
Stories from the Heart with the Rev. Dr. Rosemary Beales
Monday, March 15, 2021
7:30 -9:00 pm via Zoom

We are people of the book, but where were the stories of faith before they became a book? They were told by people sitting in circles, passed from one to another to another and from generation to generation. We still tell stories that way today, using the imaginative process known as Godly Play. With simple visuals and time-tested language, the Rev. Dr. Rosemary Beales, a 25-year practitioner of this art, will invite us to enter into familiar stories in a new way. After the stories, we will wonder together with words, and be able to express our responses creatively through art, journaling or other practices. Godly Play, while designed originally for the youngest among us, has been shown to help all of us move toward spiritual maturity and depth. Come and wonder!
To receive a link to this event, contact the Center at info@centerforspiritualdeepening.org
The Rev. Dr. Rosemary Beales came to St. Aidan’s as interim rector in July 2020. She was formerly chaplain to the Lower School at St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School in Alexandria. Since 1996, she has been a practitioner and trainer in the Godly Play method of religious education, and this life-giving way of entering into the stories of faith led her to Virginia Theological Seminary. Ordained in 2005, she is a former journalist, mother of three grown children and grandmother of seven, and handmaid to a polydactyl cat, Chloe.
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
April 12, 2021
Evelyn Underhill: Foremother of Contemporary Spirituality
with Dana Greene

Continuing Classes and Offerings
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, 4th, and 5th 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.

Ongoing on Zoom
Silent Prayer, & Meditation
Tuesday and 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.