Walking in the Way with
Bishop Porter Taylor
Wednesday, September 15, 2020
7:30PM to 9:00PM
“Remember that you have only one soul; that you have only one death to die; that you have only one life, which is short and has to be lived by you alone; and that there is only one glory which is eternal. If you do this, there will many things about which you care nothing.” - St. Teresa of Avila
The spiritual life begins with sorting out those “many things about which you care nothing” and remembering those which deepen our connection with God and give us life. Thus, we go from being merely receivers of God’s love to being transmitters.
This evening will focus on those bookends of the spiritual life: receiving and transmitting. It’s easy for us to focus on one and ignore the other. Sometimes we forget our calling and solely seek a “spiritual experience.” If we swap a material consumerism for a spiritual consumerism, what have we gained? Conversely, we focus solely on spreading the Good News and forget that you can’t give away what you don’t have.
Porter Taylor will suggest that every chapter in walking in the Way involves some kind of sacrifice. You can’t get to resurrection without embracing the cross. To increase our capacity to being transmitters of the holy always means falling more deeply in love with God which enables us to surrender our ego and go deeper into our call to be disciples. As the poet Christian Wiman wrote, “Love is the hammer that nails us to the cross.”
Explore with us the dynamic wheel of surrendering, receiving, transmitting as the DNA of the Spiritual Life.
~~~
Bishop Taylor joined the Diocese of Virginia as Assisting Bishop in July 1, 2020 after retiring as Bishop of the Diocese of Western North Carolina in 2016. In retirement, he also joined the faculty of Wake Forest University Divinity School. Bishop Taylor holds a Master of Divinity, a Ph.D. in Theology and Literature, and a B.A. and M. A. in English. He and his wife Jo, an artist, live in Arlington.
Labyrinths
St. Aidan’s has two labyrinths for walking prayer and meditation. The outdoor labyrinth, located between the memorial garden and Riverside Road, is always available. The labyrinth in the church is available most of the year and is used during special services and retreats. We can also arrange to open the church at other times for those who would like to walk the labyrinth.
Up Next
Oct. 4 at 7:30 pm
Falling in Love with God
with
Bishop Porter Taylor
Continuing Classes and Offerings
Sacred Ground:
A Series of Conversations on Race and Faith
Sept. 12, 26
Oct. 10, 24
Nov. 7, 14
1PM-3PM
We invite you to join in Sacred Ground, a curriculum that calls us to read, watch and learn about the history of race and racism in America. In six sessions this fall, we will explore together an online curriculum that focuses on Indigenous, Black, Latino and Asian/Pacific Americans as their histories intersect with European American history, and the impact of it all on our world today. To register, email info@centerforspiritualdeepening.org.
Meditations on
the Gospel of Thomas
1st and 3rd Thursdays, 7:30 pm Zoom
The Gospel of Thomas is new to most of us and it is at the same time ancient. It may well be the oldest of the gospel writings. This gathering of sayings of Jesus seems to have been a source for the writers of the canonical gospels. The sayings from this text, which was found in a cave in Egypt in 1945, have contributed to a new appreciation of Jesus as a wisdom teacher in the Eastern tradition. We meet twice a month to work with one or two of the 114 sayings through lectio divina, or sacred listening. All are welcome for this reflection/meditation/discussion gathering. You do not need to have attended previous meetings to participate.
Soul Circle
2nd and 4th Thursdays, 7:30 p.m. Zoom
We gather on these Thursdays for conversation about the Spiritual Life. We meet in this community of others who, with us, long to become the sound, whole persons our traditions tell us we were created to become. The leader for the evening opens with a reading, we share the guidelines for welcoming conversation, then those who wish to are invited to speak about the experience of trying to live intentionally the life to which they feel called.
Silent Prayer, & Meditation
In the Sanctuary on Tuesday mornings
via Zoom on Friday mornings
at 8:00 am
We light a candle and spend 25 minutes in silence. The last person out of the room blows out the candle. It is that simple. Those who seek to include meditation in their weekly practice often find it easier to do so in the company of others.