Connecting to the Source – And Mostly Staying There

We are in perilous times, in which it’s harder to stay connected to that Source of Life and Power where deep worship, discernment, and Spirit-led action all originate.  We will explore, in experiential and immediate ways, how to better live into and sustain connection to that Source. These are incredibly hard times to sustain our…

Workshop Description

We are in perilous times, in which it’s harder to stay connected to that Source of Life and Power where deep worship, discernment, and Spirit-led action all originate.  We will explore, in experiential and immediate ways, how to better live into and sustain connection to that Source.

These are incredibly hard times to sustain our spiritual balance.  The daily news cycle is shocking and disheartening almost every day.  Keeping our hearts open and our connection to the Divine clear is very hard work under these circumstances.  While I have been leading workshops on how to connect more deeply to the Divine for many years now, the times we are living in have forced me to go deeper, to seek for bedrock grounding that sustains me and fills me with hope and courage.  I know I am not alone in this.

So this workshop is an extension of work that has been evolving for many years, but is now also informed by the hard lessons of the last year – the many times I have lost my footing and found ways to regain it.

Through experiential exercises, small group sharing, large group processing, and worship, this workshop seeks to create a community of deep trust and openness, taking off the armor shielding our hearts and opening us into deeper communion with each other and with the Divine Source. We will spend time exploring how that deeper communion enhances each of our experiences of worship, and helps to open us to greater capacity in discerning individual leadings for action.  We will go deep, reaching for what sustains, enlivens and empowers us, even as the fabric of the world as we have known it is being challenged and torn asunder. Topics will include learning how to listen with our whole being, practicing various ways of centering into worship, worship as a transformative crucible, the spiritual empowerment that comes through letting go, and how self-care and the need for spaciousness in our lives impact our capacity to live more consistently connected to the Divine Source. And we will actively practice ways of listening for, and being accountable to, leadings for our lives and our witness to social concerns.

This workshop will be largely experiential. We will use a lot of small group sharing to help us form a community of trust, openness and depth, and also to practice ways of being deeply present to each other. We will also use practices to try different ways of centering/entering into the Source, and ways of listening for guidance. In addition to small group sharing and large group discussion, we will engage in worship, prayer, some journaling, lectio devina, “light and lively” play, and some storytelling, lecture, and sharing of poetry.

Leader Experience

Christopher Sammond has led scores of interactive workshops and retreats for Friends over many years, including ones at Powell House, Woolman Hill, Pendle Hill, Earlham School of Religion, Friends United Meeting Triennial, Friends World Committee for Consultation World Gathering, and Friends General Conference Gathering. Christopher brings years of experience working with meetings on their worship life while serving New York Yearly Meeting as their General Secretary.  He has also served as a core teacher in School of the Spirit’s Participating in God’s Power program, a year-long program of spiritual deepening, connecting mystical awareness with leadings for action.