Unity in Silence

We are so grateful for each of you who have joined us for the Wednesday Contemplative Prayer Sit. If you've been with us just once or take part regularly, each of you is a gift to Gravity. Together we are forming a new "we." We thought you would appreciate this article by Chris Heuertz published at Duke. Together we can do good better. And it begins in Sacred Silence and continues one breath at a time. To help get the word out about Gravity, we'd love it if you would share this article with your networks via email and/or social media. We look forward to being with you anytime you can do the sacred work of building unity through silence. ps. Since we've had such high attendance lately and at times run out of seats, if you have a meditation cushion, would you consider bringing it with you for your personal use? Thanks so much!         Unity in Silence by Chris Heuertz at Duke Divinity's Faith and Leadership They come each Wednesday afternoon at 4 o'clock. Quietly. Undramatically. Some enter in silence and leave in silence, some barely uttering more than a polite greeting and brief word of parting. As a gesture of reverence, a few folks take their shoes off outside the door, slipping them back on as they make their way. It's always an eclectic group that gathers -- an occasional Buddhist, versions of Christians, sometimes a Hindu, even quite a few nonreligious people show up. All of them care deeply about their spirituality. All of them value the mysteries only discovered in silence. They travel from all over the city to join us at Gravity: A Center for Contemplative Activism for a 20-minute contemplative prayer sit. Some of them actually spend more time driving to get to the center than we spend sharing in our brief contemplative pause, but the draw to meditate in community is worth the journey. There are quite a few regulars, while it seems each week we always have at least one or two newcomers. All are welcome. I'm always surprised at who shows up. Surprised that so many people would go out of their way to stop. To pause. To clear their minds and open their hearts. What's even more surprising is the small community that has formed around these short moments of silence. Frequently, you will find a very traditional and conservative Catholic priest sitting across from an LGBT-affirming Episcopal bishop, or perhaps it's a preacher from the Southern Baptist suburban megachurch seated beside the progressive theologian from the nearby Jesuit university. Clergy from various Christian traditions and denominations who normally would be divided by doctrine and belief come together in unity. Through their words they would find plenty to disagree on, but silence brings them into a new kind of communion, forming a new kind of community. I have spent most of my life bringing people together around ideas, causes, events, meals, social justice initiatives and a number of other meaningful opportunities. It has been a value of mine to nurture extremely diverse groups of conversation partners, forming all kinds of seemingly incompatible communities and unlikely social circles. But the group that meets on Wednesdays is unique. What is it about silence that allows uncommon people to find common ground?   Read full article here.   Donate Now

Gravity, a Center for Contemplative Activism exits to nurture the integral connection between mysticism and activism. Gravity grounds social engagement in Christian contemplative spirituality, to do good better by offering contemplative retreats, spiritual direction and pilgrimage to places of religious significance as well as places marked by profound pain and hope.

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