Christian faculty and staff gathering on Zoom on June 10 - The First Letter from Brother Lawrence

Join us on 6/10 at 12:00 PM when we'll go through the First Letter from Brother Lawrence in The Practice of the Presence of God. We'll seek advice from one who, while maintaining a degree of isolation in his order, never lacked for companionship with God. 

You can find the work at no cost in the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. It's also available for free at Project Gutenberg and the Internet Archive among other locations. I also formatted the Christian Classics Ethereal Library version in outline form to make the text easier to follow. 

Here are the Zoom Room details (password is enabled for security):

The 4th Conversation with Brother Lawrence had these statements:

  • "…all things are possible to him who believes, that they are less difficult to him who hopes, they are more easy to him who loves, and still more easy to him who perseveres in the practice of these three virtues" [faith, hope, love].
  • "it was natural for him [Brother Lawrence] to recommend it [his style of conversing with God] earnestly to others; but his example was a stronger inducement than any arguments he could propose. His very countenance was edifying; such a sweet and calm devotion appearing in it, as could not but affect the beholders. And it was observed, that in the greatest hurry of business in the kitchen, he still preserved his recollection and heavenly-mindedness. He was never hasty nor loitering, but did each thing in its season, with an even uninterrupted composure and tranquility of spirit. 

I found a tool some might find helpful in achieving those same characteristics. It's a 5-day set of devotions called "Practicing The Presence Of God: Old Habits For A New Year" that points out the importance of turning the desire to be in continual conversation with God into a habit.

On 6/10:

  • 1695. Francois Fenelon, noted poet, theologian and friend of Brother Lawrence, was consecrated in Cambrai, France.
  • 1953. East Germany ended attacks on churches after German youth repeatedly refused to renounce the Lutheran Junge Gemeinde (young people’s organizations).
  • 2008. Kwame Bediako, first rector of Akrofi-Christaller Institute for Theology, Mission, and Culture in Ghana, died. He wrote extensively on culture and Christianity in Africa.

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