The Human & the Holy
CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19
Check back as I am considering taking H&H online in the not-too-distant future
A SPIRITUAL FORMATION COMMUNITY
~ Our 16th Year ~
QUIET IN HEART, AND IN EYE, CLEAR
The Way of Contemplative Engagement
And we pray, not
for new earth or heaven, but to be
quiet in heart, and in eye,
clear. What we need is here.
~ Wendell Berry
WHAT IS THE HUMAN & THE HOLY (H&H)? H&H is a continually evolving community of Christian adults who come together once a month to explore the deeper meanings and implications of Jesus’ invitation to abundant life. We gather to encourage one another to live lives of contemplative awareness and compassionate action. Each gathering draws some from among the following list: simple ritual, thoughtful presentations, contemplative silence for prayer and reflection, deep listening and reverent dialogue in companion circles, lectio divina, lectio poetica, art as imaginal meditation, circle dance as prayer and celebration, and film.
WHAT BRINGS YOU TOGETHER? H&H has three primary goals: (1) to encourage adult seekers and practitioners of faith to move beyond the rudiments of religion and to go deeper in our understanding and lived experience of a Christian spirituality that is contemplatively awake and prophetically responsible; (2) to create a community of spiritual practice and mutual care united by the common desire to listen and respond more fully to the presence of God in our lives and in the world today; and (3) to support each other in ongoing personal transformation while encouraging each other to practice tangible ways of participating in the dream of God, cultural transformation, and the well-being of the earth.
WHO COMES TO H&H? We are an ecumenical Christian community. While our doors and hearts are open to all, and though we hope to become increasingly intergenerational, H&H is made up largely of people in the second half of life. Though most participants are grounded in the life and teachings of Jesus, H&H is inclusive in spirit and progressive in perspective, honoring and welcoming both Christians and those walking other spiritual paths. Like you, we are both overwhelmingly ordinary and astoundingly extraordinary. All genuine seekers, apprentices, and artisans of faith are welcome as we strive to honor each person’s sacred journey regardless of race, creed, age, gender, or sexual orientation.
WHAT DO YOU VALUE? Each person in his or her own way comes to cultivate a life of spiritual depth. Over the years we have grown in our appreciation of genuine, reverent dialogue, striving to listen as much as we talk. We value deep questions more than stock answers, the silence and the struggles from which they emerge, laughter as well as tears, shared stories along with shared concerns, and faith that connects prayer and action. We tend to understand faith less as assent to propositions than as an unfolding mystery and a chosen way of being in a world both filled with heartache and dipped in grace.
WHERE AND WHEN DO YOU MEET? Thw winter/spring of 2020 we will meet from January to May every third Sunday of the month from 1:30 pm – 5 pm. The dates are: Jan. 19, Feb. 16, Mar. 15, Apr. 19, and May 17. We meet at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 242 E. Alvarado St., Pomona, CA 91767.
QUIET IN HEART, AND IN EYE, CLEAR
The Way of Contemplative Engagement
WHAT’S HAPPENING this year? Because this year is 2020, we will find our inspiration from the term 20/20 vision which signals visual acuity. Our focus will be on living a contemplatively engaged life. The contemplative is not a spiritual superwoman or superman, not part of some elite religious club whose members are blessed with extraordinary gifts and possess special talents and tools. Rather, they are us and we are them. And, as writer, farmer, and sage Wendell Berry stresses, “All we need is here.”
The word contemplation (con– with + templum– temple) literally translates as with the temple. The ancient augurs looked to the heavens for a divine template by which to pattern or model their lives. The contemplative is the person who consciously and intentionally attunes his or her life to the presence and movement of God so that—as the Lord’s Prayer has it—we can live “on earth as it is in heaven.”
This attunement or contemplative way of being in the world, requires a quiet heart and an eye clear, cultivates wonder and awe, encourages taking time to look, notice, and behold the world in which we live, makes insight possible, teaches us how to respond, what and whom to serve, and engenders wholehearted participation in the liturgy of life.
The way of contemplative engagement involves a different way of seeing that shows us a path to becoming human and holy.
OUR SPIRITUAL GUIDE
Dan Miller is a writer, teacher, retreat leader, and spiritual guide. He received M.Div. and Th.M. degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from the Claremont School of Theology. Dan’s commitment is to help persons and communities weave lives of spiritual depth that tend to the four strands of a holistic spirituality: self, others, nature, and the divine.
REGISTERING Participants are asked to pay for the entire series upfront. If this is prohibitive, feel free to make arrangements with Dan. Five sessions: $215, Second member, same household: $110. Fee by the session: $55. Student rate: $100 for series or $25 per session. No one is turned away for lack of funds. If need be, pay what you can.
Make checks payable to: Dan Miller
Mail to: 16930 Shady Meadow Dr. Hacienda Hts., CA 91745
If you have any questions, please contact Dan at 626-964-5861 or by email at djmiller55@msn.com.