Society of St. John: Offer Companionship on Tenth Day of Christmas

Society of St. John: the Evangelist: Offer Companionship on Tenth Day of Christmas

“As we approach the Christmas season, think of someone in your own life who is sad, or lonely, or hurting, and pledge to say or do something to help bring God’s healing love into their lives. Invite them for a coffee, or a meal. Pay them a visit. Phone them. Show them that they are not alone.” -Br. Geoffrey Tristram, “Brother Give Us a Word,” Daily Email, December 19, 2017, Society of Saint John the Evangelist, ssje.org

The Brothers of St. John the Evangelist offer us a reminder of gifts we have to offer for Christmas. There are 12 days of Christmas between Christmas Day and Epiphany on January 6. These should be slow down times for us where we can re-center. Many children are still out of school waiting for us to play with them. There is no better way to connect to the Christ born within us than connecting to the newly born Christ in children who have not developed any worldly masks of protection which also often hide Christ’s essence.

We all have neighbors and friends we have neglected because of our busyness. This is the time to offer to them our precious gift of time. Present with them is where the Christ Child has been born and is waiting to see us as well.

joanna. joannaseibert.com

Rohr: Blue Christmas

Rohr: Low Point, Blue Christmas

“At our low points, we are one step away from either enlightenment or despair. Without faith that there is a Bigger Pattern, and the grace to surrender to that Bigger Pattern, most people will move into despair, negativity, or cynicism. We need a promise, a hopeful direction, or it is very hard not to give up. When you have not yet learned what transformation feels or looks like, someone—perhaps some loving human or simply God’s own embrace—needs to hold you now because you cannot hold yourself. When we experience this radical holding, and even deep loving, this is salvation!”Richard Rohr

Adapted from Richard Rohr, Great Themes of Paul: Life as Participation, disc 10 (Franciscan Media: 2002), CD.

The holidays are often the hardest for those who have experienced the death of a loved one. Several congregations have Blue Christmas services to let them know that the church recognizes their loss.

I have been involved as a facilitator with an eight-week grief recovery group, Walking the Mourner’s Path for over fifteen years. Here we experience people near their lowest point after the death of child, a spouse, a parent, a brother, a sister, a partner. We do see despair, especially after tragic deaths, especially after the death of the young, but it always does change. Sometimes it is only a small transformation, sometimes it is huge. By just coming to the group, the participants have made a positive commitment to look for transformation, so they have already made a step forward in a new direction before they come. As facilitators, we are there to hold the group together, to encourage them, to listen to them, to hear them, to give them time to articulate where they are. We are vessels holding the group.

The healers are the participants themselves. They are the ones who know the most about despair. They are all at different stages of grief. They honor and embrace the each other’s place as well. They radically hold and support each other. They have been there maybe a year ago, maybe three months ago. They know the pain better than anyone else, and they can best talk about that road less traveled to recovery and resurrection, honoring the life of one they so loved. It is a privilege to be there seeing resurrection.

Each year I say less and less, for the wisdom comes from the group. This is just one more time that we see healing in community, and all we have to do is be present and look for and point out the God in each other.

This week I am having a Christmas and New Year’s lunch with a Mourner’s Path group who has still been meeting annually for over six years to continue to support and love each other especially during the holidays. They have seen Good Friday. They and I go this morning to hear their stories of incarnation and epiphany and resurrection.

Joanna. joannaseibert.com

Walking the Mourner’s Path Facilitator Training Trinity Episcopal Cathedral will host a two-day Walking the Mourner’s Path Facilitator Training workshop Feb. 28–March 1 for those who would like to lead groups. The early registration fee is $350 per person, or $250 each if two or more from the parish or organization attend. Contact the Rev. Deb Cooper at dcooper@trinitylittlerock.org or the Rev. Joanna Seibert at joannaseibert@me.com.

The Present, New Year's Day, Eighth Day of Christmas

The Present, New Year’s Day, Eighth Day of Christmas

“What comes next? The answer is: we never know. No matter how smart we are, how carefully we have planned, or how much data we have gathered, we are still only mortals who can never control the future. We live in the now, in the eternally changing series of spaces we call the present. The now is where we shine. In the now we can have an impact, be creative, shape reality, build relationships that can withstand change. What happens tomorrow may always be a surprise, but what happens today can still feel our presence. In fact, we are the artists of the now. We can turn a moment into a memory, a glance into a promise, an idea into a vision that will last forever.” Steven Charleston Daily Facebook

I think I become aware of the gift of living in the present moment in the 1980’s when I bought Spencer Johnson’s 80-page book, The Precious Presence as a Christmas present for my husband and decided to read it first. It is a practical parable of a man living in our fast-paced world trying to find meaning and peace, opening the most precious of presents. Later I would read two more of Spencer’s books, The One Minute Manager and Who Moved the Cheese during my self-help period attempting to cope with the demands of a busy pediatric radiology practice. Then I was reminded again by the power of living in the present when I read from CS Lewis in the Screwtape Letters that God meets us only in the present moment. “The Present is the point at which time touches eternity.” This is where God lives in our lives. God is not in the past or the future, but there to greet us in the present moment.

How do we stay in the present moment? Anthony De Mello in Sadhana teaches us that living in our body and not living out of our head keeps us grounded. Spending time in nature connects us to the present. Being with children keeps us in the present, for that is where they live.

Living in the present moment can be our gift to ourselves, to God, and to all we will meet in this new year.

Joanna. joannaseibert.com