Companion's Guide

A Guide for the Contemplative Fire Community

Travelling Light, Dwelling Deep

Welcome to this guide for people who are drawn to the Contemplative Fire rhythm. In it, you will find a compilation of information and resources we hope will be helpful. We invite you to relax, breathe deeply and settle in, not for a quick read, but to reflectively encounter our community. Are there words, phrases, images that speak to you? We’d be delighted to hear from you. Perhaps you are being called to join us on this journey through life as we seek to travel light and dwell deep.

Quality of Seeing, Fullness of Being

Contemplative Fire is an intentional and dispersed community of people who are seeking to be fully present to the Kingdom of God here and now. Contemplative Fire celebrates natural beauty, deep connectedness and the play of wisdom. We believe that the risen Christ is calling us to ‘travel light and dwell deep’ as his companions on this extraordinary journey.

Both in solitude and in community we are called to step into our own authenticity. That very journey awakens us to the essence and energy of God. The spiritual heart of Contemplative Fire is an adventurous engagement with the Jesus tradition. This is a return to the radical simplicity and profundity of wonder, love and thankfulness.

Luke puts it powerfully in the Emmaus Road story: ‘Then their eyes were opened and they recognised him…They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?”’ Luke 24: 31, 32, NRSV.

Contemplative Fire was founded in the UK in 2004 by Revd Philip Roderick and authorised by the Diocese of Oxford. It is registered as a ‘Fresh Expression of Church’. Philip Roderick is on the Fresh Expressions national team of Associate Missioners, mandated by Archbishop Rowan Williams. It is being seeded in Canada by Revd Anne Crosthwait of the Diocese of Toronto and an ecumenical team.

Whilst Contemplative Fire also attracts those from different Christian (or non-faith) backgrounds, it is accountable to and in creative conversation with the Anglican Church. Wherever Contemplative Fire establishes itself as a praying, liturgical community, the blessing of local church leaders is sought.

The New Contemplatives?

As part of the emergent Church, Contemplative Fire responds to the spiritual needs of those drawn to contemplation-in-action. We are challenged to be attentive to God’s constant invitation to bless the moment. As this discipline of love becomes incorporated into our rhythm of life, we open ourselves to new opportunities to be the body of Christ in a fractured world.

Contemplative Fire provides a route to the radical deepening of personal and corporate prayer and the celebration of creativity, healing and community. Our emphasis on spacious stillness yields a consecrated interiority and compassionate discipleship. As our metaphor suggests, we hold in creative tension the contemplative discipline of learning to ‘rest in the presence’, with the fire of prophetic imagination and outreach.

At the local, regional and international levels, Contemplative Fire’s Companions on the Way are a pilgrim people, part of the timeless and worldwide followers of Jesus.

What does it mean to be a Member of the Contemplative Fire Community?

Whenever we draw together for Gatherings, Pilgrimages, ‘Living the Mystery’ or in small groups, we become pilgrims, travelling companions. Some will choose to travel with us for a short time – others will welcome the opportunity for an ongoing adventure with Contemplative Fire, and commit to the longer term.

We offer membership, as Companions on the Way, for those wishing to make a commitment. Each year the community will have a Time of Intention when the members set their spiritual intention for the next year. We commit to following our rhythm of life both personally and in community. We commit to supporting each other spiritually with regular attendance and the community financially with regular contributions. Such commitment is helpful to the individual, and vital to the development of Contemplative Fire, in building a sustainable community of prayer and creative engagement.

Who are we? We are.....

Travelling companions

Pilgrimage in the early tradition was a sacred journey. Entrusting themselves to the love of God, the travellers set out together to follow the Way of the risen Christ.

Aligned with Jesus

Jesus is our model and our mentor, and the particularity of his ministry, death and resurrection informs our invitation to ‘travel light and to dwell deep’ (See 'Our Rhythm of Life', below).

Contemplation-in-action

Seeking to sustain a healthy balance of contemplation-in-action, each Contemplative Fire companion is encouraged to discern and embody for themselves a fluid yet focused life pattern, incorporating prayer, study and action, or ‘being, knowing and doing’ – space for grace in the everyday!

Body of Christ

Companions on the Way are part of the larger Contemplative Fire community which is part of the body of Christ, or the followers of Jesus, throughout time and around the world. They are responsible for the support and sustainability of the Contemplative Fire community as an emergent network church, through the gift of their time, creative energy and financial resources.

