Fr. Carl J. Arico is a founding member of Contemplative Outreach, and honored to have known Fr. Keating since 1969. He was present for the first intensive Centering Prayer retreat that Fr. Keating offered in 1983. Fr. Arico has been an integral part of the evolution of Contemplative Outreach from a wish to the organism it is today. “The growth that has taken place in Contemplative Outreach,” he observes, “is a miracle of God’s grace and the power of prayer.” He has traveled extensively in the United States and internationally to present workshops and lead retreats. He is the author of A Taste Of Silence on the fundamentals of Centering Prayer, and is well known within the Contemplative Outreach community for the Q&A with Fr. Carl Arico that is featured the monthly Contemplative Outreach e-bulletins. A number of his talks are freely available here as audio recordings and more will be added. Other talks on video can be found on YouTube by searching for him by name.
Leslee Anne Terpay, is a retired entrepreneur and now spends her days sharing Fr. Thomas Keating’s teachings on the contemplative dimension of the gospel, the Christian contemplative journey, Centering Prayer, and Lectio Divina. She is a Contemplative Outreach Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina commissioned presenter. She is part of the retreat service team and was part of the Lectio Divina service team for many years.
She serves Centering Prayer retreats at Benet Hill Monastery, in Colorado Springs, Colorado and at Holy Cross Monastery in West Park, New York. Leslee is a spiritual director in Lone Tree, Colorado and a graduate of The Center for Action and Contemplation Living School.
Mary Dwyer is a long-time student of Fr. Thomas Keating and has been practicing Centering Prayer since the 1980s. In the early 1990’s, she lived at Chrysalis House, a contemplative live-in community experiment blessed by Fr. Thomas.
Mary received her undergraduate degree from Georgetown University in economics. After a few years at Chrysalis House, she went back to school and became a licensed clinical social worker and practiced this vocation for the next 15 years, all while maintaining her commitment to the contemplative life and to the mission of Contemplative Outreach.
Mary is currently is in private practice as an LCSW in the Erie, Pennsylvania area. She also is serving as a member of the Gift Committee and the Welcoming Prayer Service Team of Contemplative Outreach. She previously has served as Chairperson of the Contemplative Outreach, Ltd. Governing Board; member of the Contemplative Outreach Faculty; and coordinator for the Living Flame program and coordinator of the Miami Chapter. Mary now devotes her time between private practice and giving retreats and workshops on behalf of Contemplative Outreach throughout the US and internationally.
Lindsay Boyer is a spiritual director specializing in working with those who are uncomfortable with institutional religion; She is Contemplative Outreach coordinator emeritus for Brooklyn New York and an adjunct professor at General Theological Seminary, where she teaches about digital spiritual practice; and the author of Centering Prayer for Everyone, published by Cascade in May 2020.
Joy Andrews Hayter is a scientist and spiritual director who finds Centering Prayer practice fundamental to our journeys of transformation: surrendering to God’s presence and action, we can participate more fully in the interrelated, luminous web of creation. Joy is coordinator of the Centering Prayer program at Mercy Center in Burlingame, California, and facilitates introductory workshops and retreats. She loves the questions that come up, as opportunities for us all to look more deeply into our experience of the prayer.
