In the late 1980s, the Benedict Inn Retreat & Conference Center held several Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina workshops and retreats. As more people learned about and began including this silent prayer form in their daily lives, there was a collective desire for continued growth and fellowship. The Contemplative Outreach of Indianapolis chapter formed on January 13, 2007, when 35 people met with the leaders from Contemplative Outreach, Ltd. to discern their intention to form a contemplative community. Today the CO Indianapolis Chapter has an active leadership team identifying the needs and programming for on-going growth. As a chapter, we have facilitated:
- Two Living Flame series with national Contemplative Outreach teachers
- Several day retreats exploring St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, Thomas Merton, Meister Eckhart, and Thomas Kelly
- Multiple ways of praying, including the Welcoming Prayer, the Prayer of Forgiveness, Lectio Divina, Attention/Intention, and praying with poetry. I
- Growth through viewing many enlightening books discussions and videos, including spiritual mysticism writers like Cynthia Bourgeault, Thomas Keating, James Finley, and Richard Rohr.
- ZOOM and hybrid Centering Prayer Circles twice a month since the beginning of the pandemic.