One of the best parts of living in a home owned by our local Mennonite church is being at the center of church activities through the week. It means that our home is often filled with different faces doing different activities. One of those activities that started recently and will continue over the next few months, is discussing contemplative prayer.
About a month ago, we had the joy of reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book, "Life Together". He does not beat around the bush when it comes to telling us what living in community should look like. At first we were somewhat taken aback by what he said about the role of music in communal worship. According to Bonhoeffer, groups shouldn’t sing in harmony because it takes away from the words you’re singing and puts the attention on the individual rather than the collective. But understood from the context of a hidden community in the midst of Nazi Germany, a society in turmoil and bitterly divided, it makes more sense that for morning prayers people should rise and sing in unison to start the day as one. This is one small example among many of the way Bonhoeffer’s story reminds us of the potential of Christian community to provide a refuge and a disciplined alternative to the chaos of the world outside, equipping us to do the work that is necessary.
While before MVS we may never have thought of ourselves as those with a disciplined practice of morning prayer, we now have made space for morning meditation and prayer- at least a few days a week, and has become not only rewarding, but necessary. Joanna works in refugee resettlement, and Katrina works as a legal advocate with immigrants, and at a time like this, it is discouraging and often heartbreaking work to be doing. It is easy to get burnt out. We have discovered that through morning rituals such as prayer, we are able to combat the weariness that our work sometimes brings.
Last week we had the privilege of hosting a community dinner with a small group from our church to hear from Jack Willome, a board member of theologian Richard Rohr’s Center for Action and Contemplation. Jack talked about how so often we have intentions and plans but they don’t come to fruition because people worked themselves thin without taking time for self-care and ended up angry and tired. For our work to bear fruit in the world, our actions need to come not from a foundation in anger and despair, but a foundation in hope and love. Our own Christian tradition has resources which have been pushed to the margins for hundreds of years, resources to help us understand and grow our spiritual selves, to commit to the difficult and transformative practice of centering prayer. We need to reteach ourselves to contemplate the work we do- no matter the field- so that we can find outlets to talk about and reflect on what we are experiencing, enabling us to renew our energy and intention for the long term.
Self-care isn’t all bubble baths and massages- though those methods never hurt. MVS has given us the time and opportunities to find new forms of self-care that enrich our experiences and help us to do our jobs even better. It is not selfish, but rather a necessary aspect of selfless action, to take care of yourself so that you can help others more meaningfully. We have found that practices such as meditation/centering prayer, yoga, spending time in nature, and music making are all meaningful and regenerative activities for us to engage in, both individually and communally, to ease our minds, bodies, and spirits when it feels like we going to explode from anger at the government and the world.
We look forward to continuing this journey of contemplative prayer and practices to see their transformative potential at work in ourselves and our community.
Peace y’all.
Bonus: Some book recommendations:
The Heart of Centering Prayer: Nondual Christianity in Theory and Practice by Cynthia Bourgeault
The Sacred Enneagram: Finding Your Unique Path to Spiritual Growth by Christopher L. Heuertz
