Center for Prayer & Spirituality (CPS)

Our Mission Statement

To reawaken an interest in Christian spirituality and to integrate mind, body and spirit by offering contemplative practices, classes, lectures, workshops and spiritual direction to foster connection, understanding and compassion for self, others and the mystery that beautifully and expansively holds us all.

The Quiet Garden Movement

The gardens at St. John’s Cathedral are registered with the international Quiet Garden Trust and throughout the year host regular opportunities for hospitality and prayer. The Quiet Garden Ministry began in 1992 with the first Quiet Garden in Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire, England. At the heart of Christianity is a treasure to be unearthed: the treasure of contemplative prayer and quiet resting in silence reaching back to Jesus himself, who regularly took time out to pray in solitude and in still places. The Quiet Garden Movement rediscovers these riches and makes them accessible to a spiritually hungry world by providing contexts of natural beauty and stillness where we may refresh our soul. St. John’s Cathedral supports this mission and ministry, eagerly offering its Quiet Gardens to feed the soul of the hungry searching for places of quiet and prayer.

Director

Mary Malone
[email protected]

Board

Susan Bancks
Megan Cochran
Gregory Curry
Carl Worrell

Periodic Offerings

Eleventh Step Meditation: A Way to Transformation

On the second Saturday of the month we gather for meditation and reflection formed by Lectio Divina

9:30 a.m., Room 301 Cathedral House

Led by Dianne Larson and Tim Lynch

Spiritual Companioning

Based on ancient tradition, the Center offers to link interested seekers with trained spiritual companions/spiritual directors who are members of the cathedral parish. All is confidential. If interested please contact one of the following:

Susan Bancks • [email protected]
Claudia Milligan • [email protected]
Joe O’Shields • [email protected]
Susan Woods • [email protected]

Quiet Spaces in the Center for Prayer and Spirituality, 3rd Floor Cathedral House

The Rev. Bernie Dooly Lending Library and The Chapel of the Transfiguration are available.

Please check in with the cathedral receptionist.

Weekly Offerings

Tuesdays: Yoga
Gather in the late afternoon in the beauty of a sacred space for yoga practice, concluding with prayer. Cummings Chapel.
5:45 pm - 7:00 pm.
(Enter on Duval Street)
Led by Megan Cochran

Thursdays: Lectionary Bible Study
Join us for an informal but informative hour each noon in Ingram Lounge each Thursday. We read and study the readings, Old and New Testament, The Psalms and the Gospel for the upcoming Sunday and sew the thread of the theme together to have a better understanding of the Biblical times and how they apply to our lives today.
Led by Selecia Young-Jones

Sundays: Centering Prayer
Readings, reflections and centering prayer in community.
The Chapel of the Transfiguration, Room 306 Cathedral House
Sundays 10:00 am
Led by Barbara Vorpe

Fridays: Contemplative Eucharist
Conducted by cathedral clergy and lay leaders, this service combines contemplation and holy communion in a warm, welcoming worship service. Cummings Chapel, 12:10 pm.

Fridays: Weekly e-Words
E-mailed quotations from works of religious leaders, inviting personal reflection and prayer.

Center for Prayer and Spirituality Program Offerings 2016-2017

Quiet Garden Mornings
Mornings of holy silence with spiritual reflections, readings and prayers. Quiet Garden Mornings are held on the grounds of the Cathedral, including Ingram Lounge, Cummings Chapel, and the Gardens.
Held on Saturdays, 9:30 am - 12:00 pm

24 September 2016
Yoga: Practices to Cultivate Inner Fire and Intention for a New Year
Megan Cochran

22 October 2016
Shakuhachi, the Japanese Flute: Meditation through Breath and Song
Gregory Curry

12 November 2016
Reflections on the Lord’s Prayer
The Rev. David Erickson, Canon for Congregational Development, St. John’s Cathedral

14 January 2017
Poetry: Food For the Soul
Annette Talbert

11 February 2017
Labyrinth: A Sacred Walk
Rev. Leah H. Hudson

22 April 2017
Gardening as Prayer
Susan Bancks

13 May 2017
Praying the Lectio Divina Way
Joe O’Shields

Seasonal Services

Advent Healing Service
Out of Darkness Comes Light
Sunday, December 11, 2016
5:00 pm
Cummings Chapel

Quiet Garden Morning
Saturday, December 10, 2016
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
St. Mary’s Episcopal Church
Green Cove Springs
Hosted and facilitated by the Reverend Celeste Tisdelle, and supported by the Center for Prayer and Spirituality

Lenten Healing Service: From Ashes to Life, March 12, 5 p.m.
This is a simple service in Cummings Chapel offered in a spirit of healing and hope for those whose hearts are troubled.

Quiet Garden Morning
Saturday, March 11, 2017
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
St. Mary’s Episcopal Church
Green Cove Springs
Hosted and facilitated by the Reverend Celeste Tisdelle, and supported by the Center for Prayer and Spirituality

For more information please contact: Mary Malone, Director.