Seekers of Silence is an ecumenical and interfaith gathering of men and women who come together to listen:
- We listen to presenters speak on spirituality topics.
- We listen to God in silent prayer.
- We listen to each other in small group sharing.
Participants come from a variety of religious traditions. Members of several denominations as well as followers of other faiths come from all over East Tennessee to attend. All are welcome. Our meetings are on the first Saturday of each month (except July) at the Church of the Savior, 934 North Weisgarber Road, Knoxville, Tennessee. (Note: our March meeting will again be at the Buckingham Clubhouse 7303 Manderly Way, Knoxville, due to renovations at Church of the Savior).
We gather starting at 9 a.m. for coffee and conversation. The meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. with a welcome and 20 minutes of silent meditation. After the presentation, we end at noon after another 20-minute meditation. Participants are invited to remain afterward for a shared pot luck lunch.
The meetings are open to all and free of charge. Donations are gratefully accepted. SOS is funded entirely by the donations of the participants at our monthly presentations.
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OF INTEREST:
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Since we returned to in-person meetings following the Covic-19 pandemic, attendance at our monthly meetings has dropped substantially. Therefore, after much prayer and discussion, the Coordinating Committee has authorized a new format for meetings starting with our September 2 program Instead of having outside speakers, an SOS participant will be the facilitator and lead a roundtable discussion on a topic selected at a previous meeting. We will continue to have our two 20-minute periods of silent prayer and our potluck lunches after the meeting. The previously adopted shorter meeting schedule will continue: doors will open at 9 a.m. for coffee and conversation and the program will begin at 9:30 a.m. and end at noon.
What does SOS mean to you? Some of our long-time participants tell what it means to them. Check it out in our Prayers-Thoughts-Comments section. If SOS has been important in your spiritual life, email your story to edgarmiller25@gmail.com.
Youtube videos of Father Terry Ryan’s presentations are available on the website of the St. Bennedict’s Monastery Bookstore, https://snowmassbookstore.com/. Click on the YouTube Channel tab.
Upcoming meetings: TBA
Next Meeting: Saturday, April 6, 2024
Church of the Savior, 934 N. Weisgarber Road
Roundtable Discussion
When God Speaks, Are We Listening?
Facilitator: Leoma Gilley, Ph.D.
Leoma Gilley, author of several books including “Launching Into the Unknown: Discovering the beautiful and bewildering world of the Sudanese (The “Not How I Planned It” Memoirs Book 1),” will discuss Lectio Divina and lead the group in a Lectio exercise in the first part of the meeting and “share ways of hearing God, some of her stories, and group sharing” in the second half.
Leoma, originally from Chattanooga, lived in the Sudan for more than 20 years and traveled widely in Africa and Europe.
Her adventures, she says, also led to exploring her inner life as well as the external oneand that through deep reflections on the Scriptures she found a richer relationship with God and gained a better understanding of the value of prayer.
Other books include “The Still Small Voice of Love,” “Praying for Big Things,” “Prayers of Confessions for Lent,” and “Prayers of Faith and Hope.”
NOTICE: We will return for the April meeting at the Church of the Savior, 934 N. Weisgarber Road. Thanks to all who joined us at our temporary quarters at the Buckingham Clubhouse in the Shannandale retirement comples. Thanks especcially to George and Ruth Smith for arranging the Buckingham site and for hosting us.
We will gather as usual at 9 a.m. for coffee (or tea) and conversation. The discussion will begin a 9:30. We also will have our usual 20-minute periods of silence at the beginning and end of the meeting. All are welcome. Participants are invited to stay after the meeting ends at noon for a potluck lunch. Bring a dish to share.
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Programs 2024
Our March meeting, led by Liesl Bold featured a discussion on contemplative living based on the Lenten prayers and readings of Thomas Merton and other spiritual masters.
SOS participant Liesl Bold has had years of experience with contemplative practices and suggested this month’s topic.
Biblical scholar Jacob Love, Ph.D., led our February discussion on “Notes from the Field of Battle on the Road to Peace,” a look at some of the complexities, as he puts it, “that make it impossible to render simple judgments of the recent events in Israel and Gaza.”
