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Song Bird

The song bird sang,

A notorious tune.

A sudden bang,

that ended so soon.

The air was still,

and nothing heard.

A silent trill,

of the dead bird.

(A poem I wrote in 1995)

Christian Education as a Vital Ministry of a Congregation

You enter a congregation for their “Christian Education hour”. You might hear children singing, laughing, and talking. You smell bread baking and a smell you can’t quite define. You see beautiful banners, whimsical artwork, and adults walking a labyrinth. This is just a small sampling of the many aspects of Christian Education ministry. Each congregation’s Christian Education ministry looks different. Christian Education Ministry is not just for children. It is a vital multigenerational ministry within a congregation.

Christian Education Ministry can be defined in many ways. The Book of Order defines Christian Education (they use the term “nurture” instead of “education”) as “a process of bringing [people] to full maturity in Jesus Christ” (W-6.1003). I believe Christian Education can also be defined as any activity that enhances a persons understanding of their faith and helps them become more aware of The Holy (God) within and around them. As congregations and individuals we are called to worship God and serve God by serving others. Christian Education enhances, informs, supports, and shapes worship and mission and service in congregations and individuals. 

Through Christian Education ministries the people of God become more aware of The Holy within themselves. When they become more aware of God within them they become more fully engaged in worshiping God. Through Bible studies they learn about the ways God works in and through people and how God works within them for transformation. They learn about the how and why of worship. They are able to engage in worship in creative ways. Christian Education ministries are vital in shaping the worship life of a congregation.

“[Christian] nurture...[is] one way in which Christians minister to one another” (Book of Order W-6.1003). Christian Education ministries help people become aware of God around them. This awareness of God leads Christians to become more fully  engaged in ministries of pastoral care, mission, and service. They engage in activities that inform and transform their views of the world around them. They experience the transforming love of God and are called to share this love with all of Gods children. Christian Education ministries are vital in shaping the mission and service of a congregation. 

Ministries of Christian Education provide experiences that nurture our awareness of God within and around us. Christian Education ministries are embodied in many ways. They all look and feel different because each congregation has a different ethos. However, all ministries of Christian Education seek to enhance, inform, support, and shape individuals and congregations in the ministries of worship and service. Christian Education is a vital to the overall ministry of a congregation.

(Note: "The Book of Order" is the governing document for the Presbyterian Church U.S.A.)

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May the light of God 
   illumine the heart of my soul,
May the flame of Christ 
   kindle me to love,
May the fire of the Spirit 
   free me to live this day, 
   tonight and for ever.
-J. Philip Newell

Mind, Body & Spirit

The mind, body, spirit connection both baffles and intrigues me.  Being a psychology major the workings of the mind have always fascinated me.  Being brought up in the church the idea of the Holy Spirit has also intrigued me.  Being an athlete the workings of the body also interests me.  However, it is only in the past year or so have I begun to explore the many dimensions of the mind, body, spirt connection.

For years our culture (including much of Christianity) has pitted the mind, body, and spirit against one another. We were told that our bodies and minds were the enemies-the reason for sin. We were told that the only good was The Spirit. We have been told that we are at our core sinful. Now I don’t dispute that we are all sinful, in fact I know we are all sinful. However, I have come to believe that God see us as the spiritually perfect beings we truly are. 

What I have begun to realize is that the mind, body, spirit connection is essential to being human. We can not have one without the others. When one is suffering the others are affected. In other words the whole of who we are (mind, body & sprit) is always in need of God’s transformational and healing love. I was first introduced to this concept of attending to the mind, body, and spirit by my Spiritual Director, Anita Cummings. In our work together we always spend time attending to the mind, spirit and body. Actually, we attend to them concurrently. For Anita, ‘body work’ (attending to the flow of energy in our body in a variety of ways) is an essential aspect of spiritual healing and transformation. 

In the beginning I was skeptical of ‘body work’ as a form of spiritual direction and transformation. I wondered how ‘body work’ could affect spiritual transformation. It just seemed so foreign and it wasn’t part of my Presbyterian theos that said that the Spirit and the body were at odds. As we began attending to my body through this ‘body work‘ I became aware of how this ‘work’ affected my mind and spirit. I began to sense and feel the connection between my body and my mind and spirit. When I attend to my body I am also attending to my mind and my spirit.

There are so many dimensions of the mind, body, spirit connection that I continue to explore-intellectually, physically, and spiritually. What connections do you see? What dimensions and/or connections would you like to explore? What questions do you have about the connection between mind, body and spirit?

For me, the connection between mind, body, and spirit is one of God’s surprising wonders!

  

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Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the Glory of God.

Romans 15:7

Attending to our Divine DNA

The body is an amazing thing! I use the word amazing in its truest sense. The way in which each bone, muscle, tendon, ligament, and nerve are connected to each other leaves me awe struck. The fact that merely stretching a muscle in my foot can at the same time stretch another muscle in my back and my shoulder is truly wonderful and wondrous. 

I am beginning to realize that our bodies know what they need to be healthy and feel good. The problem is that we are not very good at ‘listening’ to them.  I know this is true for me. In fact, there are many aches, pains, etc. that I ‘suffer’ with because I think that is normal for me. Yet, a small voice in my gut says “You don’t have to be ‘suffering’. Go to the doctor. Find healing.” Yet, because of my stubbornness, my shame, my finical situation I do nothing.

This is not totally accurate. Thanks to my Spiritual Director, Anita Cummings, I have begun to listen to my body. Recently, I was feeling very sore and tight. I knew I needed to do ‘body work’ with her. So I set up an appointment to just do ‘body work’. As she was guiding me through Wallace Method stretching she used a phrase that stuck with me.  It hit upon this idea of ‘listening’ to our bodies. She said “you need to feel and sense when an area of you body needs more attention.” We need to learn to sense when our bodies need our attention. Then we need to learn how to attend to those areas of our body that  need healing or extra attention. 

Attending to our intricate and amazing bodies is very spiritual. We are wonderfully and uniquely created in God’s image. As Fr. Richard Rohr states, “Our DNA is divine.” Thus, by attending to our amazing bodies we are attending to the divine in all of us. 

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There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.
Nelson Mandela