elizabeth Morley, a retired Anglican priest who served many parishes in the Toronto diocese, and Faye Oei, a lawyer who has been on a spiritual quest for much of her life.
The Centre for Spiritual Growth is offering several upcoming programs.
Taize Prayer
Taize Prayer is held on the last Tuesday of each month from 7 to 8 p.m. Dates: Jan. 28, Feb. 25; March 31; April 28; May 26.
In 1944, a young Swiss Lutheran named Roger Shutz founded a community of prayer in Taize, France. His motivation came from seeing the devastation of war and the atrocities against his Jewish brothers and sisters. People of all traditions have found their way to Taize ever since to pray and to seek reconciliation. The prayer involves chants, candlelight, silence and intercessory prayer for the suffering in the world.
Facilitated by the Rev. Carol Hardie and Anna Trubashnik.
Spiritual Meditation by Candlelight
This occurs the second Tuesday of each month from 7 to 7:45 p.m. Dates: Feb. 11; March 10; April 14; May 12; June 9.
Are you seeking to connect with the civine in a group setting through prayer and meditation perhaps with hopes of finding a deeper sense of the divine within? Feel welcome to come to this joyful alternative gathering to experience community through facilitated silence, guided meditations, music and more. Facilitated by the Centre for Spiritual Growth team.
Saturday Morning Workshop
Soul Collage by Kim Davis will be held Saturday, March 7 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Soul Collage is an easy, creative process that helps you connect with various parts of your inner knowing. No artistic talent is needed – cutting and pasting is all that’s required.
Soul Collage is an excellent method for self-exploration. It will inspire you in ways that at times appear magical – yet all the answers are coming from you. It’s a way to give expression to your inner voice: through images, collage-making, and conversation. Using intuition and imagination and simple materials, this accessible process allows for an easy, artful self-expression. Explore the fascinating parts of you! Freewill offering. Coffee and snacks provided. Please register at the church office
Retreat Day
The Soil of your Soul will be held Saturday, April 18 from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Using the parable of the sower, we will look at the four soil types and offer reflections that might help us see where we are. Are there hurts that need healing or a hardness of heart that needs softening? Or parts of ourselves undiscovered that need exploring? Facilitators: Wendy Passmore and Faye Oei Freewill offering. Please bring a bag lunch; coffee, tea and snacks provided Please register at the church office.
Enneagram Workshop
This workshop will be held Saturday March 28 from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Facilitated by: Sue Guttenstein, PhD., registered psychotherapists and certified Enneagram teacher in the Narrative Enneagram.
We will look more closely at how the structure and patterns of our type show up in our habits of thought, in our automatic emotional responses and in our bodies. Specifically, we will also look at how these affect our relationships and how we can come to see people as they truly are. Please come with an awareness of your type structure.
Also bring your wonderings about how your structure shows up in relationships. If there is a challenging relationship in your life, and you know the type of the person you are trying to relate to, there will be some opportunities to do something called guided interactions – a deeply held interaction between you and a person of that type. These have proven to be very effective for understanding what goes on in the relationship.
Suggested Fee: $65 includes lunch. Please register at the church office.
Retreat Day
Finding Hope in Despair Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Facilitated by: Wendy Passmore and Faye Oei.
This retreat day will invite us to reflect on Joseph's journey from being the favoured son of Jacob, to being in prison, to being the second in command in Egypt. How does his life's journey speak to our own? How do his trials and tribulations speak to our own struggles, the way we cope with them and the lessons for us from those challenging times.
Freewill offering: Bring your own lunch. Coffee, tea provided. Please register at the church office.
Mystics Series
Three-part series Friday mornings 10 to 11:30 a.m. Studying such mystics as Dante Allegare. Friday, Jan. 24; Friday Jan. 31 and Friday, Feb. 7.
Come and be inspired by these Christian mystics! A DVD series. We will watch the DVD, usually 30-40 minutes in length, and then share our thoughts and insights. All welcome!
For more information about any of these programs, drop into the church office at 58 Peter St. N., call 705-325-2742 or email: [email protected]
