All spiritual traditions make work of bringing people into contact with the inner spiritual process of transformation. They make use of the language and forms of their own time and culture. Often a spectrum of different forms is used all of which illuminate and stimulate an aspect of the spiritual process of growth. By means of symbols, rituals, meditations and techniques the way to the inner source of life and the inner jewel is moulded. One could speak about "The technique of the spiritual life" as Clara Codd elaborates in her book of the same title. She indicates the following steps on this path:

The core of the technique of spiritual growth is a receptive and active approach of our spiritual life: to start working at it, to experience the inner voice of our intuition, communicating with the deva-guides, building the inner bridge between one’s soul and one’s personal life, finding the qualities of our inner jewel, tapping the source of the power of wisdom, activating the spiritual process of healing and from there help yourself and others in this world.

All of this is part of the process of building the inner chalice or grail out of the forces of the wisdom of the Great Mother to receive the forces of life of the Divine Father. This wonderful image is shaped time and again in our Holy Eucharist. It is one of those essential elements of our own spiritual growth.

Functions of a congregation
A congregation is a framework within which members can breathe spiritually in different ways. It is the place where the light and power of oneness is channelled, where inspiration is shared and people work at understanding and support in particular. A flourishing congregation is a living organism with many aspects functioning all at the same time.

What do we do with these functions? To what degree do we discuss and search for ways to shape them? How many times does it occur that during the Eucharist we, however vaguely, touch the mystery of Inner Light, yet talk about the most commonplace of subjects after the service? What do we share? What do we seek? What do we build? What do we experience communally and how do we deepen that experience? To what degree do we create a place of acceptance, trust, spiritual seeking, experiencing and sharing in our congregation? These are essential questions nowadays.

The people of today are looking for an answer to these questions. The Liberal Catholic of today will have to make an effort to answer these questions. If ever there is something essential, also within our Church, it is the active spiritual attitude of the individual as a member of a living spiritual community.

Experience and inner schooling
It all sounds very nice and easy to say that one has to obtain access to one’s own inner source of spiritual existence and draw from the spiritual richness of it. Reality is quite different. It is a long process, the core of which is working at one’s self. The struggle with one’s own shadow - as is elaborated nowadays into active forms in hundreds of books and currents - is not simple. Man’s shadow does not have to be his bad side in particular. It is the unknown and unloved side. It can contain mischief, but also shining qualities and talents that have not yet been revealed. It is the well known image of the polishing of your own raw stone to become a jewel of wisdom, or the path of initiation of the mysteries as it is expressed in the festivals of the church year.

This experience and inner schooling can and have to be much further elaborated in a church like the LCC that proclaims to be an active spiritual church. We say we want to find new ways but we walk around as if we were in a labyrinth looking at all kinds of forms, opinions and objects. The strange thing is that coming to our source in a church context is not to be found in making changes in the words of the Holy Eucharist. It is much more to be found in a transformation of our attitude towards each other, the work we perform together and ourselves.

Workshops, meditation, activities and structures of activity
To realise active spiritual communities in the LCC is a task that will serve our Church well. We just have to make a start. But we then have to have the courage to undertake things in different ways than in traditional lectures, discussions, excursions and congregation evening meetings. These are all very safe and comfortable as we mostly talk about matters outside ourselves. In an active spiritual community things are different. Here we work at ourselves together, in a group. We learn to listen, to understand each other, to feel, experience, view inwardly and to communicate spiritually. It is just a step further. In an active spiritual community understanding becomes living knowledge and experience. Active work is done to push aside the lid that covers the well of spiritual inspiration. Magnificent structures of activity can be found to support this process:

Coming from various LCC congregations in the Netherlands within a radius of about 250 kilometres, two groups of about 30 people meet in the church of The Hague. The gatherings take place 7 times a year, once a month and are structured as follows: 10.30 opening with group meditation, 11.00 Liturgical workshop, 12.30 Interaction, 14.00 Spiritual activity and meditation, 16.00 Evaluation of the day and 16.15 / 16.30 closing with group meditation. Sometimes at 17.00 Solemn Benediction is celebrated.

1. Liturgical workshops
The central issue in the church workshop is active participation in work of light. As a priest I try to take every opportunity to have people experience what their active participation means in the church work. My aim is to inspire and to stimulate them to enlighten their feelings, their thoughts, their intentions, their actions and to share as workers of light in all aspects of our magnificent services. These workshops take place separately, not during the service. In a very solemn atmosphere people experience, by performing themselves whatever liturgical actions can and may be done by lay people, how they are connected with that part of the service. For instance:

2. Group meditations
Every meeting starts and ends with a 'Grail Meditation', which was developed especially for the Golden Light structure. In a brief period of time, this meditation makes all of the important connections that are activated in the Holy Eucharist. Its structure is:

Then our Grail is completed and we can invoke the powers of light like we do in the Eucharist.

This grail meditation with its beautiful connecting energy is now performed daily by many of the participants of the Golden Light group in their homes.

3. Spiritual activities
A whole range of activities is used every time we meet. The aim of these activities is to make contact with a part of our own being. Drawing a personal mandala in a meditative mood can do this, as can working with clay by moulding one’s own nucleus in the substance of the Great Mother. The persons leading the Golden Light group are professionals and are well trained in for instance Gestalt, Pathwork, Bioenergetics and Meditation. So the coaching of the processes is a point which is taken very seriously.

4. Structures for interaction and social activity
In a whole range of interaction structures in small groups like "think-pair-share", "inner-outer circle", "triangulation in A-B-C" and teamwork working on themes, experiences, texts of the services and so on are used. Many of those interaction structures can be borrowed from what is known as co-operative learning. The importance of these structures is that every one is simultaneously active and can exchange meaning and personal experience. Teamwork requires a good preparation by the coach. It helps to shape an atmosphere of openness, friendship, sharing, working and thinking together.

All of these examples work in rich connection with the magnificent power we can and may tap into so easily in church work. One of the characteristics of an active spiritual community is a common and joyful celebration of spiritual richness. Remarkable features of its dynamics are openness towards each other, an interest for spiritual experiences and a positive attitude. A characteristic of all of these structures of activity is their stimulation of experiencing and celebrating the spiritual richness together. An active spiritual community works hard and has a positive and joyful keynote.

Shaping active spiritual communities
Much has still to be done to be able to develop capacities, structures of activity and content in the Liberal Catholic Church to guide congregations to bring active spiritual communities into being. The time is ripe to have groups of people from different congregations participate in workshops to start realising this in a similar fashion as we do in the Golden Light course. We see the participants take back whatever they have experienced to their own congregations and stimulate a dynamic spiritual process there.

It is only in working together at spiritual growth that the true power of our work manifests. This is the challenge we see put before us in our church. It is a process of transformation into an active attitude of working together as members to build a grail of love, as perfect as can be, to receive universal life and to spread it all over the world.