Weekly Contemplative
Practice Circle
A shared space for stillness, prayer, awareness, and gentle exploration
Tuesdays at 3:30 pm
Explore Upcoming Circle Themes

This weekly gathering offers a shared practice of stillness, prayer, awareness, and gentle exploration. Rooted in the Christian contemplative tradition and shaped by Celtic spirituality, the circle may include silence, breath prayer, scripture, blessing, mindfulness practices, and, at times, music, meditation, or Taizé-style chant. This gathering offers practices that help us quiet the noise, become more present, and encounter the deeper self beneath distraction and strain. Together we seek to cultivate peace, presence, compassion, and deeper listening—to God, to self, to one another, and to the living world.
Most gatherings will be explicitly Christian in language and form, drawing on contemplative prayer, sacred words, scripture, blessing, or silence before God. Some may use more universal language, drawing on mindfulness, breath awareness, embodiment, or simple practices of attention that are accessible to people across a range of experiences and beliefs. At times, we may also explore, in a grounded and careful way, how different practices affect our inner state: calm, focus, spaciousness, receptivity, or deep rest.
This circle is not about performance, expertise, or achieving unusual experiences. It is about practice: returning, noticing, listening, and becoming more awake. We do not chase altered states or make exaggerated claims. We simply make room for quiet transformation through steady attention and shared presence.
When we draw from traditions beyond Christianity, we do so respectfully and transparently, without claiming to teach those traditions in full. Our aim is not to blur everything together, but to learn with care, humility, and clarity.
The heart of this circle is simple:
to become still enough to listen,
quiet enough to receive,
and present enough to be changed.
Email Anna Haight with questions
Upcoming Circles
July 28
Praying in Color: Foundations, The Mystics Everyone Should Know
led by Anna Haight
August 4
Praying in Color: More Mystics - the Great Teachers
led by Anna Haight
August 11
Laybrinths, led by Meg Linden
August 18
Sacred Songs, Chant, and Walking Meditation
led by Ann McChesney-Young
Repeating monthly on third Tuesdays.
Contemplative Practice Resources
The Jesus Prayer:
Meditation in Preparation for Liturgy: The Jesus Prayer, by Father Vincent Pizzuto, PhD
Anglican Prayer Beads: A Brief Introduction
Metropolitan Kallistos Ware, also known as Bishop Kallistos of Diokleia, born Timothy Ware
Eastern Orthodox theologian; author of The Orthodox Church and The Orthodox Way; excellent teacher on the Jesus Prayer. Watch him teach on the Jesus Prayer on YouTube, starting at 7:27.
Prayer Beads:
Other Practices:
