What is your spiritual emergency plan? How do you prepare in advance for a crisis?
We cannot know what is ahead, but we can prepare ourselves as best we can, physically, emotionally, and spiritually for any serious challenges that we may have to face.
I propose that the best emergency plan is love, lived out through real and deepening connection within a spiritual community.
Many of you know I’ve recently been through a health crisis. On the Sunday before my surgery, I presided at two services. During those services, I felt held up by all of you, by the community. I felt your love and prayers and believe that contributed significantly to a successful surgery.
This experience is teaching me so much, especially about being known. I am in many ways a very private person, and there are things I share only with difficulty. At St. Mary’s, I have gradually let myself be known. I have also witnessed you letting yourselves be known to me and each other in the context of small groups work. I had enough people who knew me enough that I could lean on you physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I was never alone. God was present constantly, but it was more than that. I experienced your presence in very real ways.
We need to build support, safety and closeness in advance to crisis. We need to be known. There is no better place for this than a spiritual community, where we try to live out God’s love for us through concrete connection with others.
At St. Mary’s, we want to offer the opportunity for each person who wants one to be in a small group that meets regularly. We want to provide safe opportunities for you to build solid connection, so that we can face whatever we need to face together.
Questions? Contact me at christine@saint-marys.org.
