MAUI SPOTLIGHT: ST. JOHN'S PRACTICES INTERIOR STILLNESS By Cindy Schumacher
[March 28, 2024] On February 10, 2024, an online Centering Prayer training session took place on Zoom for friends and members of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Kula, Maui. The training was led by the Rev. Sun-Hwan Spriggs from St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Tustin, California, a good friend of St. John's priest, the Rev. George Wong. Rev. Spriggs is a spiritual director and Centering Prayer presenter and facilitator, and has started numerous centering prayer groups. Her guidance about the “why” and the “how” has been followed by Fr. George with a daily 7:00am-7:30am silent meditation on Zoom, that continues through March 30. Beginning with a Psalm or other reading, the rest of the half-hour is spent practicing the contemplation, with the reading repeated at the end.
“By engaging in the practice of Centering Prayer, we express and demonstrate our intention to be in deep relationship with God by immersing ourselves in the first language of God, silence,” Fr. George explained. “Over the past few years, in Centering Prayer circles, we have found that virtual Centering Prayer meetings held over Zoom are quite effective, while at the same time having the advantage of being very accessible for those interested in the support of a praying community. I am thankful that the St. John’s Lenten Centering Prayer group has also found success in these ways.”
There are some guidelines that can help you practice Centering Prayer wherever you may be. First, sit comfortably with your eyes closed, relax and quiet yourself. Second, choose a sacred word or phrase that best supports your sincere intention to be in the higher Presence; opened to a divine encounter. Next, let that word be present as you connect with the Presence within. Then, whenever you become aware of any thoughts, feelings or perceptions, simply return to your sacred word, your anchor. Ideally, the prayer will reach the point where you’re not engaged in your thoughts but in that place to which you aspire, without outside or inside distractions.
Maui has always been known for the many different spiritual traditions and practices represented here. Eastern spirituality, with its emphasis on meditation, is an already well established vehicle for answers to a meaning for life. However, less well known is Christianity’s ancient practice of contemplation and prayer, also placing a strong emphasis on interior silence.
Centering Prayer, a form of prayer long forgotten in much of the West, was rediscovered and brought into modern practice by Father Thomas Keating, a Cistercian monk. Father Keating, an abbot all through the 1960s and 1970s in Massachusetts, found that many people who had turned to Eastern practices for contemplative work had no knowledge of the contemplative traditions within Christianity. He then set out to present those practices in a more accessible way. Father Keating said, “Centering Prayer is the opening of the mind and heart, our whole being, to the ultimate mystery, beyond thoughts, words and emotions. It takes you into the quiet depths where there is only a simple, peaceful flow from our source into the ocean of infinite love.”
Paula Baldwin, from Trinity-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Kihei, has been a long-time facilitator of Centering Prayer. Baldwin explained, “Centering Prayer is an all-inclusive meeting that welcomes all community members, visitors, and locals alike. All are invited to share this practice. We are all capable of having enriched spiritual lives. The idea is for people to come, start or renew their journey on a spiritual path of any sort. Praying is a compelling way of entering a deep quest within.”
Baldwin gave this example to explain her own experience in Centering Prayer. “It feels like a time when you and a friend have been so comfortable together, no words were spoken but you both knew you were very present to each other. For me, Centering Prayer is like time spent sitting with my dear friend, not talking, not doing; just being. I have witnessed amazing transformations in the lives of numerous people as a result of this practice. Centering Prayer deepens our relationship to a higher power, by whatever name you choose to call it. There is an opportunity to invite the Indwelling Presence into everything we do. It gives us the eyes to see and the ears to hear the call to the banquet of peace. It helps me find my center and a way to meet the day. I have a better chance of approaching the day’s unexpected events without being thrown off balance. It is even known to reduce stress. It’s simply a wonderful journey!”
Centering Prayer places strong emphasis on interior stillness. The aim is fulfillment of a kind you cannot buy on-line or in any store. You must strive inwardly for it. This method of silent prayer prepares one to receive the gift of contemplative prayer in which the experience of a higher Presence within is closer than breathing, closer than thinking, closer than consciousness itself. It is not meant to replace other kinds of prayer. Rather, it adds depth of meaning to all prayer and facilitates reaching a place of resting in the Divine. In addition, this form of prayer tends to build communities of faith while bonding participants together in mutual friendship and love.
Fr. George will continue to facilitate Centering Prayer Monday-Saturday 7:00am to 7:30am via Zoom thru March 30. Everyone is invited to join.
Photo Credit: Gloria Lau
Editor's Note: Active Centering Prayer groups can be found on O'ahu, Kaua'i, Maui and Hawai'i Island. Visit the Contemplative Outreach of Hawai'i website HERE for more information and contact information for groups in your community.
