Wednesday Meditation Service

Spiritual Truth, Music, Silence, Peace:
Welcome to Wednesday Evening Chapel Meditation

Many of us have had the experience of coming to church on Sunday, getting inspired and enthused, only to find our spirits sagging by mid-week!

There is an opportunity for you, every Wednesday, to calm your heart and mind and reinvigorate your spirit. It is the Wednesday Evening Chapel Meditation, facilitated by Prayer Chaplains, with music.

If you have never attended the Wednesday Evening Chapel Meditation before and have wondered what it’s like or how long it runs, here is a brief explanation.

• Although the service begins in our chapel promptly at 6:15 p.m. (with the doors closing at that time), people begin arriving as early as 6 p.m., to sit in the peaceful energy of the chapel and listen to lovely music.
• The format is simple, so you can put aside your thoughts, and relax.
  • The Prayer Chaplain who is facilitating will welcome you and open with a prayer.
  • She/he will speak a simple, prayerful meditation, guiding you gently into your heart and letting your mind rest.
  • There are a couple of simple congregational songs, a period of silence and a closing prayer.
  • At the closing, you are invited to stay afterward for prayer with a Chaplain if you choose, or not.
• The restful, sacred service lasts about 25 minutes.

We encourage you to take this opportunity to come back to center in the middle of your busy week—without it taking up your whole evening!

What Is a Prayer Chaplain?

If you attend Sunday services at Unity of Phoenix, you will note that every Sunday, one of our ministers asks the Prayer Chaplains who are serving that day to stand. These are the dedicated people whom you can seek out at the Prayer Chaplain Table in the courtyard to pray with you. In addition, one of the “benefits of membership” at our church is having a Prayer Chaplain who calls you once every other month to connect, leave you a loving, inspirational message or pray with you if you choose to do so.

Unity of Phoenix has, for 11 years, had this team of trained, committed volunteers who will stand with you in prayer. They will listen and acknowledge your challenges and joys, and speak the spiritual Truth, so that you can hear it and remember it for yourself.

The role of our Prayer Chaplains is, quite simply, to pray. Chaplains are not counselors or advice-givers. The core of the Prayer Chaplain commitment is to:

• Hold spiritual space. To hold spiritual space means to stay in a space of non-judgment, to be open to the highest possibilities of Divine Intelligence, and to see the Christ Light in the face of the person to whom they are listening.

• Lovingly listen. To lovingly listen means to listen with an open heart, without judgment, and to be completely focused on and available to the speaker.

• Pray from the heart. To pray from the heart is to listen to the guidance of the Divine and to speak authentically, remembering that this is a prayer, not a performance!

• Hold in confidence what is shared. The last essential piece is a commitment to confidentiality. Chaplains know that a sacred trust is placed in them, and that their commitment to confidentiality is the foundation of people feeling safe enough to open their hearts and share their stories. Without this last and important piece, the Prayer Chaplain Program could not exist.

So, as you read this, is Spirit telling you it’s your turn to hold spiritual space, lovingly listen, pray from the heart and hold in confidence what is shared?