Guided Prayer Network

  • Who we are

    Having experienced guided prayer in our lives, we are a group volunteers who want to share this spiritual practice with others.  


    We are lay people and ministers from United, Presbyterian, and Christian Reform churches in Canada.

  • What we do

    Praying together we discern a yearly theme, select scriptures and write reflections on our personal prayer experiences. We offer training for companions and materials for churches and groups who want to hold Guided Prayer retreats.

  • Oversight & Authority

    The Guided Prayer Network is an ecumenical initiative under the supervision of Western Ontario Waterways (WOW) Regional Council of The United Church of Canada.

  • History of the Network

    Weeks of Guided Prayer under the direction of the Lowville Prayer Centre began in 1985 with one congregation and a team of spiritual directors from the Jesuit Centre for Spirituality at Guelph. We are indebted to Father John Haley who worked with Rev. Bruce Seebach at Emmanuel United Church in Hamilton, Ontario to introduce the concept of a Week of Directed Prayer fashioned after the program The Retreat Comes to the Parish prepared by Father John Veltri.


    When the Week of Directed Prayer came solely under The United Church of Canada leadership, the program was renamed Week of Guided Prayer. This change reflected our understanding that both lay people and ministers are capable of serving as Companions. Trained Companions could be attentive to the work of the Spirit in the prayer journey of the Retreatant, even though they are not qualified Spiritual Directors.


    In 1989 Lowville Prayer Centre, through the Nurturing and Companioning Committee, assumed oversight for the Weeks of Guided Prayer. Training programs for Companions and Coordinators were developed together with the preparation of materials, culminating in the first Manual.


    We are indebted to many clergy and laity for their support in this process. We particularly wish to express gratitude to Rev. Wayne Irwin, Executive Director and Flora Litt, Program Manager of the Lowville Prayer Centre for their guidance and encouragement.


    In 2003 as the Lowville Prayer Centre was completing its ministry, our Committee became the Week of Guided Prayer Network of the Hamilton Conference of The United Church of Canada. We are grateful to the Conference Staff for their support.


    When the United Church restructured January 1, 2019, the Network became part of Western Ontario Waterways Regional Council. With members from the United Church, the Presbyterian Church and Christian Reform Church, it is now an ecumenical initiative.


    In 2021, the Network changed its name to Guided Prayer Network to reflect the different ways churches organize retreats using the Network materials.


    It is our hope that through Holy Spirit this outreach ministry will enhance the prayer life of participants across denominations and encourage the spiritual growth of individuals and faith communities.

A Week of Guided Prayer

  • What it is

    Opening oneself to God through praying scriptures and sharing that experience with a trained companion each time you meet.


    Rather than drawing apart from regular activities, a  Guided Prayer retreat is a retreat in the midst of daily life. 

  • How it works

    Purchase the Theme material which includes a  Manual from the Guided Prayer Network.


    Plan your retreat.


    Recruit and train your companions.


    Hold your retreat.


    Share your experience with the church and the network.

  • Ways of Praying Scripture

    Imagine 

    • use God’s gift of imagination to picture the passage in detail
    • experience the setting by engaging all the senses, eg. feel the breeze, smell the sea, taste the salt air, hear the waves, see the crowd gathered on the shore
    • put yourself into the passage as a person or thing … there are no rules or shoulds, you can be anyone, even Jesus
    • speak to someone and let others speak to you
    • be free to go beyond what is written 
    • be aware of your feelings and notice any changes in them

    Meditate

    • listen to God speaking to you
    • linger over words or phrases that stand out
    • let the passage sink deeper and deeper into your heart
    • be aware of your feelings and notice any changes in them
    • experience, rather than analyze
    • let the passage stir your own experience, associations and memories

    The retreat teaches the participants how to prepare for their prayer time, pray scripture using imagination or meditation,  journal about their experience and share with their companion.

  • What does a Daily Handout look like

                           LIVING IN GOD’S TIME

          a time to be silent and a time to speak

    Sunday/Monday

    1 Kings 19:9-13 ... a sound of sheer silence

    Job 2:11-13 ... no one spoke a word to Job

    Matthew 15:22-28 ... a Canaanite Woman ... started shouting John 8:1-11 ... neither do I condemn you


    In the early 1990’s, I attended an ecumenical church conference in Minnesota. Over the several days in assigned table groups, we risked sharing our stories. I will never forget one young woman who was struggling with a decision that faced her and her female life partner. They had been asked by a dying mother to adopt her children after her death. This momentous decision was even more complicated because their same sex relationship had no legal or religious recognition. I consider myself an ally and supporter of people who are LGBTQ+ and yet listening to her words as a fairly new parent, I wondered if those children wouldn’t be better off with a mom and dad.