Contemplative Fire Companions feel curious about, and are congruent with, the contemplative and mystical Christian tradition. Openness of mind and heart, playful wondering and radical inclusiveness are three key values of this emergent international and ecumenical community,

The Contemplative Fire Community: Rhythm of Life

What is a Rhythm of Life?

"A model of spiritual development for the average person who intends to live life beyond the superficial or the uncaring."
Joan Chittister"

...a trellis which supports a life of mindfulness, a life lived in fullness." Esther de Waal

Our Rhythm of Life: Being-Knowing-Doing

The biblical, desert, patristic and monastic legacy is fundamental to the deep structure of our thinking. We are called not only to deconstruct but also to reconstruct language, symbol, sacrament and discipleship, as we strive to embody the life-changing message of Christ through our day-to-day living in the 21^st century.

As Companions on the Way, we commit to an individual rhythm of life that weaves together the three strands of being, knowing and doing – or prayer, study and action.

Our emblem and metaphor for this process is the Celtic trefoil, with its three ‘leaves’ and its place of un-knowing at the centre. Engagement with each of these three aspects – ‘Still Waters’, ‘A Learning Journey‘ and ‘Across the Threshold’ – as well as with the mystery at the centre of things, helps shape a life-giving and personally authentic path into God.

Travelling Light, Dwelling Deep

The
Threefold
Journey

BEING

KNOWING

DOING

Still Waters
Encountering the
Present Moment in
Quietness

A Learning Journey
Equipping, Exploring
and Accompanying
Others

Across the
Threshold
Engaging with Wisdom
on the Boundaries

And He said: “Walk with me”

Gatherings
Pilgrimage to Now/here
Annual Retreat
Stillness
Deep Listening
Contemplative Practice

‘Living the Mystery’
Study/retreat days
Open Circles
Story Sharing

A Garden Inside
– working with the
marginalised

Companions on the Way
discovering their
own form of
compassionate action

PRAYER

STUDY

ACTION

A Commitment on Three Levels – personal, local and the wider Contemplative Fire Community

We ask prospective Companions on the Way to engage with the Contemplative Fire rhythm of life at three different levels: the personal, the small local group, and the regional and national expression of this body of Christ.

The inspiration for each Companion’s individual Rhythm of Life is the willingness to be set alight by the fire of God. The idea is to weave together in continuous movement our core values of Being, Knowing and Doing (or prayer, study and action) at a personal and collective level. The following are suggestions – not instructions! – for ways in which that Rhythm of Life might take shape for you personally.

A PERSONAL RHYTHM - opening to Presence

Still Waters - Encountering the Present Moment in Quietness

A rhythm of prayerful 'being'.

Dwell deep. Drink daily from the well of contemplative prayer, committing to some form of silent prayer, morning and /or evening. Be attentive in prayer to the movement of the heart towards compassionate action and intercession.
Rest in God. 'Don't just do something. Sit there!’
Retreat - an annual retreat, with the Contemplative Fire community if possible.
Pray imaginatively. Engage with Scripture and other texts you find spiritual, inspirational, soul-provoking…
Let the Holy Spirit, the beauty of creation and the gentle discipline of love be your teachers in deepening the prayer experience.
Discover the freedom of letting the body express prayer. Receive within it the grace and fire of divine life. Seek integration of the whole person, celebrating God’s presence with all the senses.

A Learning Journey - Equipping, Exploring and Accompanying Others

A 'knowing' that brings the theory together with the practice. As members of the Contemplative Fire community, we are willing and prepared to:

Explore and ask questions of the Judaeo-Christian tradition
Wrestle with tough theological questions
Undertake a daily or weekly commitment to some form of study, that enriches your understanding of the contemplative Christian tradition
Reflect in solitude, in a spiritual journal, with other Contemplative Fire companions, and / or with a Spiritual Director, on the experiences you have and the knowledge you gain as you broaden and deepen your practice of prayer
Accompany others on this transformational journey

Across the Threshold - Engaging with Wisdom on the Boundaries

'Doing' expressed as contemplation-in-action or compassionate living

What do we mean by ‘engaging with wisdom on the boundaries’? It is allowing oneself to be drawn by the Holy Spirit, the breath of God, out of one’s comfort zone into a deeper and more costly loving – this is the invitation. The Spirit comforts and challenges every community called together in the name and the energy of Christ.

