Saint Paul School of Theology in Leawood/Overland Park, Kansas & Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States for Monday, 20 November 2017 "Faculty Focus: Dr. Amy Oden"

Saint Paul School of Theology in Leawood/Overland Park, Kansas & Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States for Monday, 20 November 2017 "Faculty Focus: Dr. Amy Oden"

Resource for Christian Mindfulness
Dr. Amy Oden, Professor of Early Church History and Spirituality, Saint Paul at OCU
Does the world really need another book? I ask myself this question every time I begin a new research project. I wonder what God is longing to birth in the world, where the Spirit is moving toward the reign of God and how my scholarship can follow. My new book, Right Here, Right Now: The Practice of Christian Mindfulness (Abingdon, 2017), puts my scholarship in the service of God’s moving in the world right now.
I believe that if we are to sustain missional lives of justice and mercy in the 21stcentury, we will need a range of spiritual practices to root and refresh our lives. Perhaps never before have we been more desperate for spiritual practices that give us “eyes to see and ears to hear” God’s reign at hand.

My book connects the dots from the incredibly powerful mindfulness movement in contemporary American culture to the ancient roots of Christian mindfulness practice. News articles and social media postings regularly report the benefits of mindfulness. Mindfulness programs pervade many sectors, from corporate training to yoga classes, from professional athletes to mental health therapies.This simple, practical tool is speaking into over-scheduled, over-stimulated, and overwhelmed lives that leave many feeling fragmented and untethered.
Many are surprised to learn that Christians have been practicing mindfulness for centuries. My book traces mindfulness practice through Christian history and offers step-by-step instructions for practice today. Christian mindfulness is a radically counter-cultural practice that invites Christians to pause and see God’s reign at hand here and now. This empowers Christians for witness and justice, through lives that are free, real, rooted and open-hearted.
The challenging work of Christian witness and proclamation in a suffering and violent world can only be sustained by a rooted and authentic faith through God’s grace. My new book, Right Here, Right Now, offers one ancient path.

Upcoming Events

November 29, 2017

11:00-Noon

Forum with Dr. Amy Oden

Kansas Campus, Room C139

Free and open to the public.

December 5 & 12, 2017

11:00- Noon

Community Chapel Services

Both Campuses

Free and open to the public.

4370 West 109th Street SUITE 300

Overland Park, Kansas 66211, United States

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