Thelen-Benson Christophany Group at Prairiewoods (hybrid)
Schedule
Wed Apr 03 2024 at 05:15 pm to 06:45 pm
Location
120 E Boyson Rd, Hiawatha, IA, United States, Iowa 52233 | Hiawatha, IA
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Wednesday, April 3, 5:15–6:45 p.m. U.S. Central TimeThe Thelen-Benson Christophany Group is a new branch of a local group of spiritual seekers who began meeting more than ten years ago. It began as a group of there-to-fore active church members looking to move beyond the apparent static spirituality of the institutional church.
Following a period of sharing concerns about what was not working for them in their everyday church communities, they began looking for writers and thinkers that might respond to their yearnings. The group drafted a handful of principles that appeared to draw them together:
• A yearning for deeper spirituality
• A concern about the institutional church’s inability to fully answer that yearning
• A belief that a deeper level of spirituality can be achieved in connection to the Divine within one another and within all of creation
• An appreciation of the diversity of all faith journeys
There have been two special contributors to this early group of seekers they call Quest.
Doralyn Benson was a Quest founder. She was active with the group for six years until her untimely passing in 2017. She brought her long association with Prairiewoods and her completion of the Spiritual Direction Preparation Program at the Franciscan Spirituality Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin. She is seen as forming the heart and soul of Quest and, surely, was its spiritual director and model for contemplative spirituality. Doralyn devoted 30 to 40 minutes twice a day to her own practice of centering prayer/meditation.
Veteran Jesuit priest Bert Thelen serendipitously moved to Cedar Rapids at the same time as the formation of Quest. He had just left the order and the priesthood, returning to the lay state. Bert, 80 years old at the time, had served as parish priest, provincial staff member and provincial during his 45 years of service. He credited the example of Christian living he experienced during the prior 14 years working at Creighton University and St. John’s Parish in Omaha for his decision. Bert’s letter to friends and colleagues explaining this decision was published and led Quest members to seek him out and invite him to join them. Bert currently resides at a Jesuit retirement community in a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
They are, therefore, the namesakes of this new Christophany Group.
When searching for resources, the Center for Christogenesis (founded by Ilia Delio, OSF, a Franciscan sister and American theologian specializing in the area of science and religion with interests in evolution, physics and their import for theology) emerged as a major contributor. And the Center offers Christophany Groups as a vehicle for providing support and connection. It is under this concept that the Thelen-Benson Christophany Group is now made available to all those who are similarly seeking support and inspiration in their own spiritual journey.
As a participant in the Thelen-Benson Christophany Group, you will be on the ground floor of a new spiritual journey among whose goals are no less than transforming lives and healing our world through communal reflection on the insights of Teilhard de Chardin and other like-minded thinkers and meeting on a regular basis to discuss books, articles, podcasts and webinars offered by the Center for Christogenesis and other sources.
A free-will offering will be accepted. For more information or to register, contact Prairiewoods at www.Prairiewoods.org or 319-395-6700.
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Where is it happening?
120 E Boyson Rd, Hiawatha, IA, United States, Iowa 52233Event Location & Nearby Stays:
