by Rev. Neal Neuenschwander

"The Grand Examen"

A couple of weeks ago, the Presbytery of the Pacific sponsored a retreat for clergy in our area. This retreat was led by Will Hernandez, a locally renowned author and spiritual director, who helped us to complete "The Grand Examen," a well-known spiritual discipline dating back several hundred years. This "Examen" is a personal spiritual inventory completed by each participant, and it invites each participant to "gaze" in 4 directions:

Looking back, one reviews the past 6 to 12 months, taking note of highlights, lowlights, turning points, and landmark
Looking within, one discerns the apparent connections between these various experiences, looking for common themes, threads, and patterns.
Looking forward, one envisions the direction in which God is calling him or her in the next 12 months.
Looking around, one determines the type of support (e.g., friendships, mentors, books, classes, groups, and so on) that is required to move forward in obedience to God's call.

The first 2 modules of this exercise helped me to reclaim a tremendous sense of gratitude for God's blessings in my life and in our church. I thought about the great bequest we had received from Stillman Sawyer. I thought about the talented staff and dedicated volunteers with whom I regularly work. I thought about the beautiful music I had heard in this congregation and the scintillating studies we had shared. I thought about all the friends that we had made here, and I thought about the natural wonders that Kim, Andrew, and I have seen since moving to the West from Tennessee.

Having thus looked "back" and "within", it was also much easier to look forward with confidence, claiming the Biblical promise that "God who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day of Christ" (Philippians 1:6). And it was much easier to correct myself for an occasional lack of confidence, recalling Paul's admonition that "whatever does not come from faith is sin" (Romans 14:23). Most of us ran out of time to complete the fourth module, "looking around" at the resources God will provide to those who live by faith. But that became a great assignment for the future. And it has become a great catalyst for prayer.

My prayer for you this week is that each of you might find some place and time to complete this sort of personal examination in the months to come. Mary and Joseph's Retreat Center (in Rancho Palos Verdes) offers several courses that could be helpful in this effort. The grounds are gorgeous, the food is very good, and you can even book a room there (as a place to get away) without taking any courses at all. If you'd like to consider other possibilities, please feel free to give me a call.

Now, it's your turn to say your prayer......

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=A92009 - First Presbyterian Church of San Pedro