About Hidden Brook

Hidden Brook is a contemplative service using prayer, scripture, Taize music, other music, poetry, readings and silence. We meet via Zoom at 6pm on the first Tuesday of each month. We also meet in-person at the church at 6pm on the third Tuesday of each month, with Zoom participation available.

For an invitation to the Zoom Hidden Brook service, contact Steve Steadman at sgsteadman@gmail.com.

This Week at Hidden Brook

You are invited to Hidden Brook, a contemplative prayer service on Tuesday, December 2 at 6 p.m. The theme will be Receiving the Flame of Advent Light with prayer, music, and scripture. Selections from the Advent writing of Wendy Wright, Madeleine L'Engle and Caryll Houselander will serve as an invitation for contemplation and reflection for this first week of Advent and throughout the season. The service will be on Zoom, led by Patricia Justine Fazzone  If you would like an invitation to the Zoom meeting, contact Steve Steadman sgsteadman@gmail.com.

The fall and winter Hidden Brook schedule follows. Volunteers are needed to lead several of the dates. Contact Jim Donna jdonna7403@aol.com if you would like to lead one of these.

Dec. 2 Patricia Fazzone     Zoom

Dec. 16  Pat Ahern     In-person

 2026

January 6     Connie Holmes    Zoom

January 20   Volunteer needed   In-person

February 3   Jim Donna   Zoom

February 17 Volunteer needed   In-person

March 3        Mary Skinner   Zoom

March 17      Beth Zwick   In-person

Keep meditating! Keep praying!

Words ABOUT SILENCE

Take time to be aware that in the very midst of our busy preparations for the celebration of Christ’s birth in ancient Bethlehem, Christ is reborn in the Bethlehems of our homes and daily lives.  Take time, slow down, be still, be awake to the Divine Mystery that looks so common and so ordinary yet is wondrously present.

    -- Edward Hays, “A Pilgrim’s Almanac”

Why Hidden Brook?

Our name "The Hidden Brook" resonates on several levels, both historic and spiritual. Literally, it describes the underground stream that runs down Russell Avenue and irrigated the celery farms that were on this land before the church was built. It was also the name of Good Shepherd's first nursery school. And now, for CGS's Tuesday night community in the 21st century, it evokes the spiritual hidden brooks in all our lives -- sources of peace and refreshment that we can touch more deeply by spending time on our inner journeys -- individually, yet still together.

What is TAIZÉ?

Taizé services are characterized by quiet and candlelight, the repetition of melodious chants sung many times in many languages, a period of silence, and contemplative prayer. Let the songs sing themselves in you. Once you catch the tune, let yourself find the words -- in your heart or as you listen to your brothers and  sisters as they sing. Let your spirit move along  the path provided by rhythmic repetition, deeper and deeper into the stillness  and beauty of God's presence.

AT ANY TIME DURING AN IN-PERSON HIDDEN BROOK SERVICE, FEEL FREE TO

  • Light a candle,

  • hold an object from the altar,

  • or move to any part of the church you prefer.