Companions on the Way find themselves being nudged into acts of compassion, into times of dialogue and of story-telling about the deep and the rich things of life. We find ourselves in our responses poised on the boundary between certainty and uncertainty, between knowing and unknowing. We touch humility when we realise that we have so much to gain by simply being present and open to the other: here, in this meeting, is the unfolding of the wisdom of God.

Caring for the earth - a mindfulness towards matters of spiritual stewardship; a commitment to ecofriendly / recycling / fair-trade projects
Compassionate outreach - costly loving. Meetings on the edge: be they prison visits, peacemaking, or bridge-building between communities.
Simplicity of lifestyle : travel light...
Generous giving. Love is energy; money is energy. The generosity of God calls for our own generous response, in support of this ministry and others.

A LOCAL RHYTHM – Community Life

Sharing with others Christ's invitation in small groups

A dozen or so individuals may attend up to five introductory meetings, which will include Tastings of the different Contemplative Fire activities outlined below.
In its mature form, an ongoing group meets in various configurations for contemplative practice, deep sharing, silence, and theological and liturgical exploration. These local Contemplative Fire communities are likely to meet in a private home.

Deep Listening - Monthly meetings for three compatible people for a structured two-hour session of deep listening.
Story Sharing - A monthly meeting of seven people to celebrate the major festivals of the Christian year with food for the body and soul, deep sharing and blessing.
Open Circles - Contemplative discussion groups that offer occasions for shared stillness, spiritual creativity and theological exploration, as Scripture and other resources are explored with the mind and heart.
Stillness - Christian meditation groups meeting in homes or in sacred spaces for the refreshment of stillness and movement, centred upon Christ.

Sharing with others Christ's invitation as a whole community

Gatherings - Share in contemplative communion, enjoy music and chant, and use body prayer and simple movement as part of a reflective prayer process that seeks to integrate creative arts, wisdom and worship.
Pilgrimage to Now/here - The inspiration of the outdoors. A delightful 4 hour spiritual journey, with teachings from the Christian mystics and a walk of awareness in nature or in city.
'Living The Mystery: The Way of Christ the Contemplative' - As part of the ongoing commitment to study and learning, you may choose to be involved in this unique programme of spiritual stimulus and support. The primary themes are ‘seeing, knowing, loving’, echoing the mystical tradition’s experience of God and of all reality as ‘one seeing, one knowing and one love’ (Meister Eckhart).

Celebration, stillness, learning and love

Financial Giving and Contemplative Fire

If the development of stillness in the world, and encouraging people to be in touch with and live from God’s presence within them, stirs your heart, we invite you to join us through a financial donation to the development of Contemplative Fire. Help make this world a more spacious and gracious place.

The Canadian community of Contemplative Fire is currently provided with charitable registration and financial administrative services through the ministry of The Anglican Foundation.

Donations may be made online to the Anglican Foundation or mailed to the Foundation at 80 Hayden Street, Toronto, Ontario M4Y 3G2, designating Contemplative Fire as the recipient.

Contemplative Fire does not maintain physical properties. In living our vision of ‘Travelling Light and Dwelling Deep’ most of the community’s costs are for staff and supplies related to vision sharing, development of community life and worship, nurturing of a community and equipping members to live compassionately within their own communities. It includes costs of a full- time Community Leader, a part-time administrative assistant, website development, worship supplies, travel, rentals and honorariums.

Although not currently required by the UK Contemplative Fire community, each year we will make a free-will offering to them as part of our community life and support. Full financial details are available upon request.

Initial seed money of $20,000 over three years was granted by Scarborough Area of the Diocese of Toronto, but Contemplative Fire is called to be self-sustaining financially. Our community is entirely dependent on money generously gifted by benefactors, by the core community and by income from its events. We receive donations from many supporters and invite all Contemplative Fire’s Companions on the Way to calculate their giving on one of a number of established bases. These range from Biblical ‘first fruits’ (or tithing), to the Quaker method of a set proportion after fixed expenses, or your personal equivalent of a day’s wages per month, or simply a fixed proportion of income. A regular donation through your bank account or credit card may be arranged through The Anglican Foundation.

Currently, we celebrate that Companions on the Way and private donors quickly matched the first year grant from the Diocese. Please generously and prayerfully consider how best you may support this healing work for our world.