In the program at the Buckingham Clubhouse Jacob described the deep religious roots of the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians going back to biblical times. It was a well balanced and well informed presentation based on his years in Israel, including his time as a graduate student and his service in the Israeli Defense Force, and also his studies as a historian.
During the presentation he offered a quotation that several attendees ask us to share. Here it is:
The post from Jordan Friedman reads:
The vast, vast majority of Israeli and diaspora Jewry, in their grief, shock, trauma, sadness, and justified anger in the wake of the October 7 terrorist attacks and rising antisemitism worldwide, have committed the nearly-unforgivable sin of callousness toward innocent suffering and death in Gaza. Not only do they not vocally support policy alternatives (not just the trendy, unrealistic, pacifist total ceasefire) that would dramatically reduce civilian casualties and suffering, but they cannot bring themselves even to mention this suffering and death in prayers, religious and secular ceremonies and vigils, or even everyday life and discussion of the situation. They have committed the hideous, almost-unforgivable sin of viewing some kinds of lives as disposable and worth significantly less than others. Though it doesn’t lead to the same behaviors, this is not entirely unlike the disgustingly warped worldview of Hamas and other hate and terror groups.
If you are Jewish (or anything else), and you know you have been guilty of this sin, I propose a way to begin redeeming yourself. Make a donation to an organization like Gisha—an Israeli non-profit that tries to get humanitarian aid into Gaza responsibly, without letting it fall into the wrong hands:
Jacob, who spoke to SOS In October 2017 on “The Language of Jesus” and again in October 2018 on “Paul Robeson’s Jewish Fellowship,” retired last year after having been responsible for University of Tennessee’s Hebrew program, teaching the Hebrew Bible in English, Introduction to Judaism, and Survey of Early Rabbinic Literature. He also has taught Early Jewish History for the History Department. He currently teaches a course in Talmud online. In addition to Hebrew, Jacob knows Aramaic and can read ancient Greek. And His wife, Theresa Lee, is former dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and a professor of Psychology.
Mary Jane Keim and Michael O’Connell led our group discussion at our January meeting on the question: “Are you an everyday mystic?”
The discussion was designed to bring forward participants’ answers to the question. After Mary Jane gave a definition of “mystic,” each participant was asked to bow before commenting and to bow again to show the comment had ended.
The facilitators have practiced psychotherapy in Knoxville for more than 50 years and they have practiced meditation for the last 20 years as faithful members of Seekers of Silence.
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2023 Programs
The topic of our December 2 meeting, “Sing and Smile and Pray,” came from a hymn written by Virgil and Blanche Brock and published in 1934, the year our facilitator, Ed Miller, was born. This hymn was published by Homer Rodeheaver, who grew up in Jellico, also Ed’s hometown. Rodeheaver, who gained national attention as the song leader for evangelist Billy Sunday’s revival meetings around the country from 1910 to 1930. Throughout the Old and New Testaments we are exhorted to sing and smile and pray. The discussion featured ways to emphasis the joy of the season and ease the stress.
Liesl Bold used her decades of experience with various types of meditation to lead our discussion in November on “The Art of Contemplative Listening. Liesl began with Hatha Yoga in her 20s, joined a Centering Prayer group in her 30s, and has been on annual silent retreats of three to 10 days for many years. She was co-leader of a Centering Prayer group in Georgia for 11 years before moving to Tennessee. She plans to go on the Camino de Santiago in April and do an Ignatian silent retreat sometime after that.
