Balancing Action and Contemplation

St. Stephen’s, Columbus, will offer a six-session Zoom class entitled, “Balancing Action & Contemplation” will meet weekly from 7 to 8 p.m. starting Thursday, April 20, and will run through May 25. This class is designed for folks who have a heart for social justice and will be facilitated by St. Stephen’s parishioner Jamie Massa.

Here is a brief summary of the six-week class.

1. Contemplation: Some form of contemplative practice is necessary to be able to detach from your own agenda, your own anger, your own ego, and your own fear.
2. Alternative Consciousness: What you are doing in contemplation is moving to a level beneath your thoughts: the level of pure and naked being.
3. Watching the River: It is helpful to become aware of one’s thoughts and feelings through simple contemplative practices like: centering prayer, Lectio Divina, welcoming prayer, Yoga, Tai Chi, and other meditative movement, wandering or sitting in nature or simply focusing on your breath.
4. Becoming Pure in Heart: For Jesus, prayer seems to be a matter of waiting in love, returning to love, trusting that love is the unceasing stream of reality.
5. Action AND Contemplation: We need both action and contemplation to have a whole spiritual journey. It doesn’t matter which comes first; action may lead you to contemplation and contemplation may lead you to action.
6. Summary: Over time—months, years, a full lifetime—contemplation gradually opens our hearts, minds, and bodies to Love as our True Self and right action.

More information and sign up here.