Day one of Face to Face, which is the time each semester that our seminary cohort travels from points of origin around the states to descend upon George Fox in Portland, was a day of prayer unlike any I've experienced in my life. The class we held today was on prayer. So in addition to looking at the theology of prayer and various prayers in the Scriptures, including the Lord's Prayer and the Gethsemane Prayer, we went on a field trip....to pray.
High upon a hilltop in Northwest Portland lays a jewel of a location to enter into the deeper realms of prayer. We had three separate assignments to participate in this afternoon: individual prayer and meditation guided by Scripture and poetry, conversational prayer in small groups, and a walking prayer labyrinth. The home on the hill provided multiple places throughout for groups and individuals to be spend time praying without interruption or distraction. But the highlight for most of us, myself included, was the prayer labyrinth which was outside on the beautiful grounds of the estate.
