Dear People of Christ Church,
In the “institutional church” structures where I run, this is the season of the long-meeting-masquerading-as-retreat. I serve on several diocesan bodies, and we are all having our annual “retreats” this time of year—actually, just really long meetings that are labeled retreats so we’ll all feel better about blocking off huge time chunks on our calendars. We had our “retreat” for the Commission on Ministry, the group that works with the ordination process for priests and deacons and came out of it with a whole lot of great “fixes” for our work together, but it was short of a retreat. Next week I have a 5 hour meeting with the bishop and the council of deans—my guess is that we will come out of that with some great ideas, too, but that it might be just short of spiritually refreshing. I’m proud to say that our own annual vestry retreat is, in fact, a retreat!
Today, though, I had the pleasure of one of those long meetings that actually was a retreat. A small group of those ministering in Waltham have been meeting for many years as the interfaith “Waltham Ministerial Association” for support and community. Rabbi David from Temple Beth Israel led us in a storytelling workshop. Rev. Marc from First Parish made lentil soup. In the afternoon, Becky from Chaplains on the Way offered us the labyrinth that COTW uses in their ministry. Since COTW has moved to Christ Church, they host monthly labyrinth walks for their community right here in our parish hall, most recently this past Wednesday.
I’ve always really loved the labyrinth as a symbol—the idea is found in all kinds of spiritual communities. In Christianity, though, they began to catch on in the middle ages when it became popular for people to go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem and other sacred sites. For those who couldn’t, the labyrinth was presented as a way of engaging the prayer of movement and spiritual journey without the hardship of actual travel. One of the most famous ones is in Chartres Cathedral. There’s one on the cover of our Pentecost bulletins. I have one on my ankle, too.
In a labyrinth, the pilgrim has a destination: there is a center to it, and each step brings you closer. This is as opposed to a maze, which tries to get you lost. The circuits of a labyrinth bring you closer to the center, then further out, then close again. You think you’re almost there, but then find yourself in a different direction. You think you are furthest away from your destination, and suddenly it appears close on the horizon. As you walk, your breathing has a chance to calm, your body settles, and, ever so silently, you might hear God whispering.
Blessings,
Sara+
Have a few minutes? “Walk” a labyrinth with author Jan Richardson. The video is 9 minutes long. Find it on youtube.