ES – The Welcoming Prayer October 28th 2026

Bringing Consent into Everyday Life

Welcoming Prayer is a contemplative practice of consenting to God’s presence and action in the midst of everyday life. It complements Centering Prayer by helping us bring the same attitude of consent that we practice in silence into the circumstances, emotions, relationships, and challenges of daily living.

Sometimes described as “Centering Prayer on the go,” Welcoming Prayer invites us to become aware of what is happening within us—particularly our physical and emotional reactions—and to meet those experiences with openness rather than immediately resisting, suppressing, or reacting to them.

The practice helps us recognize our habitual desires for security and survival, affection and esteem, and power and control. By gently letting go of our attachment to these desires, we become increasingly available to God’s presence and to a freer, more loving response to life.

About the Presenter

Jim McElroy has been practicing Centering Prayer since 1996 and has been a commissioned presenter since 2002. Jim has been on the leadership team of 12-Step Outreach since its formation in 2005 and is especially interested in teaching contemplative practices to the recovery community. He currently serves on the Trustee Team for Contemplative Outreach, Ltd and is on the Welcoming Prayer Faculty. He is a former coordinator of Contemplative Outreach of St. Louis.

Origins of the Welcoming Prayer

The Welcoming Prayer was created by Mary Mrozowski, a founding member of Contemplative Outreach and an important figure in its early contemplative community.

The practice offers a way to bring the consent of Centering Prayer into everyday life. By becoming present to our physical and emotional reactions and letting go of the emotional programs of the false-self system, we become increasingly available to God’s presence and action within us.

In this way, the Welcoming Prayer supports the continuing process of transformation begun in Centering Prayer.

Registration Options

• In Person — $25: Includes dinner, fellowship, and the evening program.
• Live via Zoom — $10: Participate remotely in the evening program.
• Recording Only — $10: Receive access to the program recording after it has been edited and prepared for viewing.

Please note: Zoom Access: The Zoom Meeting ID and password will be emailed to registered Zoom participants on Wednesday, October 28, after 10:00 AM. Please check your inbox, including your spam or junk folder. The recording will not be available immediately following the event. Editing and preparation may take some time. We appreciate your patience and will provide access once it is ready.

Dinner Registration Deadline — Monday, October 26, at 4:00 PM

To be included in our catered dinner, please register by Monday, October 26, at 4:00 PM.

Registrations are welcome after this deadline as space permits. If registering after 4:00 PM on October 26, you are welcome to bring your own dinner and join us for fellowship at 5:00 PM, or simply arrive for the evening program beginning at 6:00 PM.

Financial Assistance Available

We never want the cost of a program to prevent anyone from participating. If you would like financial assistance or a scholarship, please contact Susie Brent. We would be happy to help make your participation possible.

Flow of the Evening
5:00–5:55 PM — Dinner & Fellowship
6:00–6:10 PM — Welcome & Introductions
6:10–6:35 PM — Centering Prayer
6:35–7:15 PM — Welcoming Prayer Program
7:15–7:30 PM — Break
7:30–8:30 PM — Welcoming Prayer Program

The Welcoming Prayer Practice

The practice has three simple movements:

1. Feel and sink into what you are experiencing in your body.

Become aware of the feelings, sensations, emotions, and thoughts arising within you. Rather than trying to change or analyze them, allow yourself to experience what is present.

2. Welcome what you are experiencing in this moment.

“Welcome” does not mean that we approve of everything that happens or that harmful circumstances should be accepted without appropriate action. Rather, we welcome the opportunity to consent to God’s presence and action within us in this moment.

3. Let go.

Gently let go of the desire for security, affection, and control, and deepen your consent to the present moment as it is.

Through repeated practice, Welcoming Prayer can help loosen the hold of our habitual emotional reactions and create greater interior freedom—the freedom to respond to life from a deeper place of presence, compassion, and love.

Centering Prayer and Welcoming Prayer naturally support one another.

In Centering Prayer, we practice consenting to God’s presence and action within us during periods of silence. In Welcoming Prayer, we carry that consent into the movement of ordinary life.

A difficult conversation, disappointment, fear, frustration, uncertainty, or even the small irritations of the day can become an invitation to pause, become present, and return to consent.

In this way, contemplative prayer gradually becomes not simply something we practice, but a way of living.

The practice reflects a fundamental movement of the spiritual journey: learning to release the patterns and attachments of the false-self system and becoming increasingly available to the transforming presence and action of God within us.

For more information: Susie Brent – susiebrentcostl@gmail.com

Learn More

Please link to the official Contemplative Outreach Welcoming Prayer page:

https://www.contemplativeoutreach.org/welcoming-prayer-method