Dear friends, fellow pilgrims on the road, even when the road is uncertain and shifting…I don’t need to tell you it’s a challenging season in the United States with all the disruption, disorientation, fear and sadness that has been generated for so many. Living in the Washington area, we see this up close and you’re likely seeing it too wherever you live.
As our first answer to these times, for the sake of witness to Christ and as a way to point to God’s Kingdom, Coracle is launching a short series we’re naming “Resilience, Response, and Rest” and we are inviting you to join in with us.
Resilience is ‘the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties’. Resilience is to endure strain without breaking, even finding life in the midst of hardship.
In this time, active Response in a variety of forms is legitimate and called for as followers of Jesus who listen to God in order to discern what is each of ours to do and when.
Especially when the news and noise is constant and exhausting and consequences are felt more widely and proximally, the spiritual practice of Rest, like Jesus retreating into the arms of his Father (Mk 1.35 etc) and the disciples gathering to pray (Acts 1.14 etc), is crucial.
“Resilience, Response, and Rest”
(more offerings will become clear and we’ll let you know about them as they do, but for now…)
– Starting THIS THURSDAY, March 13th from 12-12.45pm ET and continuing each Thursday til April 24, we are creating space to gather virtually for conversation and prayer on Zoom. Join for one, join when you can, join for all if able. We’ll take a half hour to talk about how you’re doing and what you’re sensing, and then take 15 minutes to pray. Expect a contemplative, respectful approach.
– NEXT SATURDAY March 15 from 9am-12pm at the Ministry Center in Arlington, I’m teaching on the deeper spiritual life, “Why Not Become All Flame?”. I’ll take some time to directly connect the themes of this talk to the current moment in which we find ourselves. I really would like you to come to this, it’s deep in my heart to share. Register here.
– Some of our spiritual directors (thank you SDs!) are offering free Spiritual Direction sessions if you are directly impacted by changes in the federal government. Currently, at least twelve of our spiritual directors are ready to assist you. Email Margot to learn more about that.
– Times like these are critical for staying connected to God. I strongly encourage you to take a day long or overnight spiritual retreat at Corhaven in nature and solitude. Schedule that here. Our hosts, Kevin and Denise Goertzen, would be happy to pray with you if that would be helpful. Respond by resting in the love of God.
In Person Conversations and Prayer
– In Arlington, Wednesday night April 2, 7-8.30pm at the Ministry Center. We’ll have a time discussing how people are being led to respond, and pray together. Email Kristy to let us know you’re interested.
– In Baltimore, stay tuned as details become clear. Email Scott to let him know you’re interested.
– At Corhaven, stay tuned as details become clear. Email Ken to let him know you’re interested.
– I’ll be offering written reflections with at least one Soundings post soon on how the contemplative life and posture speak to this moment. If you’re reading this you’ll get that too. If you don’t already, follow me on Substack, where I’ve already written for this moment here and here.
– One way to respond is to become familiar with and stay informed about Christian nationalism. Kristen Du Mez has just published a helpful list of people to be listening to in order to help us understand this potent cultural force which perverts the message of Jesus. (Jn 18.6). Let me know if you have interest in learning more about Christian nationalism. I’m wondering about watching a documentary on your own time and then discussing it together.
“Resilience, Response, and Rest”—Let’s do this, let’s do it together. God is with us and unshaken. God will lead us, and God will take care of you.
On the Journey,
PS: If you’d like to enable us to offer things like this and more like it, we need your support to do it, please make an investment today. If you’d consider a substantial gift, email me to talk about it. There is a clear element from Coracle’s corporate discernment in 2022 that I haven’t talked much about yet, but it may be the time to do it, and I would need your help.