At our October meeting, Carol Mullen led us through a thoughtful discussion about “Spiritual Journey,” citing many interesting sources, particularly Thomas Merton. She also had participants draw designs related to their own personal journey. Carol has been attending SOS for about five years and looks forward each month to gathering with other fellow contemplatives in community. She is a trained and experienced Spiritual Director, Certified Life Coach, Certified Spiritual Coach and workshop and Retreat Leader. As an experienced Spiritual Director Carol has the privilege to hear sacred stories from her clients and accompany them as they navigate their pathways toward spiritual growth, wholeness, and freedom. She has lived in Knoxville for 25 years, has two grown children and loves hiking, nature, reading, art, and deep conversations. Her website is: www.soulssanctuarycoaching.com
At our September 2 meeting, Carl Bello, a newcomer to Knoxville and SOS, led our spirited discussion on “Grief as a Spiritual Practice,” taking the group into the depths of the subject. Carl cited multiple sources of his research, including “The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief,” by Francis Weller; “The Smell of Rain on Dust: Grief and Praise,” by Martin Prechtel; and “Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words,” by David Whyte. These titles can be found on Amazon.com.
Carl was looking for a meditation group in Knoxville and came across our website. He joined us at our August meeting and quickly volunteered to lead the discussion under our new format. Carl is a psychotherapist, veterinarian, and soul activist in practice in Knoxville. He was raised in the Roman Catholic tradition, but has found nourishment and wisdom from many religious traditions, Jungian psychology, myth, poetry and literature.
Ghislaine Miller, one of the three women who founded Seekers of Silence 20 years ago as a continuation of Father Terry Ryan‘s quarterly workshops on mysticism and contemplation, reviewed the history of the group at our August meeting. Those present contributed their own experiences with SOS. The group also agreed that SOS should continue with a modified format that features roundtable discussions facilitated by an SOS participant rather than programs with outside speakers.
Our Bookshare and Roundtable Discussion in June included reviews of several books, including “The Song of the Bird,” by Anthony de Mello, “Why Buddhism is True,” by Robert Right, “The City is My Monastery,” by Richard Carter, “The Dark Night oft he Soul,” by Gerald May, “The Future of Faith,” by Harvey Cox, a biography of Marjorie Meriweather Post, several books by author Alexander McCall Smith, and an introduction to Dolly Parton’s new song, “World on Fire” which debuted to much acclaim at the 2023 Country Music Awards, which Dolly co-hosted.
The Bookshare program was started several years ago by longtime SOS participant Val Whiting and has been a very popular addition to SOS programs.
Authors Dorothy Wilt and Theresa Nardi, both active SOS participants, discussed their book, Almost Holy People, at our May meeting. The book, set mostly in East Tennessee, describes the spiritual journeys of a mother and her two daughters and the important role that silent meditation plays for them.
Our meeting in April featured a video by Father Terry Ryan, CSP, on Lent and Lenten Practices. Father Terry’s frequent workshops on meditation and the lives of the saints when he was pastor of St. John XXIII in Knoxville was the inspiration for the creation of Seekers of Silence after his tenure here ended.
Our March meeting was an observation of World United in Prayer Day and featured a video from Contemplative Outreach by the late Father Thomas Keating, “Living the Paschal Mystery: Hope and Redemption.”
Myles Hixson spoke on “Moral Therapeutic Deism” at our February meeting. He discussed the work of Sociologist Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist. In particular, citing their book, The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers as his main reference.
Myles Hixson was the rector of Holy Cross Anglican Church in Farragut until his retirement in September 2002. Prior to his calling to Holy Cross, he served in both Lutheran and Charismatic congregations. He earned a BS in Biblical Studies/Literature from Bryan College, and Master of Divinity from Beeson Divinity School.
He now attends St. Anne Orthodox Church in Oak Ridge, TN. He lives on a farm in Philadelphia, TN where he practices regenerative agriculture and husbandry.
In January, Liz Parmalee presented a program on “Finding God in the Faith of Others: A Radio Interview with Author Brown Taylor. In the interview, Taylor, an Episcopal priest, discussed her book “Holy Envy.” The interview was conducted by Judah Smith, the host of Brigham Young University Radio’s program “In Good Faith.”
To learn about earlier programs, please click on “PROGRAMS” on the menu bar.
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Sounds interesting. I look forward to seeing you in Dec or Jan
I am blessed to find you.
I am looking at moving around Knoxville area
In the next few months.
And I will for sure check you out on my tour.
Thank You