Kairos Spiritual Life Center
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by Nancy Elder-Wilfrid
In October 2006, the Kairos Spiritual Life Center was dedicated as a ministry of All Saints Church, a wonderfully diverse Episcopal congregation in the city of Worcester, MA. The dedication was woven into a service of Evensong, celebrating this newest ministry and blessing its leadership team.
For years, Mark Beckwith, the former rector, and I imagined the possibilities of developing a spiritual life center for central Massachusetts, which could offer resources and support for people longing to grow in and deepen their life with God. We talked about our sense of a "new wave" of interest in spirituality, of more and more people looking for spiritual directors and traveling down to DC to be part of Shalem programs; we took seriously conversations with friends and colleagues who wanted "something more" than what they were able to find in their churches and congregations. And so, in the fall of 2005, Mark asked me to join the All Saints staff, with a major piece of my job to be envisioning and developing an ecumenical spiritual life center.
A leadership team came together, the result of prayer and invitations to people we knew who shared our enthusiasm for this vision. This group of seven reflects our ecumenical grounding: a blending of Episcopal, United Church of Christ, Roman Catholic and Buddhist faith traditions, of clergy and laypeople. While the Kairos Center is strongly affiliated with All Saints, we are committed to reaching into the larger community and so publicize and offer programs in churches throughout Worcester County; we have had participants from nine different faith traditions in our programs this past year. We were delighted and grateful to receive grants from the Worcester County Ecumenical Council and the Carpenter Foundation, a clear affirmation of and support for a spiritual life center in this area.
Since the fall of 2006, the Kairos Center has offered a pilgrimage retreat, ongoing programs in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, monthly centering prayer, labyrinth walks, Taize services, an introduction to spiritual direction, a day of conversation for GLBT Christians and a year-long program of spiritual formation, "Grounding in God." New programs in the 2007-2008 year will include a day of prayer for area college students, quiet days for clergy/parish lay leaders and church governing boards, a year long program of small group prayer and reflection, and several retreat days with guest leaders.
We are committed to serve as a resource and are developing a network with other spiritual life centers in this area as we explore ways to share programming and information. An exciting development is the growing partnership between Kairos, Rolling Ridge Conference Center (owned by the Methodist Church) and the Bethany House of Prayer (housed in an Episcopal convent). While the three centers are organized differently, we share a similar vision and are planning to co-sponsor a retreat day for spiritual directors.
Shalem's presence, guidance and prayer are clearly part of all that is unfolding here in central Massachusetts and New England! Many of the people who have been part of our programs have had some connection with Shalem-attending one of Shalem's programs or knowing someone who has. Others have heard about Shalem and been curious about contemplative grounding in God; still others have felt a longing for spiritual community and for the prayerful time to simply be present with God.
I believe that there is a deep, deep hunger for God in our churches and communities, which we don't always know how to feed. I am continually amazed at the response when people hear about the Center and its offerings: relief that they aren't alone in their longing for God, gratitude for a community with whom to share prayer, silence and conversation, and excitement about programs that invite new ways of thinking and being. The ecumenical nature of Kairos has been a wonderful blessing, offering our program participants the opportunity to connect with one another and God beyond denominational boundaries.
While the Kairos Center has its roots in a dream shared by two people, nurtured in the spiritual community of Shalem, this vision of a spiritual life center has been embraced by far more. We are grateful for the blessings of so many prayers, of creative leadership and enthusiastic commitment to "grow," and we look forward to all that is yet to come!
Nancy is a graduate of Shalem's Clergy Life and Leadership and Spiritual Guidance Programs and is a member of Shalem's adjunct staff.