Quiet spaces May-August 2013 - Sally Smith

Taking you into quiet spaces to meet with God...Published three times a year, each issue of Quiet Spaces provides four months' worth of inspiration for your quiet time, presented in fortnightly sections. This material can be used in daily portions throughout the week or all in one sitting as a 'quiet day', perhaps at the weekend. Within each section there are twelve elements comprising reflections inspired by different traditions, creative activities, liturgy, Bible reading and ideas for meditation. Also included is a chapter taken from As a Child by Phil Steer, which explores Jesus' words about becoming like little children and what this means for our faith journey.The Editor writesWelcome to the new-look Quiet Spaces.I hope it will help you in your spiritual journey. We have nine themes in this issue, each with material for two weeks. In choosing the themes, I have tried to bring a mixture of Bible-based material, classic writers on prayer, and the themes Quiet Spaces has been so good at exploring in the past. Our aim has been to provide variety in the themes we cover and in the approaches to those themes, so that everyone will find both the comfortable and the challenging, and through what you read, think, pray and experience you will find God, or, more likely, God will find you.How you use the material provided here is up to you. I would encourage you to be creative. Some may like to take one element of a theme each day, and for those who do that, we have built in a day 'off' each week, for doing something else, catching up on missed days, or revisiting something that has caught your attention. Some elements could take more than one session and you might feel it right to come back and finish them another day. You might need to look through before you start and plan your time as some elements will take longer than others. Some of you might have a longer period or even a whole day and be able to create your own Quiet Day at home using it; others may join with a few friends each week and use two or three elements together. For everyone I would say, pick the parts that draw you closer to God; sometimes this will be things that are familiar, other times it may involve trying something new, which can feel unsafe and scary. Place yourself in God's loving arms and allow him to be present to you in your prayer time.You may already have a particular quiet space at home where you pray. This can be a haven to turn to amid the busyness of life, and its stability can make entering into God's presence easier as it becomes part of the routine of the day. Or God can find us in the unexpected places, surprising us in daily life. We just need to be ready to hear and experience his voice.My main message to you as we start is that you have permission to use this resource in any way that draws you closer to God, as he invites you to come away to a quiet space with him.Sally Smithtop: Back to top=topIn this issue:Jesus and prayerSally Smith29 April-12 MayTrinity: the power of threeHelen Jaeger13-26 MayTravelling with DanielCavan Wood27 May-9 JuneGraceTony Horsfall10-23 JunePilgrimageSally Welch24 June-7 JulyParablesAndrea Skevington76 8-21 JulyGod's creationSally Smith22 July-4 AugustGod's loveClaire Musters5-18 AugustTransformed by the BelovedDaniel Munoz19 August-1 SeptemberAs a Child: GreatestPhil Steertop: Back to top=topAbout the writers in this issueSally Smith enjoys creating spaces that enable encounter with God through leading Quiet Days and creating prayer corners and stations. She has led prayer groups in her local church, works as a spiritual director and writes and produces education materials.Helen Jaeger is the internationally published author of five books: Paths Through Grief, As Night Falls, As Day Dawns, A Treasury of Wisdom (all Lion Hudson) and Simple (Scripture Union). She writes regularly for a variety of publications, including Woman Alive and for charities.Cavan Wood is a reader in the Church of England and a Head of RE in a Sussex school. He is married to Sarah and they have two children. He is interested in music, politics and cinema. He is the author of a number of books and articles connected with RE.Tony Horsfall is a freelance trainer and retreat leader based in Yorkshire, with his own ministry, Charis Training. He is an elder of Ackworth Community Church and has written several books for BRF, including Working from a Place of Rest, Rhythms of Grace, and most recently Servant Ministry.Sally Welch is a priest who lives and works in the centre of Oxford, working with families and young children in church. She is a writer and lecturer on spirituality, and is particularly interested in pilgrimage and labyrinths. She has made many pilgrimages both in England and in Europe.Andrea Skevington lives in Suffolk with her family. She writes for both adults and children, recently winning the Christian Book of the Year award (Speaking Volumes) for her retelling The Lion Classic Bible. She also enjoys storytelling for children and running creative writing seminars for adults.Claire Musters is a freelance writer and editor, mother of two, pastor's wife and school governor. Claire's desire is to help others draw closer to God through her writing, which focuses on marriage, parenting, worship and issues facing women today.Daniel Munoz is an Anglican priest based in Andalucia, Spain. Since 2010 he has been programme director and chaplain to the Los Olivos retreat centre near Granada. He has a special interest in Christian art and spirituality, particularly in the Christian mystic John of the Cross.