Hello Sojourners,
I chose the focus word for this month's journey, turning when the words to the Shaker Hymn, Tis a Gift to be Simple were recently an earworm.
While walking and talking with my friend we had to mind smoke from Canadian wild fires.
A friend and I attended a funeral together and found ourselves discussing church afterward. Each of us has fallen out of the habit of regular face-to-face worship since the pandemic. Our children are adults and the responsibility of exposing them to weekly attendance has lessened. The truth is, I’ve come to enjoy church online.
In fact, I love it. During online church, I either fold laundry or do very simple paper-crafting. I don't fall asleep. I don't get distracted by others...I listen, pray, and reflect.
The thing is, I've always believed or been taught to believe that church is the community of the faithful. This includes relationships between church members.
My friend feels similarly. We talked long about this. We never reached any conclusions. But, it felt good to talk about this. She understands my awkward way of spinning out details and questions that make up my thinking on any topic. She doesn't necessarily want to fix the situation or give an answer. She walks with me through it and understands that I'm discerning. I know at some time in the future, she'll circle back to the topic to see if I've any new thoughts. I love this about my friend--gentle accountability.
Maybe because of the church talk, I found myself humming the tune to, 'Tis a gift to be simple, 'tis a gift to be free...' Indeed, I felt freer after talking things out with my friend. When I couldn't remember more of the lyrics, I searched Google, and in true Linda fashion fell down a rabbit hole of interesting details about the religious sect.
As it turns out, ex-Shakers in the 1800s possibly shared this tune with the public when performing Shaker songs and dancing. There was money to be made from curiosity about this group back then. The tune was then picked up much later by Aaron Copeland to score Martha Graham's famous ballet, Appalachian Spring.
'To turn, turn will be our delight
'til by turning, turning we come round right.'
This is when I understood -- my discerning process is what my spirit needs to do right now. And, I decided 'turning' would be the focus word for this month's SJT.
Turning is natural, turning is OK. I'm not going to give up or run away to join the Shakers (they are no longer in existence). I'm going to let go of the worry about what is right and just be right by practicing what I've learned.
This, of course, will include some face-to-face church time when I’m ready and it's right. It will also include online time. I’m fortunate this is possible for me. I'm also fortunate that my girlfriend walked and talked with me on our spiritual journey.
What are your thoughts this month?
I understand your process, and each of us has our own way through our spiritual journeys. The comfort of my church community is valuable to me. We are such a small church that we don't have an online option. I wonder if I would use that option if it were available. I'm glad you have a friend to talk to who does not judge you. Thanks for hosting this week. I, of course, forgot completely about it. I'm not sure I will join. We lost a teacher to cancer this week, and I feel I need to focus my energy on my school community this week.
ReplyDeleteOh, my goodness...please use your spiritual energy to comfort your friends. XO
DeleteLinda: Thank you so much for hosting, and for this prompt. Funny thing, we both referenced this song, but from there we went separate ways. I appreciate your feelings about church, and I have felt the same at times. I am glad you are talking it over with a friend, and I wish you discernment in your journey. My post can be found at https://kceastlund.blogspot.com/2023/08/til-by-turning-turning.html
ReplyDeleteHere's my post. Thinking a lot these days about the changing relationship with my daughters as they all are mothers now and in their 30's. Things change. To every thing there is a season. https://reflectionsontheteche.com/2023/08/03/spiritual-journey-turning/
ReplyDeleteWow, I felt this post deeply. Thank you for sharing it.
DeleteLinda, thank you for hosting this month's Spiritual Thursday Journey. During the pandemic we also turned to online Masses. Our church is small and didn't stream, but there were so many online Masses to choose from that finding one was not a problem. We did get spoiled. Your friend is a gem. We all need a set of nonjudgmental ears to listen to us, and help us through our thinking. Here is the link to my post. https://arjeha.wordpress.com/2023/08/03/turning/
ReplyDeleteOh Linda, just one of my favorite songs. And I love the walk-talk with a friend. I am with you about all things church. And for me, being in nature is church as well. the "turning" is a great word for some of my thinking this past week at the coast.
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting SJT this month.
https://www.jonerushmacculloch.com/blog/spiritual-journey-thursday-week-30-turning
Ha! When my friend and I started our conversation we were walking on a trail in a fantastic summer rain storm. It was wonderful!
DeleteLinda, your post pulled something out of me that I know I've been working on interiorly - am working on still. Thank you. And thank you for hosting this month. Here is my post: https://patriciajfranz.com/blog-spiritual-journey-a-turning/
ReplyDeleteLinda, your post is beautifully stitched together. The word turning made me stop and reflect. I read your post yesterday but have been slowly working on this blog post that is also a combo with Poetry Friday. Thank you for hosting SJT with your honest approach to each one of your words. Turning makes a wonderful addition to your Word Padlet. The word has so many ways to bring writing to life. I had to sit with my thoughts for quite a while to find the right pathway. An article I read brought inspiration and an open avenue to walk through and write. I look forward to reading everyone's posts.
ReplyDelete