An Old Emergence

Today is the Solemnity of the Annunciation, the historic observance of the coming of Gabriel to Mary to announce her pregnancy. It is observed exactly nine months to the day prior to Christmas. It is somewhat shameful to admit this, but I grew up in a tradition that placed little value on Mary other than the fact that she birthed Jesus (and, of course, her virginity inspired many lessons about how true love waits). In fact, throughout my protestant upbringing, our religious leaders often led us to believe that Catholics “prayed to Mary” just like they did to Jesus. And we were told how utterly wrong this was. The word “idolatry” was even thrown around for effect. In the intervening years, I have come to hold a much greater appreciation for the person of Mary than my childhood pastors would prefer. Actually, the more I think of it, my burgeoning understanding of Mary helped inform my growing feminism. How could the very mother of Christ (one of few women actually named in th...

“Ubuntu is very difficult to render into a western language. It speaks of the very essence of being human. When we want to give high praise to someone we say, 'Yu, u nobuntu'; 'Hey so-and-so has ubuntu.' then you are generous, you are hospitable, you are friendly and caring and compassionate. You share what you have. It is to say, 'my humanity is caught up, is inextricably bound up, in yours.' we belong in a bundle of life. We say, “A person is a person through other persons.'" Never has this quote from Desmond Tutu seemed so relevant than it does this week as the Supreme Court of the United States takes up discussion and arguments over two cases that directly relate to marriage equality. This is a topic so mired in stigma and profound conviction (on both sides) that it is terribly difficult to have productive discussions about it across the plumb line of ideological separation. But the thing that brings people together more often than not...

I am sitting in a Panera in Cleveland, TN on this early, rainy Monday morning. This is the first Monday in recent memory that I haven’t been rushing to wake up and roll out of bed to speed off to work. It is also the first time in almost a year that I have left Charlotte, NC for more than one day. I’m on vacation…something I haven’t really experienced in quite a while.

In the days and weeks to come, I will have a more measured response to the tragedies of the last week. From the utter destruction in my home state of Alabama to the grievous celebrations surrounding the assassination of Osama bin Laden; it is truly a time for reflection and mourning. There are many conversations that must happen regarding faith and disaster, justice and murder, “good” and “evil”.

One of the three women I have the blessing to call “Pastor” has a way with words like no one else I know. Her name is April, and she is the co-pastor of Glendale Baptist Church in Nashville, TN. Now that I’ve moved away from Nashville, I rely on copious email communication to keep April in my life on a regular basis. Every email, in addition to having a reply to my question, concern, or rant, has bits of wisdom and spiritual direction woven in.

I got the opportunity to spend four days in Nashville last week. It was indescribably wonderful to hang out with my friends whom I miss terribly. I really do have the best friends in the world. The laughter, the hugs, the deep conversations…all were things I needed more than I realized. But along the way I began to discover something that shocked me. I actually began to miss home. I really don’t like Birmingham. Compared to Nashville, it just isn’t a particularly exciting place to live. Yet I’ve started to make it my life. Now that I have (almost) fully moved into my new living space, I feel like I’m here for the long haul.

Breathe deep. Relax. Bask in this moment. This is a Holy Space, a Space meant for us to let go. Stretch your legs, your arms, the knotted muscles of your spirit. We have run swiftly, with vigor, with passion, with purpose. There have been obstacles. The path has not always been smooth. And we have been worn low. But in this space, we can be refreshed. In this space, we can encounter a fountain of life that renews. In this space we may worship with all of who we are. We may inhabit the fullness of our creation. All that separates us falls away and we are equal before Yahweh. Beyond this moment, as we continue our worship in the daily patterns of life, may we immerse ourselves in the mystery of the Holy, and may we always seek to dwell where love is the language most spoken and peace is the path most taken. May it be so. May it be so.

A few months ago I wrote a blog entry in response to the idea of our bodies being intrinsic to our individually-claimed theology. It was intended to be the first in a series of related posts. That never really got off the ground, nor did the exercise kick I was planning at the time. But here I am, four months to the day later, in the midst of a renewed interest in my body. I have regularly worked out every day this week, eaten mostly organic and local food, and spent time letting my body rest. In a week’s time, I already feel like a different person. My body feels whole for the first time in a while. By only introducing healthy foods to my body, I am saying to myself that my physical being is of importance. By exercising, I am saying that I believe my body can be stronger. Today I attended my very first Nia class. Nia combines yoga, martial arts, and dance into a mind, body, and spirit exercise experience. Our pastoral intern, Claire, has begun teaching this class regularl...

