A year ago I was trying to figure out an "audio logo" for whatever it is I do. I came up with, "I am a companion for creative people on a spiritual journey." I tried out this sound-bite on that year's Lower Room Prayer bunch and Stephanie said, "Don't you need companioning too?" She used a tone of voice that sent me back to the drawing board: How about walking with spiritual people on a creative journey? How about journeying people on a creative spiritual....Oh, never mind.
This month I took a two-day course on "Spiritual Companioning" which included reading Barbara Sheehan's Partners in Covenant; the Art of Spiritual Companionship and Thomas Hart's The Art of Christian Listening. I was truly awful during the class: argumentative, angry, appalled, aggrieved (Type A). Students read-out lines describing people resistant-to-God, with sidelong glances in my direction.
I didn't much like Sheehan's book (too, too precious around gender inclusiveness, horribly biased generalizations, and not enough Jesus) but she covered a lot of ground and reminded me of many good books and theories encountered over the years. On the other hand, Hart's The Art of Christian Listening is a solid, encouraging book for anyone who likes listening to people's stories and hopes there is a possibility of God doing something good in that speaking and listening. We sold a used copy right before I found out it was a class requirement. Of course. Now my new copy is used. $5
"A loving heart is the truest wisdom." --Charles Dickens
Meanwhile, this year's Lower Room Prayer has been flat-out bizarre. Two weeks in a row strangers innocently wandered in at 3:00 on Wednesday and ending up in the ad hoc prayer group. Once I was deep in conversation with a friend when I suddenly realized it was 3:10. Different people every week. At the aforementioned class, someone asked me about the purpose of this Lower Room Prayer time between Easter and Pentecost. Unity, I decided. "The disciples continued with one accord in prayer and supplication." Some interesting chords are being played at 3:00 on Wednesdays. Feel free to come and hum along.
Thursday, May 6 is the National Day of Prayer. For those of you who prefer a minute of prayer, an email is making the rounds about the national minute of prayer prescribed in England during W.W.II. The suggestion is that we do the same every evening at 6:00 Pacific time (7:00 Mountain, 8:00 Central, 9:00 Eastern). Pray for the safety of the US, our troops, citizens and peace in the world (plus anything else that occurs to you).
"Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away." --Abraham Lincoln
We had great fun offering a table of free books at a Vets event in San Jose. Teresa came along and shamelessly foisted books on anyone that came within three feet of the table. A remarkable woman. She held down the fort while I got distracted by endless conversations. I haven't bumped around the military very much. Quite a learning experience. We'd do more free book tables if I could figure out how that would pay the rent. Meanwhile, Bob Woodward's Plan of Attack on the events leading up to the war in Iraq is now on my to-read pile.
"Nothing makes you like other human beings so much as doing things for them." --Zora Neale Hurston
The School for the Blind by Dennis McFarland showed up on our Free Shelf with a bunch of mysteries. It's not exactly a mystery, more a drama around an elderly brother and sister coming to terms with family ghosts, past abuse, and death on the doorstep. It remains a mystery to me why one book sticks to my hands while 20 others find their way to the shelves. In any case it was well written, engaging, and will be floating around the store for a dollar.
Ancient Christian Commentary on the Gospel of Mark is the latest addition to my morning hour. This fairly new series put out by IVP sifts through texts from the end of the New Testament era to 750 AD. Working through a book of the Bible, snippets from various luminaries are applied to the passages of Scripture. Each spread of a couple of pages includes a short bit of the gospel and around a dozen comments. A nice addition to the morning's fare; sort of like tossing Trader Joe's Frozen "Very Cherry Berry Blend" on my oatmeal. $39.95
I was never so happy to get out of a book of the Bible as I was to finish up months of Barclay's two volume Daily Bible Study Series on Revelation. (Bananas--every morning another banana.) However, I was still enamored enough of Barclay to notice Barclay's Apology in Modern English in the river that flows behind our desk. Turned out to be a different Barclay. This Barclay is a 1600s Quaker--Robert, not William. Astounding, dynamic opening section on the Spirit within: "Inward and Unmediated Revelation." Could have been written by a charismatic or pentecostal today. The next section on "Universal Redemption" got a little weird and I suspect we are not going to get-on when he starts talking about the sacraments. (A dissonant chord.) You may rescue him from my bedside table for a mere $6.
"The instruction we find in books is like fire. We fetch it from our neighbours, kindle it at home, communicate it to others, and it becomes the property of all. -Voltaire
The Word Shop Work and Wonder Summer Creative Writing Program will begin Monday, June 4 and run for 12 Weeks. Participants should have a writing or visual arts project in progress which they can work on at site. We will meet every Monday at noon. The first hour will be spent on questions raised in Julia Cameron's Walking in this World. You can bring nibbles to share. From 1:00 to 2:00 we will work on our projects. What happens after that is anybody's guess.
Registration, which includes a copy of Walking, is $65. An additional $5 for any sessions missed will charged at the end of each month. Sponsors and Staff can register for $25, but still have to pay $5 for missed sessions. By the end of the summer you will have made significant progress on your project, met some cool people, gained insight on your creative process, and had a great time. Email me this month to sign up
"The beautiful part of writing is that you don't have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon." --Robert Cromier
Blessings,
Alliee +