As Advent helps us prepare for the arrival of Christmas, perhaps it is also time for you to give yourself the gift of presence.  With days full of activities, it is easy to move from one commitment to another with little time for a breath, reflection or quiet. This month’s featured book suggests that we all would benefit from learning the art of being fully present to God.

The author, Rev. Dr. Tilden H. Edwards “is founder and senior fellow of the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation in Bethesda, Maryland. Shalem’s roots go back to 1973, when Tilden, an Episcopal priest and head of an ecumenical center in Washington, D.C., began meeting with a group of people who desired to deepen their relationship with God through contemplative awareness. Out of this small group came a program for spiritual directors, called the Spiritual Guidance Program, with the first-class meeting in 1978. The two-year program has continued ever since, producing hundreds of spiritual directors and many books by Tilden, Gerald May, Rose Mary Dougherty, and others.  A graduate of Harvard Divinity School, Edwards has authored numerous books. This book, Living in the Presence, is available in our church’s lending library.  Short, but packed with “Spiritual Exercises to Open Our Lives to the Awareness of God,” we hope that you will make use of this book or others to enrich your spiritual journey.

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May your life be especially blessed through your faith journey this Christmas.