From the very beginning of The Practice, we have always appreciated the important lessons we can learn from various Christian traditions throughout the history of the Church. This summer, we will spend time learning about our sisters and brothers, some you may know and others you may not. We hope to not only learn about them, but also to listen to what they might have to teach us in this day and age.
Week 1: Irenaeus
In the first week of our series, we heard about Irenaeus, his stand against gnosticism and how the doctrine of the incarnation helps us avoid gnosticism today.
Kingdom Practice
This week, let’s continue to walk the incarnation. Let’s meditate on the profound reality that Jesus experienced everything we have, from tiredness and sorrow, joy and celebration, and even suffering. How does this truth impact the way we walk with Jesus?
Week 2: The Desert Mothers and Fathers
In our second week, we looked to the Desert Mothers and Fathers. There are remarkable similarities between our culture today and the culture of the fourth century. What word of wisdom might these wonderful saints offer to us in this day and age? What can we learn from their resistance to being carried along by cultural currents? What if God is inviting us to be a little weird, to flee from power, comfort, and significance, and to do it all for the sake of love?
Kingdom Practice
This week, let’s continue to practice centering prayer together. In a world gone mad, let’s make time every day to quiet the inner and outer noise so we can center our attention on the presence of Jesus. As we do, I wonder how we might find ourselves grounded in God’s loving presence in this world.
Week 3: Harriet Tubman
In our third week, Julian Davis Reid guided us in a reflection on the life of Harriet Tubman. He asked how we might follow Harriet as she followed Jesus, and invited us to consider two specific practices, sanctuary and sleep. Where and how do we need to encounter sancuary? How can sleep deepen our faith, and how can we turn outward, pursuing sanctuary for others in our world?
Kingdom Practice
This week, let’s consider the practices of sanctuary and sleep. How might you seek spaces of sanctuary or how can you approach sleep as a spiritual practice. And let’s not forget to turn outward, considering how God might be inviting us to pursue sanctuary for others in our world.
Week 3: Ella Baker
This week, Juliet Liu invited us consider the example of Ella Baker. In her life and work, Ella might show us how our contemplation to move us to action. She would teach us to take seriously the dignity of all people, even the most ordinary. And she would encourage us not to dispair but to find hope in the people who point us toward joy.
Kingdom Practice
This week, let’s continue to walk in whatever stood out in Juliet’s teaching about Ella Baker. What resonated with you? Was it the example of contemplation leading to action, seeing the dignity of all people, or finding hope in the people who bring joy? Let’s continue to walk in that and listen for how God might be inviting us to live in Ella’s example. If you would like to stay with one of the images we used in visio divina Sunday, you can find them here. (The Saints of Selma and a photo of Ella Baker.)
Week 3: Thomas Kelley
This week, Ted Harro invited us to listen to an imagined letter to our community from the Quaker mystic Thomas Kelly. Kelly offered some affirmation, encouragement, and challenges while inviting us to consider how we prepare for and enter our shared worhsip gatherings.
Kingdom Practice
This week (and really moving forward), how might we take Kelly’s invitation to heart? Each day this week, make your first prayer as you wake up, “Take all of me. Take all of me. Take all of me.” Ask God to fill you from your first waking moments with His light and power and love.
Then put a reminder in your calendar to prepare for the next time you will gather with your spiritual community – for church, a small group meeting, or even a cup of coffee. As you prepare for that gathering, pray and hope for God’s light and power and love to fill you, the space in which you will gather, the people you encounter on the way, and the people with whom you will gather.
Additional Resources
Books
Streams of Living Water by Richard Foster
Against Heresies by Irenaeus
Disappearing Church by Mark Sayers
Streams in the Wasteland by Andrew Arndt
The Wisdom of the Desert by Thomas Merton
Desert Fathers and Mothers by Christine Valters Paintner
Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford
Night Flyer by Tiya Miles
Ella Baker by J. Todd Moye
A Testament of Devotion by Thomas Kelly
The Eternal Promise by Thomas Kelly
Audio and Video
Ella Baker Oral History Interview
The Story of Ella Baker
Songs
I Shall Not Want by Audrey Assad
I Want Jesus to Walk with Me by Eric Bibb
If you have a story to share about how you have been encountering God in this season, we would love to hear it!
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