Code
DS9201W
Level
Postgraduate
Discipline
Spirituality (DS)
Field
Theology: Mission and Ministry (D)
Prerequisites
Nil
Each candidate must complete a WellSpring registration form prior to enrolling in this unit.
Each candidate must complete a WellSpring registration form prior to enrolling in this unit.
Location
Hosted by WellSpring Centre, Ashburton view location >
Faculty
Peter Bentley & the WellSpring Centre team view profile >
Class Time
Intensive 2021: January - March
Thursdays: 7 mornings and 2 one-day retreats
Thursdays: 7 mornings and 2 one-day retreats
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Learning outcomes
Upon successful completion of this unit, it is expected that students will be able to:
- Demonstrate an informed and critical appreciation of contemplation
- Articulate an understanding of various experiences of contemplation.
- Assess models of spiritual practice, listening and action that relate to everyday life experience.
- Compare and contrast various approaches to contemplative practices as they relate to vocational engagement and systematically evaluate the traditional approaches to contemplative practice.
- Creatively apply the principles of contemplative practice to discernment processes in life decisions.
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Assessment
- One essay (5,000 words) (70%)
- One book review (3,000 words) (30%)
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Recommended reading
Set texts recommended for purchase are highlighted in blue
- Edwards, Denis. How God Acts : Creation, Redemption, and Special Divine Action. Minneapolis [Minn.]: Fortress Press, 2010.
- Hall, Thelma. Too Deep for Words : Rediscovering Lectio Divina. New York: Paulist Press, 1988.
- Heschel, Abraham Joshua. The Sabbath, Its Meaning for Modern Man. New York: Farrar, Straus and Young, 1951
- Johnston, William. Christian Zen. New York: Harper & Row, 1971.
- Laird, Martin. Into the Silent Land: The Practice of Contemplation. London, UK: Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd, 2006.
- Liebert, Elizabeth. The Way of Discernment : Spiritual Practices for Decision Making. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008.
- Merton, Thomas. New Seeds of Contemplation. New York, NY: New Directions, 1972.
- Merton, Thomas, and William Henry Shannon. The Inner Experience: Notes on Contemplation. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2003.
- Rohr, Richard. The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See. New York: Crossroad Pub. Co., 2009.
- Rolheiser, Ronald. The Shattered Lantern: Rediscovering a Felt Presence of God. New York: Crossroad Pub., 2001.
- Scharmer, C. Otto, Peter M. Senge, Jospeh Jaworski, and Betty S. Flowers. Presence: Exploring Profound Change in People, Organizations, and Society. New York: Doubleday, 2008.
- Tolle, Eckhart. A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose. New York: Plume, 2006
- Yaconelli, Mark. Growing Souls: Experiments in Contemplative Youth Ministry. El Cajon, CA; Grand Rapids, MI: Youth Specialties, Zondervan, 2007.