A Congregation Enters the Silence

Rev. Karla Halvorson

On January 24, Bishop Eaton met with some of the Centering Prayer group of San Marcos Lutheran Church (SMLC) to experience how we “enter the silence.” She came in response to an article I sent to her, describing my and San Marcos Lutheran’s introduction to Centering (or Contemplative) Prayer. The day after I sent this to her, by complete “coincidence,” she found it in a rarely used email folder.

Bishop Eaton’s emphasis for the year is “We are the Church” and she was looking for congregations that are finding ways to be the church by abiding in Christ. Our practices at SMLC caught her attention. She wanted to see, experience, and film this practice for use in the 2015 Synod Assembly video. Her hope is that this will encourage other congregations to find ways to abide in Christ. Bishop Eaton was also able to join us for worship on Sunday, January 25, the same day we invited Pastor Mark (former pastor at SMLC) and Jan Knutson to be with us a part of our 50th anniversary celebration.

You may be interested to know that Bishop Eaton also uses this method of prayer. It was introduced to her about two and a half years ago, when she was discerning whether or not to be considered for election to the position of Presiding Bishop. She indicated it was this practice that helped her let go and trust God.

 “As a church we need to engage in basic spiritual practices: prayer, silence, corporate worship, Scripture study, giving, service,” said Bishop Eaton

Last winter, I entered a time of extreme spiritual loneliness. I don’t think I could call it anything else. I reached out to friends, colleagues, mentors, but this loneliness was not abated. When I tried to describe it, it was as if I was looking for someone to understand a deep need within me to be understood.

I am not a lonely person. With three kids, an active congregation and a husband who is also a Lutheran pastor, my life is full and usually joyful. But this was different. This was a pain or discomfort at a deeper level. Since pain is a great motivator, I decided to do something about it.

I began by seeking spiritual direction from a local Franciscan retreat center. There I met with a wonderful spiritual director. After we sat in silence for a bit, she asked me what was the desire of my heart. The answer came bubbling forth: “I want to be in the presence of God!” With that confession, I knew what this discomfort had been all along: a prompting and prodding toward a deeper spiritual connection.

My director encouraged me to make some subtle changes to my prayer life. I have for years had a devotional life, reading the Bible or spiritual literature, journaling, reviewing my long intercessory prayer list and ending with a few minutes of “meditation.” During that time, I would try to sit in silence but my thoughts would still be racing. My director encouraged me to rearrange my devotions, beginning with a brief reading then going immediately to sitting in the presence of God in silence. She also instructed me on how to quiet my mind.

About that same time, a member of my congregation brought in an article about Contemplative Outreach which is “a spiritual network of individuals and small faith communities committed to living the contemplative dimension of the Gospel.” I was still in the dark about what this all meant, so I brought this information to my spiritual director. She knew much about this organization and encouraged me to find out more. It so happens that we have an active outreach in our area. We contacted the leader and found that they offered a half-day workshop on Centering Prayer, followed by six weeks of once-per-week instruction. We set our half-day workshop for late September.

A group of about 40 met for the workshop, some from my own congregation and others. We learned the basics of Centering Prayer, its ancient roots in the Christian tradition, how to choose a sacred word, and how to begin to follow this instruction: “Be still and know that I am God.” Our instructors and attendees were from many different Christian denominations – Roman Catholic, Episcopalian, United Methodist, non-denominational, and Lutheran.

The half-day workshop gave us the basics, and the six weeks of follow up answered still more questions. For many of us, this answers a deep call within, the need to sit with the Holy One in deeper connection, submission and union.

At our 2014 Pacifica Synod Assembly, we had the privilege of having Presiding Bishop Eaton as a keynote speaker. She spoke about her own spiritual practice of sitting in silence for 20 minutes, a miraculous feat for one as busy and active as she. Now all of us who have attended this Centering Prayer workshop have this same commitment, sitting in silence in the presence of God for 20 minutes, once or twice per day. Beginning November 12, we will become a Centering Prayer congregation. We will meet once per week for 20 minutes of silent prayer followed by instruction and a time for group reflection. This group remains open to all, members and non-members alike and will be listed on the Contemplative Outreach North San Diego website (CONSD.org).

In this silence and submission, God is doing great things. Nothing is guaranteed through this prayer except that we will be in the presence of God. Nothing is required except our intent to sit in silence however imperfectly we may do this. But in the silence God is very active, healing us, prompting us, changing us and our community.

I encourage you, my Lutheran brothers and sisters, to find out more. Help is offered and easily available. You may contact me or better yet, the national website ContemplativeOutreach.org or CenteringPrayer.org.

In gratitude,

Pastor Karla Halvorson, San Marcos, California