We are excited to announce the start of a new ACIM group on Saturday, April 25, at the Church of Divine Science in St. Louis. The group will be held every Saturday from 10AM to 12PM. The beautiful and historic Church of Divine Science is located at 3617 Wyoming, one block west of Grand Ave., and has plenty of free parking.

The group will have two distinct parts, with somewhat different goals. The first part, lasting from 10:00AM-11:00AM will be presentation/discussion of a pre-determined Course topic. Presenters will include Thomas Dunn as principle facilitator, and others. We are privileged to have teamed up with Jan Worley, current President of the St. Louis ACIM Leadership Council as a primary presenter and participant. Some examples of topics we foresee covering might include: “What is the Holy Spirit?” or “Sin and Guilt in ACIM”. We may decide to spend up to two sessions over a couple of weeks covering a single but weighty topic. We will not shy away from controversy, and encourage lively, healthy, respectful dialogue with participants.

I am the former Vice President of the Board of Directors for the Circle of Atonement, which most of you know is a Course teaching organization based in Sedona, AZ. It is headed by Robert Perry, a nationally recognized Course teacher and writer. I am a strong supporter of the Circle and its writers, who include Allen Watson and Greg Mackie. I count these teachers as valued personal friends as well. I have been strongly led by the Holy Spirit to tie my teaching efforts in St. Louis and elsewhere directly to the Circle and its teachings. We will therefore be using Circle materials in our group often as resources in understanding Course teachings. I strongly recommend buying Robert Perry’s “Path of Light” as a Course primer, and highly recommend also his “Glossary of Terms from ACIM”. Allen Watson’s “A Workbook Companion”, volumes 1 and 2 are also highly recommended. I will try to have these works for sale on site every week.

The second part of the group, beginning at 11:00AM until Noon will be an ACIM “application” group. This will be a time when we can bring in problems and life situations we are dealing with, and apply Course principles to them. Sometimes all we need is prayer from our loving brothers and sisters to have our minds healed. Other times, it helps to voice our feelings, and to hear gently and respectfully what the Course has to say about our perceptions of our problems. I intend with everyone’s help to make sure this process is characterized by respect, gentleness, patience, kindness, and real adherence to Course principles. We will be using Robert Perry’s articles on the Psychotherapy pamphlet as the theoretical backdrop for this part of the group.

As some of you know, I have been doing a lot of chanting work lately, turning workbook lessons into melodic prayer and meditation. Course chants will be a regular part of our group, and we will begin and end with these. Copies of my new “Course Chant” CD will be available for sale on site after 12:00PM.

Peace
Thomas J. Dunn
314-704-7648