There is all the difference in the world between lives that are merely conformed by moral effort to the shape of Christian ‘virtue’ and those that are transformed through responsiveness to God’s living reality. It is a commitment to the journey of transformation that shapes everything we do at Benedictus.
As part of this commitment, we offer a range of opportunities to reflect and grow in self-knowledge and to share the journey with others, including reflective and spiritual practice groups, reading, walking and fellowship groups. More details are below and inquiries about any of our Benedictus groups are welcome on info@benedictus.com.au
L’Chaim Group
What we plant in the soil of contemplation, we shall reap in the harvest of action.
‘L’Chaim’ is a Yiddish toast meaning ‘to life!’ The aim of this group is to enable participants to reflect on their everyday experience in order to discover more life-giving ways of being in the world.
L’Chaim involves a structured process of reflection with experienced facilitators. Participants have the opportunity to present an experience, conversation or life-pattern they’d like to explore. We support one another in this work of reflection – not offering advice or ‘fixing’ one another – but seeking to listen deeply and evoke insight. Over time, we learn to discern our experience in new ways and act with more freedom. This group meets fortnightly in-person.
Spiritual Practice Group
Daily meditation … a weekly walk around the lake …
mindful eating … fasting … spiritual reading …
an intentional Sabbath …
Do you have a regular spiritual practice … a rule of life? Or sense the need to develop one?
Would you like to be encouraged in your commitment to practise, explore and share its fruits?
Our Spiritual Practice Group meets monthly in-person to encourage one another in practices for intentionally opening ourselves more fully to God.
Contemplative Photography Group
Our group explores photography as a contemplative practice. It’s all about seeing and photographing the world in fresh ways, to reveal richness and beauty that is normally hidden from view. Instead of emphasizing subject matter or the technical aspects of photography, the contemplative approach teaches us to see clearly, and make images based on fresh perceptions.
We try to gather physically in Canberra each quarter (following a rough seasonal pattern). In-between times, we take on a different practice ‘topic’ each month, connecting via email and sharing the results in pictures and words on our blog. If you are interested to be part of the group, please let us know via email to benedictusphotography@gmail.com
Walking Group
Benedictus Walking Group hopes to meet from March to November during 2023, on the 2nd Sunday of the month (or as advised), 2-4pm. We aim to find easy walks to maximise inclusive participation and discover “local delights” across Canberra in a contemplative way, listening to one another and the natural wonders we encounter. We may organise a longer day trip into a nearby national park one weekend in the cooler months, depending on interest.
Music & Poetry Group
Music and Poetry Group is an on-line (Zoom) gathering for members to share and explore music and poetry selected by members of the group. The group runs between Easter and Advent, on the first and third Thursdays of the month, at 6:30pm Canberra time.
Authentic Selving Group
The Authentic Selving group takes its name from two major sources: Gerard Manley Hopkins, and Richard Schwartz and his Internal Family Systems Therapy. Hopkins, in his poem ‘As Kingfishers Catch Fire’, suggested that all created things are driven to express their innermost divine essence. Schwartz, along the same lines, posits that we are all implanted with the same qualities at birth – qualities such as curiosity, compassion, courage and connectedness – and that it is our ‘task’, should we accept it, to overcome the blocks and layers of protection accruing from adverse life experiences and inhabit our essential Self.
The Authentic Selving group has been examining the implications of these ideas throughout 2024 and will be reconvening for the next year. Each 90-minute evening involves tea, meditation, a thought-inducing contemplative reading, a member check in around the weekly theme and a big measure of caring holding of individuals’ experiences. While not a therapy group as such, there is a commitment to sharing personal material deeply and vulnerably with compassionate respect. The group meets fortnightly in-person.
Tuesday Lunch & Friday Zoom Sandwich
Tuesday BYO lunch follows meditation in St Ninian’s church from 12.30 each week. In warmer weather, we meet on the verandah, and a cuppa, lively conversation and a warm welcome are provided.
Friday Zoom Sandwich is a relaxed on-line gathering that meets weekly on Fridays at 12.30pm for conversation and company over lunch. Anyone is welcome – join by clicking on the link on the Benedictus home page.
Canberra Southside Gathering
A group of Benedictus members who live on the Southside of Canberra meet monthly in-person on Sunday afternoons to meditate and connect. New members are always welcome.
Home Groups & Local Chapters
Currently, we have one Zoom home group and two local chapters of Benedictus in Victoria and Hobart. Please be in touch if you would like to make contact with these groups. There is scope to form other groups, both on and off-line, in Canberra and beyond. Small home groups offer a way of connecting with other members of the community on a regular basis for conversation, sharing and support. Groups can develop in their own way and frequency of meeting, in accordance with the wishes of members. If you are interested to be part of a home group, please let us know.
Theology Reading Group – currently in recess
Our Theology Reading Group is committed to reading and discussing Christian theology in conversation with and in the light of our own experience and spiritual quest.
Topics and texts are chosen according to the interests of members, and we have explored themes such as God and suffering, the theology of prayer and theological method. The group meets fortnightly in term time and new members are welcome.
Kaleidoscope – Contemplative Kids
For almost ten years, our Kaleidoscope afternoons offered an opportunity for primary-aged children to step out of the busy worlds in which they too live, to spend time reflectively, restfully and creatively.
Children’s lives are enriched by experiences that nurture their souls, open their hearts and minds to the presence of love and hope, and offer opportunities for creative expression, sharing stories and even some silence. These experiences foster calmness, connectedness and joy. They equip children to live well in a busy, noisy world.
We are no longer able to offer these Kaleidoscope afternoons, but the Kaleidoscope blog gives a sense of the many wonderful afternoons we shared. We hope it may offer inspiration for others seeking to create contemplative spaces for children to enjoy.
Kalchaino
In ancient times divers plumbed the sea in search of a rare shellfish sought after for its rich purple dye. ‘Diving for the purple fish’ – Kalchaino – became the Greek expression for plumbing the depths of one’s own wisdom.
For several years, our Kalchaino group offered young adults an opportunity to learn to listen and know themselves more deeply, and so to engage the challenges and possibilities of their lives from a more aware and integrated place. Kalchaino is at present suspended, but the approach and themes explored can be discovered on our Kalchaino blog.
