Online December 12, 2020
RECORDINGS and RESOURCES
Thank you to all participated and contributed to help make our event such a success!
Below we provide information and resource links as well as the event video recordings.
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We would love to hear your feedback and comments: Complete our event survey here.
About our guest teacher David Frenette
You can learn about David and his Heart Intention practice here.
David’s book The Path of Centering Prayer is available in paperback or ebook format. Also highly recommended is David’s audio teaching called Centering Prayer Meditations.
David’s four examples of Heart Intentions are included here.
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The Prayer of the Heart recording played at the event was composed by John Tavener specifically for Björk Guðmundsdótti, a contemporary singer/songwriter from Iceland. You can hear the full 15 minute piece here. In this stunning and evocative rendition she chants the prayer first in Greek, then Coptic, then English, accompanied by the Brodsky Quartet.
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In his teaching David also referenced the Welcoming Practice, developed by Mary Mrozowski, as a method for letting go when strong emotions or obsessive thoughts overtake us in difficult situations or the challenges of daily life. You can find a short summary of the practice here.
The Contemplative Society team
Paula Pryce
Paula is a cultural anthropologist who has explored silence, ritual, and the concepts of death, time, and space around the world. Her recent research has focused on the practices of Christian monasticism and non-monastic contemplatives, particularly in the Centering Prayer movement. She is the author of The Monk’s Cell: Ritual and Knowledge in American Contemplative Christianity (Oxford University Press, 2018) and Keeping the Lakes’ Way: Reburial and the Re-creation of a Moral World among an Invisible People (University of Toronto Press, 1999). Paula is a Board Member of The Contemplative Society.
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Jennifer England
Jennifer has been exploring the heart and practice of wisdom traditions since reading Thomas Merton’s Seven Story Mountain on Ellesmere Island in the late 90s. She is the mother to two teenage kids and weaves mindfulness and contemplation into leadership and systems change work for an equal and sustainable world. Recently she formed the Wisdom North Collective in Whitehorse, Yukon as a monthly practice circle rooted in the mystical Christian tradition. She is particularly drawn to Zen Buddhism and also studies with Two Arrows Zen, Salt Lake City. You can learn more about Jennifer and her offerings at Spark Coaching and Consulting. Jennifer is also a Board Member of The Contemplative Society.
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Behind the scenes team
Eilen deVerteuil, event coordinator, tech and video-editing
Barb Britton, event planning and board liaison
Kate Morgan, planning and tech assistance
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LIGHT IN ADVENT RECORDINGS
These recordings are freely available to all who attended and registered for the Dec 12 event.
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If you were not registered to attend LIGHT IN ADVENT, but would like to enjoy the video recordings, we are suggesting a contribution to help us continue to offer and produce similar events in the future.
Suggested contribution of $10 – $25, if that is within your means. We also welcome any financial contribution you may want to offer on our Support page.
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We have provided some simple suggestions to enhance your practice and listening experience with LIGHT IN ADVENT here.
Staying connected
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The Contemplative Society is an inclusive non-profit society that encourages a deepening of contemplative prayer based in the Christian Wisdom tradition while also welcoming and being supportive of other meditation traditions. We are based in Victoria, BC, Canada and serve a global audience.
In addition to our events and retreats we provide instructional and inspirational materials supportive of the contemplative life. See our full catalogue: Audio Teachings on CD & MP3
The beautiful photo for our event is by