Leaving Church...
Poetry Friday
Friends,
Church, organized religion no matter the denomination, can harm or at the very least not fulfill what you are looking to experience. Those of you who have been harmed in some way by religion or by people in religious circles, I see you. Those of you who vow never to step inside of a church again, I grieve with you. It’s not always easy to leave something you once found so foundational in your life. I see the hurt covered by anger and the grief covered by apathy. If you have left a worship community because there was an awakening or deconstruction be gentle with yourself. I invite you to hold curiosity to see if there is another path for you to feel the complete love of the Divine. You may also want to find a trusted person to help you sort out your feelings and find a path to heal. Healing is possible. You may choose to find a community that is more open, however, going back to organized religion doesn’t have to be the answer for you if that is where you end up.
God never leaves you even if you leave the church. You are always beloved and nothing can turn the Divine away from wanting the best for you. It may be that you will find Divine presence in outdoor exploration and the beauty of nature. Maybe you get lost in music or painting or meditation or yoga. Find your path to internal joy and the Divine presence within you!
peace,
Jace
Why I Left the Church
by Richard Garcia
Maybe it was
because the only time
I hit a baseball
it smashed the neon cross
on the church across
the street. Even
twenty-five years later
when I saw Father Harris
I would wonder
if he knew it was me.
Maybe it was the demon-stoked
rotisseries of purgatory
where we would roast
hundreds of years
for the smallest of sins.
Or was it the day
I wore my space helmet
to catechism? Clear plastic
with a red-and-white
inflatable rim.
Sister Mary Bernadette
pointed toward the door
and said, "Out! Come back
when you're ready."
I rose from my chair
and kept rising
toward the ceiling
while the children
screamed and Sister
kept crossing herself.
The last she saw of me
was my shoes disappearing
through cracked plaster.
I rose into the sky and beyond.
It is a good thing
I am wearing my helmet,
I thought as I floated
and turned in the blackness
and brightness of outer space,
my body cold on one side and hot
on the other. It would
have been very quiet
if my blood had not been
rumbling in my ears so loud.
I remember thinking,
Maybe I will come back
when I'm ready.
But I won't tell
the other children
what is was like.
I'll have to make something up
http://areaderinparis.blogspot.com/2014/08/richard-garcia-why-i-left-church.htmlErica Charis-Molling Lamentation For Leaving The Church all the unborn allelujahs still and silent the body broken but bread no longer reaching my mouth gold cross hanging empty its gilded assurance suspended in the dark and neck less barely there another Erica bows her head and waits for a sign former self still full of a certain faith this chest pressed full of holy ghosts shaken down for good measure shivering hearth that once blazed with tongues the language of incandescent favor and angels unbridled jaw galloping and glorious head thrown back wild keeling wind at my back before and behind me hands lifting so light every burden no longer mine my body a temple a tempter an atonement no nothing my god this blood couldn’t buy back from the grave offer me again sanguine life unending born again promise canopied from each limb the deathbed’s posts queer tree sing of a sacrificial season second chances resurrecting all I’ve buried I want to believe in burning stars holy invisible in the too-bright blue of mourning teach me to trust the sky vaulting silence pierced with unseen light I push fists in my eyes and they appear vacant open this wound where I once buried prayer xéno seed sunk deep in this earth god’s sun not forgotten I yearn for another home a germ of hope my vining tongue zealous for fruit its skin these lips studded with thorns. Erica Charis-Molling is a poet, educator, and librarian. Posted from https://tinderboxpoetry.com/lamentation-for-leaving-the-church
Practical Ways To See God in Nature Below is a list of things to try while reflecting on God in nature: Pray: This can be a simple, organic time of prayer and reflection as you become inspired by nature, or you can take your prayer time outside to change up your environment. Consider bringing a prayer journal and tracking which times you prayed in nature. Read: Take your Bible or devotional outside with you. Maybe there is a book on spiritual life or theology that you have wanted to read. Being in a quiet place in nature might help you focus more on what God wants to show you through your reading. Listen to music: If you are someone who loves to worship God through music, try bringing some music with you outside. It could be worship music or other types of music that inspire you and help you slow down enough to connect to your environment. Interact with nature: Get up close and personal with God’s creation. Use as many of your senses as you can. Maybe work with animals or wildlife. Even taking photographs or drawing what you see in nature is a way to interact. To explore more: https://www.gcu.edu/blog/spiritual-life/weekly-devotional-seeing-god-nature
As a child I was accustomed to spend many hours alone in my rowboat, fishing along the river, when there was no sound save the lapping of the waves against the boat. These were times when it seemed as if the earth and river and the sky and I were one beat of the same pulse. It was a time of watching and waiting for what I did not know—yet I always knew. There would come a moment when beyond the single pulse beat there was a sense of Presence which seemed always to speak to me. My response to the sense of Presence always had the quality of personal communion. There was no voice. There was no image. There was no vision. There was God. - Howard Thurman from: https://blog.broadleafbooks.com/nature-howard-thurman-signature-of-god
Peace be with you during the next week.
This came in my email this morning and I wanted to share it as another resource that may be helpful. It could be used for any hurtful situation but lends itself to leaving church also. ~ Jace
Hurtful encounter examen*
Reflect on an experience in which you were hurt or troubled,
an interaction whose emotional impact has stayed with you.
What is the hurt I felt, or still feel?
Am I open to what my pain may teach me?
I let the hurts come into my awareness,
lift them up, and look behind them.
What gifts were at work in me during this experience?
What strengths, wisdom or grace assisted me?
How was I accompanied?
I let these things come into my awareness;
lift them up, and give thanks.
How was my shadow involved?
What was my part, that contributed to the trouble?
What wounds were at work in me?
Did hidden energies of fear, anger, or grief in me
shape what happened?
I let these things come into my awareness;
lift them up, seek healing, and accept forgiveness.
And what was beyond my control?
What would have happened no matter what I did?
What were the other person's choices, not mine?
What do I need to let go of?
I let these things come into my awareness;
lift them up, and let them go.
What of love have I learned?
I let these things come into my awareness;
lift them up, and give thanks.
* I'm adapting the examen, an ancient prayer form contemplating how we have been both in and out of harmony with God. It's often called an “examination of conscience; ” I call it an examination of consciousness, exploring both our light and shadow sides.
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light