Young Contemplatives

An exciting group of young adults has come together to learn spiritual practices that lead to lives centered in God and from that place, to go about loving family, enjoying friends, and working and serving in the community. The Young Contemplatives meet monthly, September through May, to deepen their personal journey to God and make connections with other young adults. Dinner and childcare provided.

Please use the form below to sign-up. This helps us plan and connect with you before the study starts.

Come Join the Group

Consider making plans to spend the last Wednesday evening of each month from 6 to 7:30 p.m. with a group of people who share a similar desire. You might want to attend if you are:

 ... a spiritual seeker
... desiring to improve your faith life,
     connection, and practices
... trying to find your way to the next step in your life
... wanting to live spiritually healthier each day
... interested in improving the outlook and quality of your life

Holy Envy

This year, Michael Beckmann will lead an exploration of what can be learned through the eyes of other faiths:  Hindu, Buddhism, Judaism, and Islam using Barbara Brown Taylor’s book, “Holy Envy, Finding God in the Faith of Others”.  Driven by curiosity and questions, we discover the spiritual riches God can teach us from the faith of others,  enhancing our own Christian spiritual journey and helping us to come to know God in a new way.
 
 

Upcoming Schedule

YOUNG CONTEMPLATIVES meet on Wednesdays, as follows:
​
September 25, 2019, 6:00-7:30 p.m.
October 30, 2019, 6:00-7:30 p.m.
January 29, 2020, 6:00-7:30 p.m.
March 25, 2020, 5:30-6:30 p.m.
April 29, 2020, 6:00-7:30 p.m.
May 27, 2020, 6:00-7:30 p.m.

What is a Contemplative?

We often associate prayer with the words we say.  Contemplative prayer—a contemplative life—is a way of being with God that does not depend on giving the Holy One information about what we would like done in the world.  Just as friends can enjoy one another without conversation, a contemplative life is a way of being with God without wordiness.  Contemplatives rest and wait.  Keeping our hearts alert and awake to the presence of God and God’s Word, we listen.

The life of a contemplative requires patience, but it is not the heavy work that intercession can sometimes be.  It can even be light, playful, tender and joyful.  In a world given to activity and work, a contemplative life is peace filled—a life lived in God and God in us, attentive to God’s leading in the everyday events that make up our lives. 

A contemplative life need not be a mystical experience; it is far more likely to be a restful experience of Christ dwelling in me.

Life makes it evident that what we think about shapes us.  Saints throughout the ages have trusted that contemplating the truth, beauty and goodness of God ultimately shapes and changes their souls.  Interior transformation is the fruit of a contemplative life.

Are you a young adult?

For more than seventeen years, Spiritual Transformation Ministry has gathered people from our church, our neighborhood, and our community across denominational lines to explore how to live a life attentive to God—a contemplative life.  Six years ago, we extended a special invitation to emerging contemplatives—those young adults who desired to come together to explore what a contemplative life might look like in a contemporary world; to develop a receptive posture of openness toward God; and to be formed and transformed by the Spirit so that their attitudes, actions and decisions come from a place of spiritual maturity and trust.  There was a resoundingly positive response.  If this is what you seek, please join us. 

All young adults are welcome!

Contact:  Michael Beckmann, Youth and Family Director at (319) 365-1494, michaelb@firstlutherancr.org.