What I see when I get a moment to pause and make a little sense of the world
Link: Companions in Christ | Tools & Tips.
E. Glenn Hinson, adapted from Weavings, May/June 2003
Looking backward from the perspective of seventy-one years, I can see innumerable flashes of grace in my life. However exhaustively I search, though, I always end up with a deep conviction that ordinary saints, loving and vitally interested in me, played the leading role in getting me from where I started to where I am now.
Link: Companions in Christ | Tools & Tips.
From Marjorie Thompson, Companions in Christ Spiritual Director
Spiritual formation is the process by which God forms us into the persons we are meant to be, Christ-like persons. Being re-shaped according to the pattern of Jesus' mind, heart, and work is the gracious labor of the Holy Spirit, moving within us personally and among us as Christian community. This transforming work takes us into ourselves and carries us out toward others in an endless, mutually reinforcing spiral of growth.
Link: Companions in Christ | Tools & Tips.
Sharing Companions in Christ with Your Congregation
Rev. Gina Campbell shared Companions in Christ with her congregation in Chevy Chase, Maryland, by including the reverse paraphrase of Psalm 23 in her newsletter. Here is what Rev. Campbell wrote:
Continue reading “Psalm 23: A “Reverse” Reading – Fall 2002″
Link: Companions in Christ | Tools & Tips.
For those of you who have begun The Way of Forgiveness, we want to offer a few words of encouragement and counsel. The topic of forgiveness and reconciliation is deep and challenging, perhaps one of the very greatest challenges in our Christian walk. You may have noticed that we urge that no small group BEGIN their experience of Companions in Christ with this resource. A group needs to build a certain personal familiarity and trust in their relationships in order to give themselves fully to a subject as tender and vulnerable as forgiveness, whether participants are seeking to forgive or to be forgiven.
Continue reading “Tips for The Way of Forgiveness – Fall 2002”
Link: Companions in Christ | Tools & Tips.
From Marjorie Thompson, Companions in Christ Spiritual Director
Many of our participants express reservations or outright resistance to the idea of keeping a daily journal. Yet journaling is a key part of the Companions experience, enabling each participant to track thoughts, insights, questions, feelings, and images that arise from the readings and reflective exercises each week. How can you, as a leader, encourage your group members to be open to this very fruitful discipline?
Link: Companions in Christ | Tools & Tips.
From Marjorie Thompson, Companions in Christ Spiritual Director
For the last two months, we have been looking more closely at aspects of spiritual guidance or direction. In particular, we have discussed key elements of spiritual direction, the quality of a spiritual guidance conversation, and what to look for generally in a spiritual guide. But "generally" and "specifically" can make a world of difference!
Continue reading “Spiritual Direction 3 of 3 – September 2002”
Link: Companions in Christ | Tools & Tips.
From Marjorie Thompson, Companions in Christ Spiritual Director
Last month we began to supplement our understanding of spiritual guidance by listing key elements of the guidance process, and looking at the kind of things we might talk about in such a relationship. We offered a concrete example of a spiritual direction conversation. Of course, no particular sample conversation can be normative. Each of us has different needs and styles, not to mention constantly changing life circumstances that will shape the issues, questions, and musings of faith we bring to any relationship of spiritual guidance
Link: Companions in Christ | Tools & Tips.
From Marjorie Thompson, Companions in Christ Spiritual Director
The idea of spiritual guidance or direction is relatively new in the Protestant world. Some of our Companions in Christ groups have told us that they were particularly challenged by this final part of the 28-week resource. We would like to offer some additional perspectives on this dimension of Christian life in the next several email newsletters, along with further resources for exploration. Spiritual friendship and guidance are foundational to Christian life in community, and to our personal maturation in Christ. We want to do all we can to encourage greater understanding of this practice. Here is part of a chapter I wrote on the subject of individual spiritual direction (one-on-one) — in Soul Feast: An Invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life (published by Westminster/John Knox Press, 1995).
Link: Companions in Christ | Tools & Tips.
Discernment [From The Upper Room Dictionary of Christian Spiritual Formation, coming in May 2003.]
Link: Companions in Christ | Tools & Tips.
ion Keeping multiple small groups going can be challenging. Belmont United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tennessee has six Companions in Christ groups meeting in addition to their other ministry groups. Recruiting, publicizing, resourcing, and keeping good communication within and among all these groups can be difficult. And there is also the need to look ahead — what are the future needs of these groups, and what should be done now to prepare for the future? Here are some tips from Lynne Deming who serves as Belmont's Companions in Christ coordinator:
Continue reading “Multiple Groups in the Congregation – May 2002”
Front Porch Reflections 
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