Here is this week's handout for Vocation small groups (and anyone else who may want to use it!).
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Vocation Small Group Material | April 22
Monday, April 16, 2007
Praying with Icons
On Sunday, we made use of the long history of praying with icons. This was probably something new and different for most of us, despite its rich tradition. In a visual age, icons present an ancient practice brought to new life. Read an explanation about praying with icons here.
The Onslaught of Busyness | Yann Martel
You may recognize the name Yann Martel from his well-known book The Life of Pi. I came across an interesting article by him on Saturday, although what interested me didn't have much to do with what he was writing about (Stephen Harper and arts funding - which is important, don't get me wrong). Here's what he wrote though:
"To read a book, one must be still. To watch a concert, a play, a movie, to look at a painting, one must be still. Religion, too, makes use of stillness, notably with prayer and meditation. Just gazing upon a still lake, upon a quiet winter scene - doesn't that lull us into contemplation? Life, it seems, favours moments of stillness to sppear on the edges of our perception and whisper to us, 'Here I am. What do you think?'
Then we become busy and the stillness vanishes, yet we hardly notice, because we fall so easily for the delusion of busyness, whereby what keeps us busy must be important, and the busier we are with it, the more important it must be. And so we work, work, work, rush, rush, rush. On occasion, we say to ourselves, panting, 'Gosh, life is racing by.' But that's not it at all, it's the contrary: Life is still. It is we who are racing by."
It made me recall Greg's challenge about God's call to Sabbath rest. What struck me in particular was how busyness is often linked to our worth. The busier we are, the more important we feel. What does God say to this? Any thoughts?
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Vocation Small Group Material | April 8
The material for Vocation small groups can be found here this week. We'll be talking about the significance of the Resurrection, what it means in our individual lives and our life as a community of faith.
Post any thoughts!
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Vocation Small Group Material | March 25
You will find the small group "weekly" on the web here. As we meet, reflect on Sunday's commissioning - what it means as individuals, as a small group and as a corporate community at TILT.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
The Desert Fathers | Abba Achilles Story
On Sunday night, we used the stories of the Desert Fathers as part of our intentional time of silence and listening. We have done this once before and you can go to the last time we read them. There is also a document which explains the historical practice of reading these stores in monasteries. Here is the story:
The first old man asked him, "Father, make me a fishing net."
"I will not make you one," Abba replied.
Then the second said, "Of your charity make one, so that we have a souvenir of you in the monastery."
But Abba Achilles said, "I do not have time."
Then the third one, who had the bad reputation, said, "Make me a fishing net, Father."
Abba Achilles answered him at once, "For you, I will make one."
Then the two other old men asked him privately, "Why did you not want to do what we asked you, but you promised to do what he asked?"
Abba Achilles gave them this answer: "I told you I would not make one, and you were not disappointed, since you thought that I had no time. But if I had not made one for him, he would have said, 'The old man has heard about my sin, and that is why he does not want to make me anything,' and so our relationship would have broken down. But now I have cheered his soul, so that he will not be overcome with grief."
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Poverty
What do you think of the recently released budget? Why do all budgets seem to target the middle-class? Should we, as followers of Christ, support that kind of budget? Here is one opinion. If you think the budget should be focusing more on helping those in real, desperate need, write your MP. You can find your MP on this site, with contact details included.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Movies & Faith | Stranger than Fiction
I may have been seeing it through the lens of my course "Theology of the Human Person", but I'd love to hear what people thought. What does the movie say about the power of story? What is our story as Christians? How does the story influence our lives? Anyhow...see the movie if you haven't!! Post some comments...
Friday, February 23, 2007
Reconstructing God's Call | COMMISSIONING!
On Sunday March 11 March 25, we're going to have an evening dedicated to commissioning the TILT community to their vocation. We'll be using a model based on a book called "Faith Goes To Work". It relates our vocation to God's character and work in this world. As the Church, we are the Body of Christ, and so we thought it most suitable that we commission one another based on how we reflect God's character in our work.
Read the summary through and reflect upon which type of work in which God has placed you.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Lenten Reflections | From Spring and Nouwen
Lent has begun! If you are interested in doing some specific reflections through the Lent season, here are two options:
Rick Wukasch has also put together some reflections stemming from the Earthkeeping course. Read the booklet here with attached song lyrics.
The Earthkeeping exercises for week two can be read here.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Vocation Small Group Material
Here is the small group handout for this week for Vocation. Of course, anyone is welcome to use it as further study, meditation and discussion stemming from Sunday's TILT on "God's Call on Your Life".
Monday, February 19, 2007
Lent is upon us...
Typically, the Sabbath day is a day 'off' from whatever you are fasting from throughout Lent. If you consider Sunday your Sabbath, we would love to provide whatever you are fasting from! For example, if you are fasting from chocolate for Lent, it would be great to have chocolate for snacks at TILT for your Sabbath enjoyment! So, either post a comment here or let us know at TILT!
