Reflections from the 4 Day Academy

Going into the 4 Day Academy I shared my thoughts, some reflections, some photos from the worship space, and what I anticipated for the week. You can find that post here: 4 Day Academy at Camp Sumatanga.

Before the Academy officially began, I spent time in nature/creation playing at the playground and on rocks, walking around under the tree canopy and exploring. I wrote about that experience here: Rocks, Trees, and Mushrooms! Exploring Around Camp Sumatanga

What I haven't written about it my experience, what I learned, how I connected with God, etc. Truthfully, I'm not sure I can. I'm still processing it all. I did take notes. I even took notes during worship time of the songs we sang, the Psalms and Psalm Prayers that were referenced, Scripture shared, etc. I thought I might go back to my personal copy of the Upperroom Worship Book and look some of those up. And I still might. 

In the past I've been able to write more easily about an Academy experience. I've been able to process it more fully or more quickly.... or something.

This time, I don't know. Maybe it's the theme: "Welcoming the Wilderness". Maybe it's deeply embedded within me this time and I don't need to rush it out. Maybe it needs time to incubate, to grow, to put down roots within me. I am not fully sure.

I do know that I am glad I took the time, made the time for this time apart. It was a gift to and for me, to focus on God, creation, and to spend time in the rhythm of the Academy so that I could more effectively listen to the Creator. 

My soul was refreshed. I know that. Through the rhythms, the worship, the conversations, the silence, the solitude, the sharing from the faculty, and the sharing within community. Add to that the bountiful beauty of God's creation.

I heard names of authors I knew and learned new ones. 

To trust that all these things are working within me is just that-- TRUST. It is not anything I can see.

However, I know that I opened the space, that I listened, that I put in the time. Therefore, I know that there are seeds planted, there are roots growing deeper, there is healing and growth. Even if I don't see it or feel it. I can trust.

I am grateful for the team and our faculty (Larry Peacock and Dale Clem). I am grateful for all the people I met. Most of them were from Alabama, but some were from Tennessee, Georgia, Ohio and Illinois. 

One of the authors that came up was Chardin and his writing "Trust in the slow work of God". That took me back to my Spiritual Direction coursework and how impactful that was for me then. I remember creating an hour glass prayer with the phrase "trust in the slow work of God". I can't find where I wrote about that specifically, but I think it went something like this:

trust in the slow work of God
trust in the slow work
trust in the slow
trust
trust
trust in the slow
trust in the slow work
trust in the slow work of God

By taking each phrase and allowing it to be aligned with one's breath, it becomes a type of breath prayer. It allows an intentional focus. The post where I wrote about Chardin was "Healing Takes Time".

It's going to take some time to process my 4 Day Academy. 

One thing I can share here and now is the daily focus.

Here are the words of the day:

Gifts

Stillness

Healing (me in the mirror)

Healing (me not in the mirror)

Hope

These words are "spot on" for my life, just as was so much else. The wilderness is home for me. Not just because I have had so many wilderness experiences in my life, but because it is also the place where I know and experience God best. That's why I am drawn to outdoor worship, to hike, to be outside on the deck, to be in a hammock, to walk, to bike, etc. 

There is much for me to process, though I wonder if it is meant to work beneath the surface, so to speak. I don't know. I do know that the Academy time was and is part of my growth and healing, part of my learning and calling.

I am glad I was able to attend.

I am also glad I was able to hike up to Creel Chapel on Wednesday, October 9th. That was super meaningful to me and special as that was my 60th birthday. Though it (turning 60) has been a quiet time of celebration this year for me, it has not been without contemplation. 

My goal is to live in the moment, in the here and now. As Thomas Merton has taught me for many years: "I do not [have to] know where I am going." Would you believe that Merton came up during the week too?!?! Merton has been my companion through my commissioning, my ordination, and to this day. :)

Thomas Merton Prayer of Unknowing:

dfdd

Curiosity as a spiritual practice

Me, heading to Costa Rica on Feb 3, 2023-- curious what it would be like after 11 years.

Curiosity led me around the corner of the parsonage to find this beauty at the Pital Church!

Curiosity as a spiritual practice?!?!

You may be asking yourself if that is truly "a thing".

Well, I was CURIOUS, so I started doing some research recently and LO and BEHOLD (what a great expression!), it is!

Not only is it a spiritual practice, but Albert Einstein calls curiosity "holy".  He writes this:

"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but to be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity."

"Old Man's Advice to Youth: 'Never Lose a Holy Curiosity'". Life magazine, p. 64, May 02, 1955.

