As you read this today, on Friday, I am in New Mexico with Meg and Mike McPeek, studying and praying with a small group of people at the Charis Mandala Center. My friend Rory McEntee and the team there have worked to develop a space that fosters inter-spiritual dialogue and community development—an essential practice for us in these days. Their team worked with Fr. Thomas Keating, looking at how the practice of Centering Prayer can nurture a deep appreciation across the boundaries we impose in our lives. How can we foster a receptivity to the Spirit’s presence in a way that affirms the gifts of others? Our plan is to bring these insights back to Grace and work with a small group to invite our own development of a connected Charis Circle in this community. I believe it is essential work for us to actually listen and understand other religious practices and their points of view, so that we can nurture compassion and peace.
On this same note of community life, today (Friday, June 27) is the last day of our two-week performing arts camp. The performances of Matilda, Jr. are this evening at 7 PM and tomorrow (Saturday, June 28) at 2 PM, and I know it will be an incredible time for the youth to celebrate together. I am so grateful for this deep work that Brandon, Mallory, and the planning team have done these past two weeks, working to foster relationships among people from Grace as well as Cherokee Bluff High School and others in the wider community. These thirty youth have spent two weeks together, celebrating one another’s gifts and sharing their creativity. It has been remarkable to see, and it makes me hopeful! So many have said how great it was to hear youth laughing and singing together in the building for these two weeks.
We continue to learn that it is possible to come together and support each other. It is possible to celebrate and learn alongside people who might seem to be quite different than you. Perhaps one great lesson is to pay attention to how and why we define and emphasize the differences we do, while we are all human beings seeking to make meaning in this world. How can we pay attention to the deeper spirit of seeking and hope that grounds all our lives? Practices of prayer and inter-spiritual dialogue nurture this sense of appreciation. Creative expressions such as the performing arts, concerts, the visual arts, and poetry foster a deep appreciation of the Spirit which connects all of human life.
These are difficult days, in so many ways, yet they are also days that give us an opportunity to foster the meaning-making that is so important for our lives. It is not easy work. It takes intentionality to support these conversations and experiences. I believe with all my heart that the Spirit is calling us to do this work together, and I am grateful for the opportunity to do so.
Blessings, always,
Stuart