Huge Turnout For Quiet day

Here is a reflection of my experience of the Rule of Life Quiet Day at St John's Anglican Church on November 19 2016.  Juanita provide an insightful, informative spiritual overview of the Rule of Life and how one can apply these principals to enhance their relationship with God.  She started off the meeting with an overview of the day and then prayer and introductions.  She then passed around an affirmation, which each person read one line of, to set the tone of the workshop, which I found very moving.  Participants then shared a little bit about themselves

Juanita went on to outline: the history of the Rule of Life; how the Anglican church adopted it into its doctrine and the positive impact it can have on strengthening one's relationship with God.

After morning coffee we moved upstairs, from the lounge into the Sanctuary and meditated, using the practice of  Lectio Devina. Since the Rule off Life is grounded in prayer, I found meditation was the perfect introduction for me to St. Benedict's Rule and was grounding for  myself and the group.  This was my first experience using Lectio Devina meditation and I was quite moved.  Truly I felt God's presence as the I felt the group move into a deeper spiritual space, in community with each other.  I was also impressed with Juanita's clarity as she facilitated the meditation. Then we did a walking mediation in the Sanctuary. Following the meditations we removed back down to the meeting room and Juanita showed a written example of her Daily, Weekly, Monthly and Yearly Rule of Life.  

The participants were treated to a wonderful lunch of homemade soups, breads, fresh veggies (and all sorts of homemade goodies to tempt the palate, which the participants had prepared. In the afternoon we explored various prayer practices with Juanita, that one can use to further enhance our relationship with God, including a demonstration using prayer beads, of the Lord's Prayer in Tai Chi (Madeline Cooper),  Prayer Shawl Ministry (Madeline Cooper) and of Contemplative Prayer practices  (Deborah Foster).  For me it was a beautiful, moving and informative day as Juanita provided the tools to prepare my personal Rule of Life. Obviously a lot of time and love had gone into it's preparation.  Everyone who attended fully participated and supported Juanita, who is currently being supported by the Parish of John's as she discerns a calling to the Diaconate.

Andy Phillips