Core Group Being Formed

Starting on October 15th we reached out to the Christian community to find the members of the Core Group who would take the Mustard Seed project to fulfillment and become the authors of "The Deepening". Please contact bill at wcbs@aol.com if you would like to join the core group to build this spiritual sponsorship program, or if you want to participate in the Circles Prayer Team that will support us through our days of happy work.

Just a thought...

In the Stillness of the Night

In the stillness of the night He reaches down

and gently lifts the lamb into His arms.

Hands signed with the calluses of the carpenter look rough,

yet possess the strength of all the world.

The places where the nails have pierced stand out in witness to the truth.

There is no pain but floods of love flow from these imponderable wounds.

Stillness fills the night.

Its darkness holds the breathless scene.

The journey has been long

and the fear still clings to the little one He holds.

Words no longer pass between the two or emanate into the darkness,

There is no darkness left to fear.

There is only the holy hands.

What was the run for?

What was the journey into the night all about?

The lamb gives up its sigh and falls within the embrace of the shepherd.

He brings His precious child closer,

pressing its tear soaked head against His shoulder.

There is no night.

There is no race against the world.

In the stillness of the night

the little one lets go of the past and the fear and the pain.

With the last sigh

the lamb rests within the arms of His maker.

Tilting back its head it finds the precious quest it sought.

It finds the peace of the Lord.

William C. Joyce III

May 1995

Looking for Disciples

Challenge:
Engage Christians more deeply in the personal spiritual journey with Christ expanding the empowered base of Christians carrying the essential message of Christ’s love and fulfilling their personal yearning to reach for the sanctity seen in the lives of the saints.

Method:
12 Steps to Spirituality – a concrete step style instruction and spiritual direction community that leads each participant deeper into the mysteries of God’s love for us and the ability for us to love God back.

Process:
Starting with two books “How Can We Find True Love… The Twelve Steps to Spirituality”, and “The Care and Feeding of the Mustard Seed and other Traditions of God's Love for Us” currently in draft form, we would:
* - Gather together three or four interested pillars of the church to guide this project.
* - Begin by rewriting the draft of the mustard seed based upon a new template of the Spiritual Direction Program laid down by the new team.
* - Create a template for a weekly program on Spiritual Direction.
* - Lay down the framework for spreading the message to the parishes through a mission/retreat program.
* - Talk with _____ about a weekly program.

Results:
A Christian Community filled with a sense of mission and personal commitment, and an individual pathway to spirituality. The spiritual journey found in the words of St. Teresa and John of the Cross can come to life for many Christians expanding and deepening their faith experience.