Mindfulness Tasting for Ministry: Finding Peace at Home in Our Bodies
The Rev’d Canon Cricket Cooper
May 20, 2025, Noon-2:00 pm EST

Perhaps my favorite line of Scripture is the invitation Jesus offers in John 21:12: “Come, have breakfast.” There, in the wake of the fantastic fishing triumph and Peter’s bold leaping out of the boat, there in this wondrous incarnational moment. Jesus does not begin to lecture, or question, or explain, or even pray. He knows that the body— the earthly bodies of the fishermen around him— need nourishment and some “down-time” before whatever comes next. 

In this workshop, you are invited to “taste and see” several different ways that you might incorporate mindful pauses in your own busy life. Together, we will explore guided breathing, very gentle movement exercises (which may be done seated or standing), and an introduction to mindfulness meditation. Evidence-based research finds mindfulness techniques can assist in lowering blood pressure, reducing anxiety and depression, and enhancing sleep. We can accept the invitation to pause and experience our life, moment by moment. Learning to be present with ourselves increases our compassion and capacity to be with others in our work and ministry as well as to be with our family and friends. You will leave the workshop with resources that can enhance your whole life. 

The Rev’d Canon Cricket Cooper has been leading retreats and workshops integrating body/mind/spirit for over 30 years. Invigorated by the challenge of creating meaningful worship opportunities, she has served two Episcopal dioceses as their Canon for Liturgy as well as serving as a parish priest on the East Coast and in the Midwest. Cricket is fascinated by the intersections of music-making and the neuroscience of bonding. She serves on the board of Music That Makes Community, an organization that helps individuals compose and lead a capella singing in worship and community settings. Cricket is grateful for the cancer diagnosis that led her to first develop a meditation practice and guided her into the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) community. She has a passion for clergy wellness and leads MBSR classes for clergy online at Maple Tree Mindfulness (mapletreemindfulness.com). She is certified as an MBSR teacher through the Mindfulness Center at Brown University, and as a Laughter Yoga Leader through Laughter Yoga International. She is also the author of the book Chemo Pilgrim (CPG, 2017) and a contributing writer of Finding God Day by Day: A Year of Meditations (Forward Movement, 2010). A companion of the Orthodox monastic community of New Skete in upstate New York, Cricket lives in central Vermont where she writes, knits, and practices the bagpipes.