In August 2011, three people from our community attended the Awakening the Heart Retreat led by Buddhist Teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, at UBC in Vancouver. We were there with 900 other learners to hear from Thay as he is affectionately called, and practice different forms of meditation together as a group.
The experience was profound - enriching and spiritually deepening for each person in attendance. Some people were surprised that we who were from a Christian heritage had heard about Thich Nhat Hanh and his teachings. We expressed our gratitude at his spiritual depth and talked about how his teachings have helped us deepen on our spiritual path. Thich Nhat Hanh spoke often about the Kingdom of God and told us that he considers Jesus one of his spiritual ancestors.
Upon our return to Ashcroft, people expressed interest about our experience at the Retreat. We hosted an information night and people came to hear - it seemed people were ready to explore their spiritual path further.
We scheduled the last Friday of each month as a time to gather, watch part of one of the DVDs recorded at the Retreat and meditate together as a group.
If you have been longing for spiritual connection with others through meditation practice, please join us this Friday, July 26 (and the last Friday of each month) at 7:15 pm at St Alban’s Hall meeting room to learn, deepen and experience your faith journey at a deeper level. To be added to the email list, write to: mbaier@telus.net and you will be contacted during the final week of each month with a reminder of the gathering.
Martina Baier