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What ways are you observing Lent? Do you have a sacred space?
I can totally agree Emily. I am an urban dweller where space is at a premium and there is nothing quiet or sacred about it. Unless, like playing the game 'where is Waldo' you learn to make space, sacred space part of what's going on around you. Another child just lost his life in a random shooting. Returning home with his family from a high basketball game where is cousin is on the team. I found myself at the community vigil... that for me was sacred. Connecting how I can honor and pray in community while listening for what I can do to change things. I stopped looking even for the minutes Emily and now I do much better knowing that in the heart of the city sacred work is done on the move. It took me awhile to learn this dance but, once I got the hang of the steps it has been an amazing journey.
Posted by: Valora (Chicago, Il)
Posted: 3/16/2009 2:10:46 PM
I really like the idea of a sacred space, the collecting of the items to be placed there, etc. I really like the idea, too, of contemplative prayer. But I learned awhile back that I'm no contemplative. And I think I'm coming to realize, too, that a sacred space -- at least as a defined, particular spot -- is not for me. Figuring out what is for you is as much a part of the journey, as it is in figuring out what is not for you. I'm with Emily on the notion of finding the sacred in the every day paces of our lives (and I don't mean to say, Inez, that your thoughts on sacred spaces are mutually exclusive with this). One of my favorite books is Spiritual Literacy: Finding the Sacred in Your Every Day Life, by Fred and Mary Brussat. The authors suggest 26 practices (or disciplines, if you will) that help you see and appreciate the sacred in everything you do, from changing a diaper, to paying a bill, to shopping for groceries. I've used this concept for the last 10 years or so and it connects me with God time and time each day.
Posted by: Linda (Arlington Heights, IL)
Posted: 3/11/2009 3:19:08 PM
Sacred Space? Try a few sacred minutes.
With two small children, finding a sacred space doesn’t seem realistic to me. And if I truly know anything about myself, it is that I am a realist. So instead of space, I am more successful if I simply find sacred time for myself. And when I say time, I don’t mean an hour. I may be talking about 15 minutes. You think I’m about to say it is 10 minutes of meditation in the evening when the children are sleeping and the house is quiet. Wrong. If you know me, you know that is just not my style. Rather, I find sacred time in those 15 or 20 minutes after work when the kids are happily occupied and I can listen to National Public Radio while I’m washing dishes or getting dinner ready. Doesn’t sound sacred? Doesn’t sound nurturing? Then you haven’t tried it. See, sacred to me are those precious minutes standing in my kitchen and learning about what happened in the world that day: events that are altering our economy, our culture, our sense of security. It is far too easy to live in a bubble of diaper-changing, Lego-playing and Elmo-watching. So, for me, sacred time is having those minutes of reconnecting with the world around me. Sacred time are those minutes that remind me I am a part of something bigger than myself. Those minutes indeed nurture my spirit. Those minutes indeed are sacred.
Posted by: Emily (Evanston, IL)
Posted: 3/9/2009 12:59:14 PM
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Women and
water:
let's begin
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Delegates to the 2005 Triennial
Convention of Women of the ELCA asked our organization to
promote awareness of water issues and encouraged synodical women’s organizations to make awareness of local
and regional water issues a priority.
To learn more, visit
Women of the ELCA's
Web site.
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