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We thought about friends absent because of illness or work demands. Another friend had warned us he'd be late, so we did the Gathering Question first, about plans for this series of holidays (Valentine's, Presidents' Day, Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday). This morphed into memories of Mardi Gras and New Orleans, some good, some disturbing.
In choosing worship for us, Kaye picked up a theme from our recent readings, that the Anglican Church changed in the 1830s when the "Oxford Movement" opened believers to an appreciation for their heritage from the Middle Ages. They put the hyphen in Anglo - Catholic. So we read prayers from the website of Pope Leo XIV. "Our heart is restless -- only Your word can give it peace and fullness... May Your Word never be absent from our lips and hearts."
Two hours later, Kaye led us through a practice of deep breathing with a passage from 1 John 4:16: "Abide..." (breathe in) "in God's love" (breathe out). After about six of those, everything seemed right! (I practiced this again when I woke Tuesday at 3am).
Yr. D, 1st yr: Michael, Mason; 2nd yr: Lanie; 3rd yr: Joyce, Susan; 4th yr, Jessica, Rita; 5th yr "Wide Angle," Kaye. Mentor: Scott. Absent: Michael, Jessica, Lanie.
In "chat" we each wrote a sentence about whatever drew the most energy from us as we engaged with materials this week. Everyone was invited to respond.
- Susan: The Enlightenment video was funny in places but wish they had talked about less of Rousseau. (Comments: The experts summarized the popular view of the Enlightenment: "Guys in white wigs proclaiming that reason and rationality would now rule, and then they invented the guillotine." Then they opened the era up to more nuanced appreciation.)
- Kaye: In the essay, the quote from T Merton: we do not live more fully by doing more, seeing more, tasting more, and experiencing more..... On the contrary, some of us need to discover that we will not begin to live more fully until we have the courage to do and see and taste and experience much less..... That hit home this week after travels.
- Joyce: In the essay she mentioned how words from songs and or poems can bring back memories. (We shared examples. We especially enjoyed Joyce's memories of a memorial service for a youth group leader where a diverse congregation sang, and her parents' singing with records, heard through open doors and windows of the kitchen. They were "cooking," Joyce said.)
- Rita: For me, thinking about Sheldrake's summary of the 5 types of spirituality. Are they really "types" of spirituality OR five "expressions" of a singular concept? I also learned what a "novice" sister is. :)
- Kaye: Ezra Klein podcast about Attention was interesting.
- Mason: I have been thinking this week about the inclusion of the Song of Songs in the biblical canon, various theories were advanced in the material and it’s been interesting to me to ponder on that “mystery”. (Pressed for more, Mason said that these songs have been viewed as allegories for the love of God for us, but more recently as celebrations of erotic love as a gift.)
Then we considered a question posed in the EfM website "respond" section: "In the early 19th century CE... some theologians emphasized beauty, transcendence, mystery, and a yearning for the past, while others focused on the Enlightenment ideals of reason, science, and the future." Scott presented a choice of diagrams for these two emphases -- one, a line, with each emphasis at an end; one, a Venn diagram.
We tended to look for the middle. Susan said that the Oxford Movers did accuse their contemporaries of "idolizing" Science, but in fact, the scientists were quite often people of faith who were exploring the natural world as a way into the mind of God. Mason was "squarely in the middle." Kaye commented that EfM seems to be giving us a lot of nuns this year, and week 19's reading and week 20's chapter in Chittister have helped her to understand that the ancient tradition of religious communities isn't all about sustaining old traditions and staying safe within walls. From the earliest days, monasteries and convents were free to confront social ills and to work outside their walls -- and to show hospitality inside -- for the common good.
When we explored the world of Nabal, from his own point of view, we saw how his churlishness could be seen as shrewd, safe, courageous. He could see himself as successful, and he probably gets a lot of requests for handouts. Sin in his world is the threat posed by David and his armed rebel band. What redeems this story is Abigail's generous hospitality.
That last idea of "hospitality" really opened up the TR. We connected through the action source, a shocking memory of a woman banging on the front door pleading for refuge from pursuers who had beaten her. Told not to open the door, our friend did open the door, did call the police and an ambulance.
Kaye related that story to something else in Chittister, who writes that "hospitality" has come to mean nothing more than putting on a cocktail party, a self-serving and superficial presentation. Kaye told us that "hospitality" is risky, and also, communal. We let down our barriers, we open up our front door.
The culture source yielded an image of community hospitality in the folk tale of "Stone Soup," which Kaye recalled from a recent reading. Mason said that hospitality is both the ruination and the saving grace for Jimmy Stewart's character in It's a Wonderful Life. Scott quoted a funny bit of advice from a psychologist's book: "Invite your dragon to tea." We found examples in history, such as the suffragette whose hospitality to lawmakers broke down their resistance to women's rights.
Looking for insights and applications, we had some ah-ha moments. In our media, we see a lot of demonization of people in need; wouldn't hospitality be a better way to redeem the situation? We each gave examples of hospitality in the ministries of our different parishes. Speaking for myself, I was a bit surprised to realize how much we at St. James actually do drop barriers and come together in community to give hospitality to people who need it. And we all had stories of the risks in these ministries. We concluded with resolve to support these efforts.
It got pretty intense. I was glad that Kaye's worship (described at the top) was so good for re-centering us!
Susan will bring worship. We will engage with readings and videos for Week 21 -- lots of good stuff! I'm especially curious about a couple of cryptic assignments: Year 4 is to read James 2:14-26 in three different translations, but why? Year 5 is advised to read Mark 6, but why? Our TR will come from our own conversation. (You wonder how? Check out week 21's "reflect" tab).
Participants expressed concern for each other, especially for illness in the homes of people both present and absent.
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