"The first half-hour was devoted to coffee and meeting one another as the various parish groups assembled. A large circle was then formed, and individual statements were given about hopes for the day. Then the program, or rather the games, began. The stated purpose was to relax us, to get to know one another’s names, and to produce an atmosphere of teamwork. Paper bags covered heads, and people had to form a line or persuade a stony-faced person to smile, etc., for two hours [italics original]...No doubt God did speak to them but having already emptied their minds, they couldn't understand Him, of course. Funny thing, though: one of the oft most repeated tropes of Episcopalian innovators is the smug assertion theirs is the church that doesn't require you leave your mind at the door. Only at retreats, apparently.
...Then one of the leaders got up and gave a brief history of Christian meditation, pointing out that after the Dalai Lama left Tibet and Pope John XXIII instituted reforms, meditation was revived in the West. A pair of shoe liners was placed in the center of our circle, and we were instructed to empty our minds and listen to God for ten minutes.
h/t the Lone Star Parson, whose most excellent blog may be found here.
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