Member’s Week “Walking with Christ – Working from Christ”– August 27 – 31,
sponsored by the seminary in Chicago
A report by Donna Simmons, Viroqua WI
Having been a member for around 10 years and never having participated in
anything like this, I signed up eagerly when I heard that Richard Dancey, Gisela
Wielki and Christa Macbeth were offering a week for members at the seminary in
Chicago this summer. I was keen to deepen my relationship to The Christian
Community and having been regaled by stories of the wonders of the seminary
“team” by my husband, Paul Newton, who recently completed his first year there,
I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.
The “fuss” was this – a week of the most in-depth and wondrous conversation and
sharing I have ever participated in. From discussions on the four gospels, to
examination of different aspects of the Act of Consecration; from opening up
possibilities with the Lord’s Prayer to reflecting on what it might mean to
“walk with Christ, work from Christ”, each conversation was a precious elixir
which I felt nurture and deepen my spiritual awareness.
Nine of us journeyed from North Carolina, Wisconsin, California, New York and
Massachusetts to participate in this members’ week. Two others joined in part
time – a local from Chicago and a visitor from Toronto who was spending time
with her daughter. Judging from the comments we shared with one another during
breaks and in the last session when we discussed how the week went, the others
also felt their relationship to The Christian Community to have been greatly
enhanced and deepened as a result of the week
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Most of us were members but a couple were not. This worked
fine and Gisela and Richard have assured us that this event will become
annual and will continue to be open to non members as well as members. But
in the course of the week, we turned several times to this question of
membership – of “membering” to The Christian Community. And over time I
grew to appreciate that being a member has nothing to do with level of
commitment. Rather, the importance of membering is to create a spiritual
form through which the spiritual worlds can work. To member then, is to
act and by this acting one works more consciously with the spiritual
worlds. Each day began with the celebration of the Act of Consecration of Man. For me it was moving beyond words to participate in this sacred ritual on a daily basis – had the week only consisted of this, it would have been worth every effort to be there. But to then also work with the others in the course of our lectures and conversations was moving and profound. I now feel that I have some inkling of what a “movement for religious renewal” might look like. Every day was full and most lasted well into the evening. Each day also included an hour of “speech fun” with Christa Macbeth which provided a bit of welcome relief. Not to say that speech formation isn’t also enriching and serious – but – well, let’s just say that Christa was very patient and sympathetic with us as we became rather silly and giggly during her sessions! Working in the garden and an afternoon downtown in Chicago also gave us a bit of a breather. And the camaraderie between us during our wonderful shared meals (thank you to all the Chicago cooks!) was another place for an out-breath. But all in all, it was an intense experience, and one which I heartily recommend to anyone wishing to deepen their relationship to The Christian Community. |
