Newsletter - 27 October
Cockfosters Centre for Spirituality (CCS)
A Place of Wholeness
Being part of the Cockfosters Centre for Spirituality (CCS) for the past 13 years has been a journey of discovery, joy and rich blessing.
I am part of a small team who plan the yearly programme and run the retreat days throughout the year.
The ethos of the centre has always been that all Guests should be Welcomed as Christ (St Benedict’s Rule) and it was this which struck me most when I first started volunteering at the centre. I have always enjoyed welcoming people who are new to places and this was one small way in which I could practice what St Benedict says. When people come to events at the centre we provide lunch for them. The lunch and times for refreshments are an opportunity for people to speak and get to know each other and share during the day.
I had no experience of Contemplative prayer or Christian meditation when I began at the centre and no knowledge of Ignatian, Benedictine, or Carmelite Spirituality. Some of the speakers who have shared their knowledge and wisdom with us over the years have come from those traditions and I am very grateful to have had the benefit of their wisdom and experience as I began to explore Contemplative prayer and meditation on my own. I was invited to attend a meditation group which met weekly in the Centre and was led by Rita McKenna a Benedictine Oblate of the World Community for Christian Meditation. This began my journey into meditation and an exploration of Benedictine Spirituality which has led me to becoming a Benedictine Oblate and leading a meditation group in the parish.
A significant part of this journey for me is that I have developed a deeper inner awareness of God within me and a recognition of the need for stillness and silence in my own life to respond to what God is saying to me.
The different speakers over the years have helped to shape my spirituality including the ways in which I both read and reflect on the Scriptures, Lectio Divina, including the mass and liturgy.
I recognise I am more attentive to my surroundings and people I am with which makes me more able to respond to their needs.
I am very grateful for the support of the Chemin Neuf Community in what I do and consider myself a part of the community.
Philomena Phillips
Focus of the Week
"Sometimes it's good to leave the crowd- to wrap yourself in the cloak of quietness - to sit alone and reacquaint yourself with your dreams"
PLAYING /PRAYING WITH FIRE
Antonia Lynn 9 November, 10.00 am – 3.00 pm (online)
The fires at the centre of the earth sustain the planet's life-giving motion; in God's fiery love at our deepest core, we ‘live and move and have our being'. A day for deep and playful exploration of that love using words, images, music and creative reflection, to find the One who kindles the fire within us.’ Antonia has been an Ignatian spiritual director, pastoral supervisor and trainer for many years. ONLINE EVENT. - This will be hosted online using Zoom, however you are welcome to come to the Centre to watch and listen with others in person.
To register please email cockfosterscs@rcdow.org.uk or phone the parish office on 020 8449 6648.
We invite a donation to cover our speaker's travel costs and the lunches and refreshments we provide. We offer a Concession for the unwaged and Parishioners of the Parish of Christ the King. Day £30 / Concession £20