Dealing with Mystery, the unknown, it seems normal to be curious and therefore to have a holy curiosity. One of my favorite authors on the unknown is Thomas Merton. His prayer on the unknown from Thoughts in Solitude has helped me live into holy curiosity before I knew it was a spiritual practice.

"My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone."

Asking questions is good; it is normal; it is holy.

We might even learn something new.

We will likely learn something new.

We can learn from so many things and people-- those who are different from us-- younger, older, from different places, those who are of different faiths, those who don't look like us or sound like us, even those who follow a different political party.

Yes, I believe we can learn from one another if we listen to one another, share our stories, and keep a holy curiosity.

We can learn from the marginalized, the oppressed, the unwanted, the ostracized. Who are those people in your community, in your state, in your country? Has that person ever been you?

In my state (and in many states right now), the transgender, non-binary community is being ostracized as bill are being written and passed against them. This matters to me. It matters to me on several levels--1-- on a human level, how other humans are being treated; 2-- on a faith level-- I don't believe it's how Jesus would treat these humans; and 3-- on the parental level.

I wonder where holy curiosity is among the legislature? Do people want to get to know their transgender and non-binary siblings? Do they want to hear their stories or is there something to the "difference" that keeps people in the legislature from seeking information to understand? Could ignorance and fear of the other be part of the barrier? That's where holy curiosity can come in-- getting to know 'the other'. With the bills that are in legislation, it feels that those on capitol hill have no understanding nor desire to understand what transgender and non-binary people experience.

They could attempt understanding. There is good science and research available for those who seek to learn and understand. There is information on gender affirming health care. The two links below show the importance for transgender health care. I am not going to get into all the statistics here about how gender affirming health care is life saving, but I wish and hope that legislature would have a holy curiosity toward the topic and would recognize that taking away gender affirming healthcare is anything but healthy. (The two links below are WPATH and WHO.)

WPATH-- World Professional Association for Transgender Health

WHO-- World Health Organization on gender incongruence and transgender health

How, you might ask, have I arrived to be here, to be someone that is open to listen to others?

In some ways, it started when I was you and I got to know all sorts of people. Camp played a role in it for me as well. As campers, we were all equal. It didn't matter who we were during the year or where we were from, etc.-- at camp, we were campers. Now, we did get into some big tribal/club competition and that mattered. :) In high school and in college I made friends with people of various pigmentation. In college I travelled to Spain and Mexico and saw the world from a different lens.

As I have traveled my faith pilgrimage over the years, I have met all sorts of people with deep faith in different places. 

I have met many LGBTQ+ persons of deep faith, those who follow Christ and those of other faith traditions and backgrounds. 

Holy curiosity to ask questions and to listen has helped me get to know "the other" rather than dismissing them simply because of differences or not fitting what I had been taught.

There is much room for mystery and the unknown, allowing growth and change to what I thought I knew and what I had been taught. As I remain open to the Holy Spirit who continues to teach me (as Jesus said in John 14:26--"The Companion, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I told you.")

A few articles on the spiritual practice of curiosity:

The Spiritual Practice of Being Curious by Jean Wise

The Spiritual Practice of Being Curious 2 by Jean Wise

Holy Curiosity as a Way to think about effective listening

As I am curiously exploring curiosity as a spiritual practice and what it means to listen effectively and to have a "holy curiosity", here are some of the things I plan to practice:

• keep and open heart and mind toward others
• practice active listening
• ask open-ended questions
• allow curiosity to guide

I won't get it right all the time. Like any practice, it takes practice.

I look forward to exploring curiosity more.

May it be an adventurous journey!

Rev. Deb

A previous post on being curious:

Embracing Soul Care-- Be Curious! (May 31, 2018)

Haiku inspired by Jesus

There are many places at Lake Junaluska in NC that I want to visit each time I am there: the Rose Walk, the chapel, the bookstore, the cross, Inspiration Point and Jesus.

I made it by to see Jesus on our way out this last time. The statue of Jesus shows him offering the bread and the wine. For whatever reason, this statue captures my attention. 

His feet remind me of the verse that says:

"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”" ~Isaiah 52:7

It's pretty cool that this statue is overlooking the mountains and Lake Junaluska in a beautiful setting.

Here is the Haiku inspired by the statue as I was thinking about it last night:

following Jesus:
humility, letting go;
Come, Holy Spirit.
DD, 6/26/22

As I transition into family leave of absence, I follow Jesus. It is a journey, an adventurous journey. There is much unknown, but Thomas Merton assists me in this time as well with his prayer:

"My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.

And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road,

though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though
I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.

I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone."

Rev. Deb

Photos are mine, taken on 6/11/22.