Arriving in Silence | Centering Prayer in Northeast Ohio

Week 17: December 23, 2025 | Theme: Arriving in Silence

A Centering Prayer reflection from Hope Ridge United Methodist Church in Northeast Ohio

Entering the Space: Arriving in Silence

This week’s Centering Prayer gathering began with an invitation that was both simple and challenging: to enter the space silently, as one might enter a sanctuary.

For many of us, this felt unfamiliar. We’re so used to greeting one another with words, sharing updates, or easing the transition with conversation. Practicing silent entry asked us to notice how quickly words want to fill the space, and how countercultural it can feel to let quiet do the work instead.

To support that transition, soft ambient music played as we gathered. The music wasn’t meant to draw attention, but to hold the room gently, helping us arrive without the pressure to speak.

(The ambient music used during this gathering can be found here: https://youtu.be/zDqvlvXn4TY?si=rFYR9olkoaKSR6nu)

Beginning With What’s Already There

Rather than carrying our words into the silence, we began by giving them somewhere to go.

Before entering Centering Prayer, we took a few minutes to write. Not reflective journaling, not problem-solving, just emptying. We wrote down the conversations we might normally have upon arrival, the thoughts looping in our minds, and whatever felt loud or unsettled within us.

This simple practice allowed us to acknowledge what was already present and set it gently aside.

Entering the Silence

From there, we moved into Centering Prayer.

As always, the invitation was not to clear the mind, but to consent to God’s loving presence. Thoughts came and went. Attention drifted and returned. The silence held us without asking us to fix, understand, or explain anything.

Returning Gently

As the silence came to a close, we returned slowly. We noticed breath, body, and space. There was no rush to interpret the experience or assign meaning to it.

Journaling & Letting Go

After the prayer, we returned to what we had written earlier. Some added a few words. Others simply noticed what remained on the page.

With our hands resting gently over our journals, we offered those words to God, trusting that what we carry does not need to be held alone.

A Prayer of Release

Together, we prayed over our journals:

God of patience and presence, We place before you what we carried in, What surfaced in the silence, And what remains unfinished within us.

We offer these words, these thoughts, and these feelings to you, Trusting that you hold them with care.

Help us learn the rhythm of arriving, Again and again, Just as we are.

Amen.

Carrying the Practice Forward

We also named something important together. When we arrive feeling rushed, upset, or overwhelmed, silence can feel harder at first. That doesn’t mean we’re doing it wrong.

Over time, small practices of gentler arrival may help, a pause before entering, a few quiet breaths, a short walk. Not as something to fix ourselves, but as a way of emptying and honoring the transition into prayer.

Week 17 reminded us that Centering Prayer meets us exactly where we are. Calm is not required. Stillness is not something we manufacture. We come as we are, and consent again and again to be met there.

Grace doesn’t require explanation. It only asks for willingness.

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About Our Group

The Be Still and Know Centering Prayer group meets weekly at Hope Ridge United Methodist Church in Mentor, Ohio. We gather to rest in silence, reflect on Scripture, and open ourselves to the transforming presence of God.

New participants are always welcome, no prior experience needed.

All are welcome. Come as you are, and rest in the quiet presence of God.

For more information, click here or email the group facilitator.