Am I beating a dead horse? Nicki is ushering us forward into the new year, the year of the ox, but I thought that I would try pull together my response just under the deadline. It is Sunday morning and I have been singing some songs, drinking coffee and watching Fran roll around in the wet (very wet!) grass. Where else should I be right now? Am I missing something? I guess my question is:
“How should someone trying to study the present and the natural world go about finding a faith community?"
I could say that the holidays and travels are my excuses for not responding to this article, but that would only be partly true. I found Eric’s comments to be very useful to me, but I also realized that in reading everyone’s response to this article that I am, maybe, coming from a different place than most people in this group. Trying to gather rather than shed. I did not have a very specific and guided church upbringing and my father is definitely not a pastor. I was born into a mid-western Catholic family and, like many families in this faith today, I have not been to a service in quite a few years despite that fact that I have a Catholic Church within walking distance of my house. My grandparents still go to church and Packer games regularly, both being equally sacred. We discussed Garrison Keillor tidbits more frequently than scripture and on Christmas night of this year, my mom, sister and I gathered together to celebrate the sacred holiday by reading ‘Santaland’ by David Sedaris. It is hilarious if you have not read it, but maybe not the most appropriate thing to do on this day.
I have to admit that I had originally bought this edition of Orion to read an article by Kathleen Dean Moore. I heard her speak when I lived in
I have tried, rather superficially, to explore other faiths. The philosophies of Buddhism and Judaism appeal to me, but I have realized that I can not and do not want to convert from my pseudo-Christian upbringing. It is who I am, so the task that I have put on myself is to re-understand this foundation. And to my surprise I have found some wonderful teachers, poets mainly. Also, Marcus Borg’s writing has helped me tremendously to look at the bible as metaphor and myth. I have always felt conflicted about how to approach the bible, especially as the wealth of historical criticism has cast tremendous doubt on many presumed facts. He, however, has helped me to look back to the bible and Christianity for what I need and I think that that kind of personal interpretation is alright for the time being. It is a transformative religion. Jesus as a teacher was a radical feminist and humanitarian and his guidance of how to live a life of love and compassion are invaluable to me. I can appreciate this world around me without him, but humans have to be reminded of how to treat each other and serve each other and the world. I can not learn to forgive in the laboratory—it is too sterile. We will not be able to cultivate true compassion through science, no matter how interconnected we may find systems be in this world. This is the strongest message from Christianity. I have also found the writing of Andrew Harvey to be useful, especially his emphasis of the need for more cultivation of the sacred feminine in Christian thought.
Annie Dillard writes, “It could be that God has not absconded, but spread, as our vision and understanding of the universe have spread, to a fabric of spirit and sense so grand and subtle, so powerful in a new way, that we can feel blindly of its hem.” When asked if she has had a religious awakening, Marilynne Robinson replied, “A mystical experience would be wasted on me. Ordinary things have always seemed numinous to me.” I think that this is the 'enduring God' that Eric alludes to in his article.
If I have found the natural world as a source of inspiration, how do I nurture and carry this ‘seeing’ into a faith community? Can I find a church that will accept me if I do not take the bible literally all the time? I like how Kevin said that our religions need to leave room for "growing in our belonging" As I start to feel (slightly) more settled in my young adult life, I like the idea of growing into a specific tradition. But can we introduce poetry into our Sunday morning discussions once in awhile?
I know that a new article is on the way, but I am curious to hear from the rest of the people in the group about what thought and ideas this article brought up in them.
What are you doing on this Sunday morning?
1 comment:
...trying to gather rather than shed.
...i still believe in, for lack of a better word, more.
...i find that constant discovery and questioning is humbling.
...there will always be more.
...an authentic observer of the elusive landscape around us.
jess, this is just a lovely, lovely response. so full of the poetry you are seeking. and i can't wait to look up Kathleen Dean Moore and Andrew Harvey.
let me tell you about my Sunday morning...first we watched Mister Rogers. he said, there's so much to see and discover in this world. we said, amen!
then the bustle of getting ready and heading for the bus to church. at the last minute, we had to change Mabel's pants, and the bus went whizzing by without us. so back home and wondering what to do.
we settled on the paper and the bakery. Mabel tasted apricot jam for the first time. i ate soup. Andy drank an americano. then back home on the bus with a tired girl who laid her head on her papa's shoulder and fell asleep before we made it home.
now we've got football on tv--the Steelers (AP's favorite team) vs. the Chargers (my family's had season tickets longer than i've been alive). my dad and brother are at the game in Pittsburgh in the snow.
it's a little cold in the house. starting a fire in the woodstove might wake the little one. and that's good reason to quit this computer and go cuddle my sweet boy and watch the game.
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