Become Astonished

I have read an excellent piece by Pegge Bernecker of Spritual Directors International and thought it would be something good to share with the Contemplative Fire Niagara group. It is the first piece in this newsletter called "Become Astonished". I wish you all an Advent full of expectation and hope, and joy at Christmas.

The article can be found here

First Gathering

We had a wonderful First Gathering in Niagara on Sunday, Nov. 21st in the Great Hall in Burlington. There were 42 participants and the Title of the Gathering was "Light for the Journey." Picking up from the Lectionary for the day we meditated on the Canticle of Zechariah and the quote from that:

⁷⁸ By the tender mercy of our God,
   the dawn from on high will break upon us, 
⁷⁹ to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
   to guide our feet into the way of peace.’

We started, sitting in darkness in chairs arranged in a random order. With silence and guided meditation we thought about where we experience darkness in our lives and how light "breaks" upon us. We moved to the other side of the room, each lighting a candle and sitting in a circle around the table of friendship. We placed our candles around the table of friendship and named a person or a need for our prayers and then moved into the story of Jesus' last supper, and shared in the bread and wine together. Periods of silence, instrumental music and Leonard Cohen's "The Anthem" were featured during our time together.

Our next Gathering is Sunday, January 16th at 7 P.M. at St. Jude's Church, Oakville.

Contemplative Fire Niagara's First Gathering

Looking for more depth in your spiritual Life? Contemplative Fire in Niagara will have its first gathering on Sunday, Nov. 21st at 7 P.M. at The Great Hall 1382 Ontario St., Burlington ON. Come and see. Call for more information at 905-634-1826.