What a year it’s been!
What a year it’s been!
Oh wait.
It’s January 22.
And friends, I am exhausted.
I am energized by the ministry I am doing, excited by the possibilities of collaboration that have arisen, and leaning into places where I might be more fully myself in this coming year.
And. I am tired.
In the midst of the exhaustion, I have been engaging in a number of Continuing Education courses. I’ve enrolled and/or participated in:
Nevertheless She Preached: Reimagining Church Practices Cohorts
Embodied Leadership: Practicing Inner Work as Political Action
Organizing for People of Faith
United in Faith: A Call to Action
Time Management for Pastors
Listening and Serving: Community-Based Ministry
Coaching for Spirit-Led Leadership
This sounds like a lot, and it is. Part of this work is engaging the practical requirements that the Book of Discipline and our Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference puts forward for clergy each year/quadrennium. I enjoy learning and gaining skills that support my ministry and help me to be more present for you and the ministries in which you all participate.
One gift that has come from this variety of classes, webinars, and seminars is the gift of noticing and acknowledging my body and the space it occupies.
I walk through this practice often with my therapist: what is your body feeling right now? What is the shape of the pit in your stomach? What is the weight of the thing on your chest? What color is it? Is it spikey, smooth, bouncy, large, small? How old is it?
The majority of these faith-centered learning opportunities open with a centering. Today, I want to share that centering with you.
Take a moment to get comfortable, because you’ll be where you are for a little bit.
Take a few deep breaths.
And a few more.
Then, click below to engage the video meditation.
Carrie Newcomer writes: “Light every candle that you can, we need some light to see. In these days of deepest darkness, treat each other tenderly.”
There is so much happening in our collective consciousness, locally and globally. Personally and in community. Professionally and in retired life. Within our inner child and our yet-to-be adult.
So.much.is.happening.
It is our call as people of faith to learn how to take a moment, take a breath, and acknowledge the pain and the beauty of all our humanity.
I will continue to learn and to grow, alongside many of you. I will also continue to pause, to light a candle, to take a breath – because we cannot engage the world otherwise. When I forget to breathe, when I forget to pause, I am not the pastor or parent or partner or person that I want to be.
And so, this is your invitation. To pause. To take a breath. To allow yourself to settle into the fullness of who you might become.
And to consider, as Tara Brach says, how we might wash the world’s feet (without forgetting our own).
We share this journey together.
Yours in Community,
Rev. Rachel