Workshop Sampler

Experience short versions of three different workshops!

Monday: Peaceful People Cultivating Silence and Stillness – Amos Smith
Tuesday: Mindfulness Practice and Quaker Practice, Part 1 – Don McCormick
Wednesday: Mindfulness Practice and Quaker Practice, Part 2 – Don McCormick
Thursday: Telling Our Whole Religious Stories, Part 1 – Allison Kirkegaard and Jen Newman
Friday: Telling Our Whole Religious Stories, Part 2 – Allison Kirkegaard and Jen Newman

Workshop Description

Monday: Peaceful People Cultivating Silence and Stillness
Amos Smith
Silence/Centering Prayer cultivates what saint Paul refers to as “the peace of God which surpasses all understanding.” Philippians 4:7 Mystics like Quaker Thomas Kelly tell us, we come to know The Real Presence of Christ most intimately through stillness and silence. This workshop teaches the basics of disciplined silences/centering prayer

Tuesday and Wednesday: Mindfulness Practice and Quaker Practice
Don McCormick
We will explore the relationship between Quakerism and mindfulness, which includes mindfulness & worship, holding in the Light, being present where you are, and presence & racial barriers. There will be short talks, discussion, and guided mindfulness practice. Participants will share their experience of connections between mindfulness and Quaker practice.

Thursday and Friday: Telling Our Whole Religious Stories
Allison Kirkegaard and Jen Newman
Many people have come to Quakerism from other religious traditions, becoming convinced Friends after a journey of seeking. Often these stories include a difficult road. This workshop is an opportunity for Friends to share these stories, examine their influence on our spiritual lives, and explore what to keep and release.

Leader Experience

Amos Smith holds a doctoral degree in religious studies. He is a former wrestler and mountain climber and is now a long-term centering prayer practitioner, workshop leader, writer, certified counselor, and Quaker. He lives in Washington State with his wife and son. Amos is the author of three books.  Healing The Divide: Recovering Christianity’s Mystic Roots (2013) is part of the curriculum for the Living School of The Center for Action and Contemplation, founded by Richard Rohr. Be Still and Listen: Experience the Presence of God in Your Life (2018) is popular with study groups. Journey of Holistic Mysticism: Experiencing the Integrated Spirituality of the Quakers debuts this spring. In this devotional-style book, Amos focuses on the presence of Christ and the profound effects silence and stillness bring to the whole person. 

Don McCormick has practiced mindfulness for over 40 years, studying primarily with Shinzen Young. He has conducted research on mindfulness, and has taught it for 30 years in university, community, jail, and online settings. He is co-founder and Director of Education at Unified Mindfulness where he trains teachers. His article, “Mindfulness and Quaker Worship”, appeared in Western Friend. 

Allison Kirkegaard: “I am a convinced young adult Friend who was raised in the Catholic tradition. As I’ve worked through my negative experiences with Catholicism over the years, I feel that I’ve become more at peace with these experiences, more fully able to engage in Quaker practice, and more in tune with the multifaceted Divine. I hope to co-create a space for this work informed by  my own journey, the wisdom I’ve received from elders, and the knowledge I gained in divinity school.”

Jen Newman is a convinced young adult Friend who was raised in a nondenominational evangelical tradition. She grew up in a community church, where she felt tension between what she was being taught and what she felt God was telling her (and what she felt she read in the Bible). Jen went to George Fox University for her undergraduate degree, where she explored her theology deeply, was a co-founder of the university’s first LGBTQ+ student association, and came to Quakerism by way of the young adult Friends involved in that group, and a longer and winding spiritual journey. Jen has a Master of Theological Studies (MTS) degree in religion, gender, and sexuality studies from Vanderbilt Divinity School, where she explored how to walk people through letting go of death-dealing theologies that separate us from knowing each other and ourselves.