It is fairly common knowledge that I drink tea as though it is necessary for my existence. Which, in fact, it very well may be. I find that drinking a cup of tea makes me stop and reflect. Sometimes those reflections are deep and end with new discoveries about what I believe. Most times, I simply reflect on the events of my day. No matter what though, drinking tea is most certainly a religious experience for me. I love the litany of preparing my teapot, measuring out my tea, letting it sit and steep, and the first pour into whichever of my teacups from which I choose to drink. The whole process reminds me of the liturgy I deeply love in the Christian tradition. And as every cup of tea is different, so are my encounters with the Holy. Earlier tonight, I had the opportunity to serve tea to a friend of mine who came over to my apartment, and as we sat and talked about life and Koine Greek, I couldn’t help but think about the fact that as we shared about our lives, we also sha...

I've been thinking about my body a lot lately. It is not an exceptional body, mainly because I haven't done a very good job of taking care of it over the majority of my nearly twenty-two years of life. I've been pondering what it means to be created, in essence a part of the created order. In light of these thoughts, I started working out again on Monday. There's this program called P90X that is a very holistic daily workout routine that pushes your body to the edge of the abyss. Yes...that's a bit melodramatic. However, the pain stretching across my body has me constantly aware of my efforts to get my body in a healthy shape. This morning when I looked out my window I saw the overcast skies and saw the dreary rain. While I actually love rainy days, I decided that I didn't want to succumb to the feel of the day. I put on a bright pink shirt and stark white jeans and left my house feeling full of life. Clothes do not make a person, but just like being true to you...

Yesterday I found myself having multiple conversations about the future. In fact, lately I've found that subject matter to be inescapable. Perhaps it comes from being near to graduation...or at least sort of near. Many of my friends will soon be graduating, and I have begun turning my eyes toward December and my own graduation. As I do this, one pervasive question continually comes up: What's next? I can assure you this is only the first of what will most likely be many writings on the future by me. As a senior in college, the future has started to loom menacingly on the horizon. However, this concept of looking toward the future is not reserved for college seniors. One of my conversations yesterday was with my friend Grant, a freshman at Belmont. We were both struggling with the same question. What's next? About this time of year as winter struggles in its death throws and spring begins to emerge, I believe many of us look for newness, for refreshment. Grant later asked, ...

I have spent the last ten days traveling. I've seen Berkeley, CA. I've spent time in Seattle, WA. I have become well acquainted with the Salt Lake City airport on 3 separate occasions. All this time I have had the opportunity to spend time with some amazing people in my life. This is spring break, a fantastic invention of the academic world for undergraduate students. This is the first of my four years in college that I have actually taken my spring break instead of working. It has been a much-needed respite from my undeniably hectic weekly schedule. Over the last week, I had the opportunity to visit with my sister and brother-in-law as well as my cousin Brian. As I live in Tennessee and they live on the west coast, it is rare for me to get to see them often. My time spent with all of them was wonderful, and it made for a perfect break. But the reason I'm writing here, is to think more intentionally about how relationships and spiritual peace can go hand-in-hand. While i...

God of peace and light, we come into your presence today as a community dedicated to hearing from you. Our hearts are heavy with care for the hurt in our world. We think of our sisters and brothers in our global community. In Haiti and Chile there are members of our body struggling to see the Holy amidst destruction and pain. We pray for our extended family in Cuba as they worship with us this morning in spirit. Our hearts cannot help but dwell on the hurt in our own community that we’ve experienced over the last two weeks. Show us comfort Lord. Give us healing. We pray desperately for your divine peace. Yet we cannot help but thank you for the moments of celebration. Today we celebrate the decision this week to advance equality in our nation’s capital, even as we work toward the same goals in our own community. We also ask your blessing on the tithes and offerings of money that are to be brought. May what we give be used to bring your peace and light into each of the lives our communi...