Scheduling any formal activity on a Friday evening, especially one that encourages an attentive spirit and a creative mind, is a questionable initiative for any public group to make. Folks are tired after a full week of work, school and appointments. and most of us just want to relax and spend time with family and our most easy going friends.
In fact, for our Jewish brothers and sisters, sundown on Friday is the traditional time to begin the sabbath, a time to light a candle reminding us of God's presence and to just let go of the continual push of productive effort and public expectations. Our Good Shepherd Listening Table Gathering is intended to honor this sabbath spirit, quieting our selves to be aware of God's presence in God's original temple, the natural world where, we are told. God rested and delighted in all that God had created. A hospitality of relaxation, enjoyment and minimal demands is the spirit in which we want to welcome one another.
To emphasize this spirit, we are simplifying the original plan for a 90 minute gathering into three potentially independent half hour segments for which people can arrive and depart when they want.
We'll start the first thirty minute segment at 7pm , reading selected poems aloud and informally chatting about them. At 7:30, we'll shift to a quiet half hour of sitting in and strolling around the natural beauty of our church's "yard" (which includes a real, "old timey" churchyard on the small rise on the west side of our building), Those who wish to write or draw in journals or sketchbooks can hang out on one of the many picnic tables out back. At 8pm, we will gather to share our own thoughts andcreations at the "listening table" draped with a lavender table cloth..
The slightly later start and more clearly segmented schedule are designed to let you relax, stop for an after dinner creemee and come and stay for only as long as you want or only for the parts you would most likely enjoy.
If you are not able to come but wish to connect to our group online. you can find the readings, thematic backgrounds, and participant contributions on a blog curated and monitored by the group facilitator, Dr. Alan Crowley. In fact we would encourage you to join active participants and far away friends in offering your own creative works for Alan to post. Check out the blog at www.listenwriteshare.blogspot.com, and forward questions and contributions to Alan at ajcbarnabas@gmail.com. You may comment on poems, ideas, and the creations of others directly on the blogpage itself. (But only if you're kind. courteous, and curious!)
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