Friends,

The Welcoming Prayer often evokes strong feelings in me, and likely many of you.

Here's what it boils down to:
I let go of my desire
for security, affection, and control,
and I embrace this moment just as it is.

Woof. Frankly: Security, affection, and control are things I'd prefer to hang on to all the time. This prayer is uncomfortable.

We all want to feel safe, to feel loved, and to feel like we have some control over our lives. We take all kinds of steps in pursuit -- so much so that we can easily find ourselves chasing security or affection or control or all three in destructive ways. As the Rev. Anna Broadbent-Evelyn said in her homily yesterday: sometimes things get in the way of our relationship with God, our source, and we need to shuv, repent, return to God.

The Welcoming Prayer grows out of the deep roots of the Christian contemplative tradition, inviting us to become more aware of the Holy Spirit's work in us in the midst of fear, loneliness, and loss of control. Letting go of the ways we chase those false idols, we can say yes to following the Way of Jesus.

In this season of Lent, I invite you to try on the Welcoming Prayer. It isn't comfortable; it is a way to have an honest connection with God in the midst of the incredible instability of life in these times in this place. Get all the information you need and register now here.

With love,
Susan+


Transfiguration Drama!
Last Sunday, members of Grace of all ages presented a drama for us — bringing life to the story of the Transfiguration. You can watch here.

A big thank-you to all those who participated, especially Liz Athorn and Louise Robinson who pulled it all together!

Tags: Rev Susan, Prayer, welcome, Return, Lent

This Lent, join us in a simple daily prayer practice.
The Welcoming Prayer is an embodied, contemplative practice that helps us be with what is happening in the present moment, in the presence of God. Once you’ve learned the practice, it can be a tool to connect with your body, your soul, and your faith anywhere you go, in any moment, no matter what you’re feeling. As we navigate the extraordinary challenges of these days in Minnesota and across the country, the Welcoming Prayer can be a powerful tool to help us ground ourselves in God’s loving embrace so that we can respond, rather than react, to the instability and uncertainty around us.

What’s the Welcoming Prayer?
From ContemplativeOutreach.org:

The Welcoming Prayer is a method of consenting to God’s presence and action in our physical and emotional reactions to events and situations in daily life. The purpose of the Welcoming Prayer is to deepen our relationship with God through consenting in the ordinary activities of our day — “consent-on-the-go.”

How to Practice the Welcoming Prayer:
Three basic movements
1: Feel and sink into what you are experiencing this moment in your body.
2: “Welcome” what you are experiencing this moment in your body as an opportunity to consent to the Divine Indwelling.
3: Let go by saying “I let go of my desire for security, affection, control and embrace this moment as it is.”

To join in:
—Get the booklet (includes 40 short meditations, one for each day in Lent.)
Print copies available at church starting on February 15
Encourage you to get the digital download here
Open the file in the ‘books’ app on your device so that it will save your page/progress from day to day.
—Set aside 5 - 10 minutes each day to read from the booklet and engage with the practice
—Register here to join in a weekly zoom call to reflect on the practice. Tuesdays, beginning February 17, at noon. Anyone can drop in at any time, and if you’re able to make this part of your weekly schedule, you’ll find a kind and curious community of folks practicing together.

Lenten Devotions for All Ages
Another option for you this Lent: journey with Jesus through short, meaningful daily devotions written by Latino leaders from across the Episcopal Church. Available in English and Spanish, the reflections invite readers of all ages to explore God’s Word, shared burdens, and hope in Christ. With discussion questions included, it’s a wonderful resource for individuals, families, and intergenerational groups to share together. Pick up your copy in the Commons!

A prayer for all of us as we enter this season:
God of wandering and wonder, you lead your people through trackless places
And speak in the hush between wind and sand.
Guide us this Lent through deserts of our own hearts, that we may find the springs you have planted there
and walk the path that leads to life, through Christ our Way and our shelter. Amen.
—Many thanks to Bonita LaDuca for writing this prayer and this season’s Prayers of the People.

[ photo credit ]

Tags: Prayer, contemplative, welcome, control

Finding community at Grace Episcopal Church
by Clare Boerigter

I started attending Grace Episcopal Church in the spring of 2023 because I was curious about the kind of faith community that hangs prayer flags from its trees, offers food and books to its neighbors in sidewalk libraries, and honors those who have died with a garden. I was also searching. Like so many others, I was trying to understand what my life was meant to look like after the isolation of covid, the murder of George Floyd, the protests that followed, and the questions all these events provoked within me. What was this country all about? Who was I, a person benefiting from countless privileges, a U.S. citizen, a neighbor, a person of faith, a friend? Where was my life taking me?

I was looking for a place where I could ask big, hard questions alongside others who were asking their own – and I found that community at Grace. In the last 2.5 years, I’ve gotten to spend dark winter evenings singing alongside familiar and new faces at Taizé. As part of the team writing elder profiles, I’ve been generously welcomed into the homes – and life stories – of the Junnilas and Krakowskis. I’ve helped feed goats, tended apple trees, and prayed in the worship silo at Good Courage Farm with friends from Grace and other (or no) churches. I’ve been able to share meals with my Dinner of Seven group and at gatherings with the under-forties. And many Wednesday afternoons, I’ve sat in the quiet with the Centering Prayer group as the light fades in the sanctuary. I have felt incredibly lucky to belong to this community.

In January, I’m starting a new journey. After 7.5 years in Minneapolis, I’m moving to Missoula, Montana, to begin a graduate program in Forestry at the University of Montana. There, I’ll get to continue working on research projects that support the restoration of fire to public lands through prescribed burning. Fire has been an immense part of my life since 2012, the summer I drove across the country from Iowa to Utah to join a Forest Service crew of wildland firefighters.

As excited as I am for this next step, I’m going to miss the people and places that have filled this chapter of my life – and I want to take this moment to thank the Grace community for being such an important part of these last few years. I can’t claim to have found answers to any of the big, hard questions I came to Grace asking, but it has been deeply meaningful to me to have the support of this community while asking them.

In gratitude,
Clare

P.S. For those interested, I’ve written about my seasons as a firefighter in a memoir forthcoming from Beacon Press. My editor hasn’t set a publication date yet, but if you’re interested in hearing when that happens, you can sign up for updates here or look for them on my website at clareboerigter.com.

Tags: community, welcome