Spring Garden will also have a labyrinth walk available for public use throughout the Lent season. Read a bit about labyrinths here. Here are the weekly days, times and locations:
- Mondays | 12noon- 4pm | Cloakroom, multi-purpose room
- Tuesdays | 9am- 4pm | Lounge, multi-purpose room
- Thursdays | 12 noon- 9 pm | Boardroom
- Fridays | 9am-3pm | Boardroom, multi-purpose room
- Saturdays | 1pm-4pm | Boardroom, multi-purpose room
- Sundays | 1pm-8:30 pm | Boardroom, Cloakroom
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Green Resources
There seems to be a growing awareness and momentum among the Church at large towards preserving and caring for the creation. Obviously, we do not want this become an all-consuming endeavour (and thus a form of religion), but rather a response to our coming to know the heart of God. My dear friend from Victoria, James Kingsley has highlighted several great resources, including a movement he is trying to start himself.
Check out James' Small(er) Blog. Pass this site on to your friends at other churches!
The Anglican Church of Canada has also created a great initiative at greeningspirit.ca.
Are you remodelling your bathroom? The City of Toronto has a bunch of rebates for water-saving measures. Check out the city's website.
I haven't fully checked out this site, but it seems interesting - http://whatwouldjesusdrive.org/.
An article high in rhetoric, but challenging nonetheless from Geez Magazine, entitled "High efficiency Worship".
Check out greenopolis.ca. It is a simple and great site for helpful tips to easily live a little greener. Find the closest location to recycle your ink cartridges. "There are over 100 million printer cartridges used in Canada each year. Only 5-10% of these are presently recycled" - from greenopolis.ca. Spring Garden also has a box in the side entrance where you can drop off your ink cartridges to be recycled or reused.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Called to Creation | Someone to learn from!
With the above in mind, a couple of months ago the Globe had an article about a couple in Toronto that was going through a year without producing any household waste (last year they had only one bag of garbage). Reading their story is quite amazing and it sure is hard work. Read the blog here. It also provides some places to short at if you feel so inclined. Obviously, I'm not expecting us to all produce no garbage - at this point in time, that's simply not sustainable anyhow! Nevertheless, reading the blog makes you aware of all the little decisions we make every day and we aren't aware of their consequences...
Reading the Desert Fathers
Anthony's life after he had emerged from his period of total isolation was blessed by a rich and varied ministry. People from many walks of life came to him and asked for advice. The solitude that at first had required physical isolation had now become a quality of his heart, an inner disposition that could no longer be disturbed by those who needed his guidance. Somehow his solitude had become an infinite space into which anyone could be invited. His advice was simple, direct, and concrete: "Someone asked him: 'What must one do in order to please God?' The old man replied, 'Pay attention to what I tell you: whoever you may be, always have God before your eyes; whatever you do, do it according to the testimony of the holy Scriptures; in whatever place you live, do not easily leave it. Keep these three precepts and you will be saved.'"
- from Henri Nouwen, "The Way of the Heart", page 32-33
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Small Group Material: Called to Community
Vocation, as a collection of small groups, bases its discussion and journeying together out of what is going on at TILT. I thought I would make this a resource to any who might be interested. The "weekly" is available here.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Lectio Divina
Lectio Divina, or "Holy Reading", is a long-practiced approach to reading and meditating upon the Scriptures. In its simplest form, the text is read [uncomfortably] slowly three times, with periods of silence between each. We did this tonight at TILT for John 17:20-26. And for your future reference: The Lectio Handout.
Sunday, January 7, 2007
Breath Prayer
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| From Designed Images@TILT |
Breath Prayer was made famous by a story from Russian folklore called The Way of the Pilgrim. The Pilgrim's prayer was "Lord Jesus, have mercy upon me a sinner". An interesting read if you ever get a chance. Given its orthodox heritage, check out an Orthodox take on the Jesus Prayer.
The Prayer of Examen
Tonight we spent time in the prayer of examen, as we have a couple of times before. The practices, meditations and prayers used in TILT's worship gathering will be put on the site so they can be used as a resource throughout the week. We will create a PDF document that can be viewed online, printed, or whatever else you may do with a PDF document. It is our hope that the experience of using them in a corporate worship setting will spur us as a community to implement them as part of our lives throughout the week.
The prayer of examen has been used for centuries (not quite sure of history at this moment). It is a prayer used to allow God to reveal how he has been present in our lives and where we have failed to listen to him, or not received his healing and his forgiveness for sins (as well as confessing them!). Richard Foster has an excellent book on prayer and one chapter devoted to the prayer of examen. One blogger quotes from that chapter here.
Grab the prayer of examen here (or any other hyperlinked 'prayer of examen' for that matter).
Labyrinth
We have used a finger labyrinth at TILT once, and will probably do it again. Although much-maligned by some, this is actually an ancient practice dating back to the early Christian Church. It is a tool that can be used in many ways to help us center our thoughts and hearts on God. Read more and print out a labyrinth here.
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