Spiritual formation is a rather general term referring to all attempts, means, and disciplines intended towards deepening of faith and furtherance of spiritual growth. It includes educational endeavors and prayer as well as the more intimate and in-depth process of a covenant group or spiritual direction.
Adult Formation
Sunday, March 15th
10:45 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. at Thistle Farms
Led by J Townley
J Townley is a student at Vanderbilt Divinity School seeking ordination in the PCUSA and a burial intern at Larkspur Conservation. She writes music for worship and meditative singing. She leads contemplative prayer and music practices for groups of youth and adults.
Join the Adult Forum as we explore healing power of nature. This winter our lives have been interrupted by the destructive power of the natural world. As the seasons change, we are reminded that creation contains such capacity for healing. Drawing from her experiences working at Larkspur Conservation, VDS student J Townley will share her reflections on our place in the web of life and its power to help us process our grief. After a short discussion, we will prayerfully contemplate these themes through Taize style meditative singing.
Sacred Ground Series
Sacred Ground is a film- and readings-based dialogue series on race, grounded in faith. Small groups are invited to walk through chapters of America’s history of race and racism, while weaving in threads of family story, economic class, and political and regional identity.
The 11-part series is built around a powerful online curriculum of documentary films and readings that focus on Indigenous, Black, Latino, and Asian/Pacific American histories as they intersect with European American histories.
Rev. Yuri Rodriguez will lead the conversations, starting with an in person meeting on Wednesday, February 25th, at 6:30pm, at the Center for Contemplative Justice (CCJ), on 5201 Alabama Ave. (Location was initially announced as St. Augustine’s chapel, but it has now changed because of renovations happening at the Chapel).
The remaining gatherings will happen on zoom.
Questions? yuri@staugustineschapel.org
Wednesday Morning Women’s Book Study
9:45 a.m. - 11 a.m.
at the Center for Contemplative Justice, 5201 Alabama Ave, 37209
Braving the Truth: Essential Essays for Reckoning with and Reimagining Faith by Rachel Held Evans
March 4 - Part One: An Evolving Faith
March 11 - Part Two: That Unholy American Trinity
March 18 - Part Three: Casseroles, Evangelicalism and the Kingdom of the Hungry
March 25 - Part Four: All Right, Then, I’ll Go to Hell
April 1 - HOLY WEEK No meeting
April 8 - Part Five: Still a Bible Nerd
April 15 - Part Six: Telling the Truth
Questions? christy@staugustineschapel.org
Spiritual Direction
Spiritual direction is a time-honored term for a conversation, ordinarily between two persons, in which one person consults another about what it means to live with God in mind. Unlike counseling or psychotherapy, spiritual direction is focused not on problem-solving, technique, or intervention but on relationship with God, questions about suffering, the true self, and vocation. As Thomas Merton once said, “Spiritual direction is, in reality, nothing more than a way of leading us to pay attention to the real Director — the Holy Spirit hidden in the depths of our soul."
Although spiritual direction has had a burst of new life in recent times, it is really quite ancient and simple. Throughout the ages and across faith traditions, we find people seeking guidance on how to choose appropriate directions in response to felt questions, leadings, and inclinations.
For more information, email Scott Owings at scott@staugustineschapel.org.
Grief as Praise: A Conversation with the Rev. Dr. Scott Owings and tallu quinn From the January 31, 2021 Home Church Service at St. Augustine’s Chapel