Kinds of ICL Programs

Institute for Contemplative Living -- contemplative resources for active people

Here are some descriptions of the kinds of programs the ICL will offer.

The ICL begins with an offering of programs appropriate to its mission and target audiences. These represent only an initial offering, recognizing that tactical contemplation and its exploration in various contexts will demand development of other programs and modification of the following ones.

Catalogue of Contemplative Practices

This catalogue aims to expand the current knowledge of contemplative practices by documenting and describing contemplative practices from the ancient Eastern Christian tradition, Roman philosophy, and critical theory for use by leaders in religious and secular organizations. The catalogue provides the foundational resource for the work of the ICL.

Short Courses in Tactical Contemplation

These on-line short courses aim to study, translate, and experiment with resources for developing tactical contemplation. They will be six sessions in length, offered three or four times a year on various topics of interest to contemplative studies for active people. Participants will read material selected for the course, post weekly responses on-line and receive comments by the leaders, and communicate with other participants and the leaders electronically.

Workshop in Praying the Eucharist: A Contemplative Workshop

This workshop, one of the mainstays of the ICL, trains parishes in the liturgical contemplative practices of Maximus the Confessor to foster and enrich corporate worship.

Bridging Religious Difference through Tactical Contemplation

Aimed primarily at bridging Native American ceremonial practice and Christian communities, this program seeks to create connections between Native American religious practice and the ancient contemplative practices of the Christian Church to further dialogue and experimentation as well as to support the development of new liturgical forms and spiritual practices that meet the needs of Native American Christians.

Ministerial Vocation Program

Aimed primarily at the Native American community and recognizing the need for young Native Americans who value both their Christian and the native traditions to enter the Christian ministry on the reservations as well as in the wider church, this program seeks to introduce young Native Americans to the ministry, to nurture their vocations beginning in high school and continuing in college, and work with them to return to the reservation for their ordained ministry.

Program for Associates

This foundational program will introduce associates to the tactical contemplative practices from the catalogue of the ICL. Membership benefits for associates include a contemplative thought for the week, passages from the ICL resources of texts, contemplative readings following the church's lectionary, and a monthly newsletter presenting contemplative practices for active people,

Seminars in Tactical Contemplation

These seminars offer further and more intensive study than the short courses and provide an opportunity to explore in depth aspects of contemplative practice and their tactical application in real-life situations. They will consist of fifteen sessions, and two seminars will normally be developed each year. The seminars will be conducted with an initial face-to-face meeting, followed by electronic communication among the participants in the seminar, and end with a final meeting of the seminar.

Tactical Contemplation for At-Risk Groups

These programs train various at-risk groups in using tactical contemplation for solving significant personal and social problems.

Lay Leaders' Education Program

Aimed primarily at the Native American community, this program provides basic theological education (Old and New Testament, Theology, Church History, Ascetical and Contemplative Studies, and Practical Theology) for active lay people on the reservations.

Mental and Public Health Program

This program collaborates with mental and public health researchers to document the effect of tactical contemplative practices on mental and public health by researching the usefulness of tactical contemplation for producing mental and social well-being and a capacity for psychological and social flourishing.

Readings in Contemplative Studies and Critical Theory

This program, geared to more advanced students, offers an on-line academic course of study in contemplative resources and traditions. The content of this course will cover such topics as Gnosticism and Contemplation, Early Church theologians and writers, ancient philosophical contemplation, Eastern Christian and Byzantine sources, Orthodox theology, as well as postmodern critical theorists.