Pillars & Foundations

Centering Prayer at Melrose Highlands Congregational Church, Melrose, MA Pillars & Foundations documents an exploration of communities, as well as faith through religious institutions. My intent is to share experiences, and spread the positivity that I observe.  Background of Centering Prayer Mindfulness, being mindful, learning to be present, these popular terms/ideas have infiltrated popular culture over the past decade due to a surge in interest in meditation, largely focused on roots from eastern origins. Many meditation groups have popped up, both secular for the purposes of training the mind or destressing, as well as those with a spiritual focus, tied closely to Buddhist and Hindu origins. It is perhaps not as well known that the Christian tradition also has its own version of meditative practices. While some recognize traditional prayer itself as a type of meditation, another activity made recognizable by Thomas Merton, a Trappist Monk and author from the 20th...

Melrose Highlands Congregational Church, Melrose, MA  This is the second entry in my new blog project where I intend to explore and experience the services of many different churches, predominantly where I live in Massachusetts. My reasoning for this activity/journey can be found here . In short these churches are important, often overlooked and misjudged centers of our communities that seek to make a positive impact on their participants as well as others, and I'd like to learn about this and share what I find. It is possible that through this activity I may eventually consider a long term relationship with one of these pillars and foundations of the community, however I am eager to do a lot of exploring first. The building: This congregation is housed in a large brick structure with wooden accents, off of Franklin St. in Melrose. I wish I could speak more to the architectural style of the building. As I continue in this activity perhaps I'll pick up more knowledge al...