    I kept those thoughts to myself and continued to listen. My mind and heart began to shift. A dying mother had made her choice. How could anyone argue with that? I began to hear a person who was facing the death of a friend, wanting desperately to honour her wishes and prayerfully discern what was best for the children. We looked at pictures and heard stories about them. Around that table, I hope we modelled for her what a loving supportive Christian community could look like for her new family. I left believing that she and her partner would become parents to those children and praying that they would find a Christian community that would surround them with love.


    Can this be how change happens? Someone is brave enough to share their story. Others are open to really listening and examining their own hearts before expressing an opinion. In the story of Jesus’ encounter with the Canaanite woman, when he paused his own agenda and took the time to listen and engage with her, she had the courage to step up and speak up in the crowd. Her words and his willingness to be open to the possibility of something new shifted his ideas of ministry. For her, there was healing.


    Sitting together in silence. Listening until someone else can speak. Being willing to wrestle with our own discomfort over what we might hear. Pushing our own boundaries out a little further and learning to speak up in a new way. These are gifts we have to share with the world.


    For Reflection and Journaling:

    1. When did my silence allow another to speak?


    2. When did my speaking up bring healing for myself or others?


    Meditative Prayer:

    God give us the courage to risk sharing our stories and to listen with love to the stories of others. Amen.


    J. Cameron

  • Frequently ask questions about Guided Prayer

    How do we begin?

    Materials can be purchased through Guided Prayer Network Website. @ For your first retreat you will want to begin planning several months in advance. A detailed outline of how one church structured their committee and retreat can be found in the Part E of the Manual – Additional Resources – Planning Committee and Proposed Timeline for the Planning. Committee


    How do we proceed?


    A Planning Team of two or three people who are committed to plan and organize a Retreat for the congregation gather to prayerfully review the materials and decide what your retreat will look like – will it be a week, weekly or monthly, in person or online.


    What is the Difference Between a Planning Team and the Leadership Team?


    The Planning Team does the preparatory work for the retreat and attends to hospitality and logistics/housekeeping during the week. The Leadership Team made up of the Coordinators and Companions leads the retreat. In some churches, one team fulfills both roles. Especially in a large church, it is helpful to have a separate planning  team so the Leadership Team can focus on companioning and prayer.


    Do we need Coordinators and Companions?


    It is helpful to have two Coordinators who oversee the week and support the Companions. Having trained Companions to guide the Retreatants on their prayer journey has proved to be very meaningful for Retreatants and Companions.


    How do we find Companions?

    Choose people you see as prayerful and share Part B – Companion Training materials with them to read. Gather to model praying scripture and companioning. Arrange training for the people who feel called.


    How are Companions trained?


    Companion Training is offered by the Network periodically for six or more participants or you can train your own Companions by following the outline in the Manual.


    How many Companions are needed?


    New Companions can usually Companion two Retreatants comfortably. Having at least two Retreatants helps them experience the diversity of the Retreatants’ journeys. Experienced Companions can Companion up to four participants effectively.


    Does a Companion have to be a Retreatant first?


    If Companions have not been Retreatants, it is helpful to meet together before the retreat to pray scripture and practice companioning.


    Do we need to meet with the Companions and Coordinators each day?


    Communities of faith that have the time and resources find it very meaningful to meet for a meal each day as a Leadership Team to connect with God and each other. Some groups meet two or three times during the week to share devotions and experiences of companioning with or without meal.


    How do we promote the week in our community of faith?

    Posters, display materials and registration forms are provided that can be customized for your retreat. It is very helpful to have people who have experienced the week share their story and invite people personally who they feel would appreciate the week. Some churches have a registration table so that people can ask questions or offer online information and registration.


    Why do we need a cut-off date for registration?


    The cut-off allows for preparing resources and matching of Companions and Retreatants. Sometimes you are able to accommodate one or two late Retreatants.


    How does the Retreat proceed?

    Before the Week

      • purchase retreat materials

      • confirm dates/timing of retreat with church leaders

      • prepare budget

      • book space for large group gatherings,  individual companioning sessions and Leadership Team meetings

      • inform groups who normally meet in the church about the retreat

      • arrange hospitality for large group and  Leadership Team meetings

      • engage, screen and train Companions and Coordinators

      • publicize the retreat

      • register participants

      • arrange for a book table

      • prepare participants materials

      • prepare worship for the opening and closing sessions including arranging for music and communion if you are celebrating the sacrament

      • create worship centres and prayer stations

      • prepare mementoes for participants

      • borrow a 25’ or 30’ labyrinth from the Network if you have space


    During the Week

      • plan for safety and security of participants and opening and closing of building

