Today I am busy with excitement. For over the last year the committee that I serve at our presbytery (Encouraging Churches to Flourish) has been working on bringing Susan Beaumont to this area for our yearly Thriving Church Event. Her work on how to lead in the church when the direction is not entirely clear (like when we are dealing with a pandemic and our response to it), has been helpful to my mind. We are excited for what she will teach us Friday as we gather at Calvin Church.
So this morning, as I continued to put the finishing touches on my part the day, my email ‘binged’ with an email from Susan. She was sending me the packet that we will use during our time together and I knew that it needed to be sent to any individual who has registered already. I clicked on it, and Adobe opened, and the packet was before me. Scanning down the pages of the material I came across something that I wanted to share with you and I invite you engage in. . . .
She’s adapted this practice from Richard Rohr and the Center of Action and Contemplation. The entirety of the practice can be found on their website. This is the practice:
"Sitting at a table with a pencil and a piece of blank, unlined paper, look at a nearby object (for example, a vase of flowers, a chair, a tree outside). Turn your attention to the empty or “negative” space surrounding the object. Rather than focus on the object’s contours, look at the lines and curves of the space butting up against the object, the places in between and around the thing itself. Breathe deeply and begin to draw these nooks and crannies of air and emptiness. Keep your focus on the “negative” space as you draw.
You might draw all of the spaces around the object or spend just a few moments drawing. When your pencil comes to a stop, observe the form and detail of the “nothingness” you’ve drawn. Know that your True Self, though perhaps less visible than ego and persona, is spacious and objective. Let your inner witness quietly observe the “negative space” within yourself. Rest in this abundant emptiness” that is God and how God is with you.
We are so busy in our days. Since I began writing this post for you, I have received 5 additional emails that need my attention. Some will be quick response, others required more time. . . And they are drawing me away from sitting with the abundance that is God. I am learning, through this practice, that my apparent ’nothingness’ that sits on my page is not ’nothing.’ It is the chance for God come and fill me.
I know that it is tempting to just rush past this post. Rush on to the emails, the appointments, the phone calls, or whatever else is calling to you. But what would happen if you stopped for even 5 minutes and tired the practice that I put before you? How could God shape you day? Your faith?
Blessings
Rev. Derek
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