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A religion has flesh and bones, as much as it may be all about the ethereal.
For example, think of the different roles that stones play in different religions—the gems that make up the Roman Catholic rosary, the Dome of the Rock shared by the three Abrahamic faiths, the Ka’ba in Mecca built on a foundation stone (meteorite?) at its southeast corner, the cairns placed on mountain tops, Stonehenge, “pet” rocks. This Sunday we will explore the non-verbal side of our Christian faith, our flesh and bones, as it were. Specifically, I wish to consider what the cross means in its infinitely various forms. My starting point is evident from the sermon title—“The Crucifix and Me.” What does this symbol mean in our Protestant context? We are immensely aided in this exploration by the Capella Clausura concert here at Eliot Church on Saturday night, October 19, (7:00 p.m.) performing music from a 16th century Cistercian order in Belgium and featuring illuminations (enlarged to banner dimensions) from the pages of the music’s original manuscripts. The chorus will be attired in period habits, and on display will be bookmaking tools, with food and drink from that time and place. Talk about flesh and bones! The banner enlargements of the manuscript pages, viewable at our worship service Sunday, will set the stage for a meditation on the inter-relationship of the “Mother Church” and us, her schismatic progeny. Come and take part, either on Saturday night, or Sunday morning, or both--! Mothers’ Helpers are here from 9:30 to 11:30. |
Our church is entertaining a new spiritual practice: shouting from the rooftops!
Well, not literally. But we are trying to understand how we can be faithful to Christ’s injunction in Matthew 10:26 to “shout from the rooftops what we hear whispered in our ear.” That is, how can we make public what we are going through spiritually in our lives, how to make public the process going on in us privately of personally applying the gospel to this crazy world.
We don’t have the answer. Not yet. But we will be exploring and experimenting this year with how to articulate in public what is churning inside our guts in 2019 America. We are doing this through a program called “Soundings,” as in taking depth measurements, not in the ocean but in a public forum.
To create public forums for ourselves this way, we will come to know each other better through these “soundings.” Creating public space like that could be, in itself, a valuable church mission and “public service” to the community. We don’t know yet, we have just started. But the goal is to supply a scarce commodity in our country—common space where strangers become friends.
Becoming known for who we are is a spiritual practice anybody can learn, who recognizes that it is one of our most basic human needs.
Stay tuned for public events of this nature at Eliot Church in November.
--Rev. Rick
Well, not literally. But we are trying to understand how we can be faithful to Christ’s injunction in Matthew 10:26 to “shout from the rooftops what we hear whispered in our ear.” That is, how can we make public what we are going through spiritually in our lives, how to make public the process going on in us privately of personally applying the gospel to this crazy world.
We don’t have the answer. Not yet. But we will be exploring and experimenting this year with how to articulate in public what is churning inside our guts in 2019 America. We are doing this through a program called “Soundings,” as in taking depth measurements, not in the ocean but in a public forum.
To create public forums for ourselves this way, we will come to know each other better through these “soundings.” Creating public space like that could be, in itself, a valuable church mission and “public service” to the community. We don’t know yet, we have just started. But the goal is to supply a scarce commodity in our country—common space where strangers become friends.
Becoming known for who we are is a spiritual practice anybody can learn, who recognizes that it is one of our most basic human needs.
Stay tuned for public events of this nature at Eliot Church in November.
--Rev. Rick
Find us!
474 Centre Street
Newton, MA 02458
617-244-3639
Office hours:
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 7:30am - 2:30pm
Wednesday 7:00-5:00pm
Closed Fridays
Newton, MA 02458
617-244-3639
Office hours:
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 7:30am - 2:30pm
Wednesday 7:00-5:00pm
Closed Fridays