      • set up rooms for group gatherings and companioning

      • hold Leadership Team meeting prior to opening gathering

      • hold opening gathering

      • complete Companion schedule

      • meet with Leadership Team for prayer and meals as planned

      • handout evaluation sheets

      • write thankyous for volunteers

      • write notes to Retreatants

      • prepare closing including communion

      • hold closing gathering


    Following the Week

      • review evaluations

      • check that payment of materials and other
       expenses has been made

      • send report to Network

      • report to community faith

Testimonials & Endorsements

Companion

By Arthur Hills • February 8, 2022
Anna Bolotnov I very much enjoyed the Week of Guided Prayer experience. It was my first time experiencing guided prayer and I felt that I found something for which I had been searching for years. For me the experience was both educational and spiritual. It was educational as it taught me prayer practices that helped me to learn how to be disciplined and focused in prayer. It was spiritual as it enlightened the soul by strengthening my connection to God. Having a companion was also very positive and meaningful. My companion patiently helped me learn the steps of guided prayer and not drift away into Bible study along the way. My companion was thoughtful and insightful, helping me to dive deeper in terms of how the Bible verses spoke to my heart directly and what prayer would be prompted in response. I loved the Week of Guided Prayer and I am looking forward to repeating this experience many times again!

Community

By Arthur Hills • February 8, 2022
Mary Beth Wallace The Week of Guided Prayer provided me an opportunity to enter into communion with the other retreat participants, with my prayer partner and with God. For me the retreat evoked and realized the words of Matthew: "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them". Specifically, the closing session was a powerful experience. As individuals, each of us had had different prayer journeys, but as a group we had all deepened our relationship with God. The testimonials by my fellow retreatants, and the sharing of communion with each other solidified our connections with one another. In this community we witnessed the power of the Holy Spirit and reaped the blessings of shared prayer and wisdom. It was a transformative experience where we left enriched with new insights and practices that bring us into deeper relationship with God.

Imagination

By Arthur Hills • February 8, 2022
 Pat Gushue Praying Scripture was a new concept for me. I had been involved in many Bible studies that helped me to know about God; however, it was by praying Scripture that I deepened my relationship with God. During Week of Guided Prayer I was encouraged to pray Scripture by using my imagination. This form of contemplative prayer, where I used my senses to become part of the Biblical story, opened up a whole new way of experiencing the movement of the Holy Spirit. By entering into the story, I was able to experience what was happening and react in a way that exposed my feelings and emotions. And through journaling and sharing my experience with my companion, my relationship with God deepened in a way that was relevant to my life and the concerns that burdened my heart. Entering into Gods story, opened room for God to enter into mine.

Holy Spirit

By Alicia McKenzie-Barrow • February 5, 2022
Alicia McKenzie-Barrow I participated in the Week of Guided Prayer entitled, “Living in God’s Time”. Throughout the week, in reading the reflections and scripture, journaling, prayers and meetings with my companion, it was quickly unfolding to me that I had been guided by the Holy Spirit to participate. Based on the timeliness of the theme, the content, and the major changes about to take place in my life later on that year I was reassured that God was present with me on my journey. I had not expected the experience to be such a personal and soul searching one, especially during my one-on-one sessions with my companion. At the end of the retreat, we were all given a mounted post card that read “Everything in God’s Time”, which I keep near my bed as a reminder at the start of each day, of the importance of having patience and waiting on God’s timing, especially when I feel anxious about the future.

What next


What do I have to do to organize a retreat at my church?

Our congregation is new to the retreat experience.

If you or your congregation is new to the retreat experience, the next thing to do would be to have a conversation with one of the members of the Guided Prayer Network.  Please send an e-mail to [email protected] to arrange a time so that we can speak together.


Through the conversation our team will be able to identify the needs of your particular congregation and make suggestions regarding resources and training that would be helpful to you.   So that we can be prepared for the conversation, please provide us with some background information about your congregation as well as the reasons why you are seeking to engage in a retreat experience.


Our congregation is experienced in holding retreats.


If you or your congregation has previously engaged in a Week of Guided Prayer, then all you have to do is  contact us through [email protected]. 


Payment for the materials


The cost of the materials including the Manual is $100. Payment of the material can be made by E-Transfer to [email protected]. In the subject line enter GPN material purchase. Once the payment has been processed a password will be provided to you so that you can access the Manual and resources for this year's retreat.


Training


The Network offers training periodically for groups of six or more participants. For more information, about upcoming training or to request training for your group of six or more, email [email protected]


If you are an experienced companion, the materials for leading your own training are included in the Manual.



Labyrinth


A description of  a labyrinth as well as instruction for walking a labyrinth can be downloaded in the file below. A finger labyrinth is also included in this file.


Symposium


A symposium was held on Feb. 24 introducing our new web page. You can view the Youtube video to learn more.