email:  whitpresby@mindspring.com

Spiritual readings        "Greetings from Whittier Presbyterian Church"

August 2000 Emails

Aug. 1

We have our presbytery’s labyrinth at the church right now, set up in our basement.  Here is some information on labyrinths.  Here is an excerpt from an article about labyrinths.  The full text can be found here:

http://www.gracecathedral.org/enrichment/features/fea_19981120_txt.shtml

We live in an increasingly linear, driven world. The rush to the Millennium, the tick of the market clock, drivetime, primetime; all the forces of our modern life push us in a single direction. We struggle to take vacations, yet all too often come back exhausted rather than refreshed. Even the cycle of the seasons has become lost on us in our climate controlled world. We move far from our homes, send our parents away when they age, lose contact with old friends and loved ones. We cover huge distances in a matter of hours, jumping time zones without effort, yet few of us can tell what phase the moon is in, or what time the sun rises each morning.

This physical and emotional disconnect, some people feel, has its spiritual equivalent. It is based in the very core beliefs that define our modern civilization.  One of the symptoms of this crisis is a lack of centeredness, a lack of awareness of the spiritual nature of our true selves.  Many different forms of spiritual tools and meditations have sprung up in the past few years, and they all point to the search for meaning in our society, but the labyrinth seems to have struck a chord. It is a powerful tool, open to seekers of all beliefs.  Labyrinths are different from mazes. Mazes challenge the logical parts of our minds; they offer a choice of paths, some with many entrances and exits. Trick corners and blind alleys are common features, with dead ends and cul-de-sacs presenting riddles to be solved along the way.

Labyrinths, on the other hand, have one well-defined path that leads us into the center and back out again. There are no tricks to them, no dead ends or cul-de-sacs, no intersecting paths. There are no choices to be made, other than the primary one: the decision to enter the path.  In the labyrinth the set path takes you to the center.  That you know you will get to the center helps focus and quiet the mind.

 For those in this area, we invite you to experience the labyrinth this week.  Call the church(562-692-3748) and we will make the arrangements.

More information on labyrinths can be found here:

http://www.gracecathedral.org/labyrinth/index.shtml

 Grace & peace to you all

Geoff

 Aug. 4 

This is the last edition of the email from WPC until Sept. 1, when I return from vacation.  If you need inspiration during that period, you might want to do as one friend suggested: get one of the books that I make reference to and read it!  Read it devotionally.  Reading devotionally is different than reading for pleasure or for speed or for content to pass an exam or write a paper.  Reading devotionally means taking much smaller portions of the material at a time and praying or reflecting while reading.

Henri J. M. Nouwen talks of this in Here & Now.  Here’s my paraphrase of what he says.

 "We can read scripture with curiosity and ask ourselves, “Did this really happen?  Who put this story together and how?”  but we can read the same story with spiritual attentiveness and wonder:  “How does God speak to me here and call me to a more generous love?”  So too we can read/watch the news simply to have something to talk about, or we can read/watch it to become more aware of the reality of a world that sorely needs God’s words & saving actions, God’s love and compassion.  It is not just what we read, but how we read it.  Spiritual reading is reading with inner attentiveness to the movement of God’s Spirit in our outer and inner lives.

 Note the insight about reading and understanding scripture too.

May you discover the joy and encouragement of devotional reading in the days ahead.

Keep me and our church in your prayers and we rest and prepare for the year ahead.

Grace & peace to you all.

  Geoff