Summer months are quickly approaching, bringing a change in rhythm. Theoretically it is a time to slow down and take a breath! But that slowing down takes intention.
Let’s slow down together . . .
With a change in our summer worship rhythm, the Parlor will be open Sundays from 9:15-9:45 a.m. June 2 – September 8 to hold space for contemplation, an opportunity for Deepening our Prayer Experience. Mirabai Starr suggests cultivating a contemplative practice because “the more you intentionally turn inward, the more available the sacred becomes. When you sit in silence and turn your gaze toward the Holy Mystery…the Mystery follows you back out into the world.” What better place to begin practicing than in community?
Our weeks will begin with lectio divina, a prayerful way of becoming immersed in the scripture. What is God saying to you? What do you notice? What need is on your heart? The fun thing is that we can even move beyond the scripture and contemplate with pictures, nature, music, a poem. Together we can see what unfolds and what we discover.
For instance, I discovered a prayer in me as I sat in silence over the little chipmunk in the photo:
I’m out on a limb here, Lord. I don’t know if it is going to hold me up and I am not sure where I am going next for sustenance. Sitting on the edge can be a shaky place of unknowing where I can become quite anxious. Yet, if I sit still and wait in the moment, what I do know is this . . .
the view from the edge is lush and full of possibilities. Even as I sit in this tenuous place, I am receiving nourishment and I am thankful. You have formed me, provided me what I need in order to balance (this long tail!), keen eyes to watch and ears to discern your calling. I wait in anticipation of whatever new thing you are doing.
Yes, with confidence by your grace I will keep on doing what I have learned, be attentive to new things, keep trusting in your provision . . .and accept your peace . . . even when hanging on by my toes.
However you decide to spend your summer, may you do so with intention and take time to simply breathe.
In this together.
Amy
Mirabai Starr, Wild Mercy: Living the Fierce and Tender Wisdom of the Women Mystics (Boulder, CO: Sounds True, 2019), 10–11.
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