Minister's Letter

June / July 2009

Dear Friends,

Summer is a time for contemplation, and I intend to set aside some time for that very purpose. In fact, this year has in some ways been one of my more contemplative ones, as I have spent a fair bit of time reading about contemplation. Among the books I read was Thomas Merton’s autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain, which has been the inspiration for the Autumn Series I have planned for our evening services this year.

The Seven Storey Mountain, which tells of Merton’s journey, from the life of a man of the world to his life as a contemplative monk in a Trappist monastery, might not follow the outward trajectory of our own lives, but the inward journey he makes from someone who is lost to someone who has found himself in the contemplation of the love of God, speaks of the journey of the Christian soul. This journey is neither Catholic nor Protestant; it is not the possession of any particular denomination, but is the gift God gives to us – the gift of himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

We may not be as familiar with the contemplative tradition, but what Merton wrote in his book, Contemplative Prayer, rings true to what we, in our own way, recognise. Perhaps people will remember that a service of prayer and contemplation was held every evening of the week when we opened our new sanctuary.

“The most important need in the Christian world today is this inner truth nourished by the spirit of contemplation: the praise and love of God, the longing for the coming of Christ, the thirst for the manifestation of God’s glory, his truth, his justice, his Kingdom in the world.

Without this contemplative orientation, we are building Churches not to praise him, but to establish more firmly the social structures, values and benefits that we presently enjoy. Without contemplation and interior prayer, the Church cannot fulfil her mission to transform and save humanity. Without contemplation, she will be reduced to being the servant of cynical and worldly powers, no matter how hard her faithful may protest that they are fighting for the Kingdom of God. Without true, deep contemplative aspirations, without a total love for God and an uncompromising search for his truth, religion tends in the end to become an opiate.”

[Merton, Contemplative Prayer, p.144]

Grace and Peace be with you,

Marc