May 2024 - South Africa Part III

 Photos and reflections from the second half of our trip:

Day 6

Saturday, day 6, was mostly a day of rest and class preparation. I enjoyed a homemade chai latte at a cafe while I read for class. A group of us ate Indian food on Saturday night with our classmate, Deepthi, as our guide. There are many Indian folks in South Africa so there's a prevalence of Indian food.

Day 7

The "welcome" sign at St. George's Cathedral in Cape Town.

On day 7, we worshipped at St. George's Cathedral in Cape Town, which is an Anglican church. St. George's is the church where Archbishop Desmond Tutu presided. Tutu was elected the first Black archbishop of Cape Town in 1986. The worship service was beautiful and I loved observing the various liturgical elements that are different from the PCUSA. The worship was extra special because the guest preacher was Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac who is a Palestinian Christian theologian and pastor.

St. George's Cathedral's labyrinth serves as a reminder of the many pilgrimages of which we are a part.

After church, we traveled back to Stellenbosch where we enjoyed "Sunday Stellenbosch," which is a market of local vendors along one of the town's main streets.

After the market, my classmate and I went for a run along the Stellenbosch "bike path" and around a neighborhood in the mountains.

Day 8

Day 8 began our 4-day class, Contemporary Confessions, at the Stellenbosch University’s School of Theology, which is one of the top 100 theology schools in the world. Our professor, Dr. Rachel Baard, co-taught the class with Dr. Sipho Mahokoto. We studied The Barmen Declaration, the Confession of Belhar, The Accra Confession, and The Kairos Document.

This lunch was one of our best. We had the privilege of dining with Rev. Dr. Allan Boesak who co-authored The Belhar Confession and who is a well-known prophetic, anti-apartheid, pro-justice, public theology voice in South Africa and across the globe.

After lunch, we attended a panel discussion at the School of Theology. The panelists were Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac, Rev. Dr. Allan Boesak, and Rev. Rene August. The panel was titled "South African Faith Communities and Justice in the Context of Zionism Today."

Day 9

On day 9, we had class again and it was such a joy and a privilege to be in class with South African Master of Divinity students. Not only did we learn about each other's church contexts but we had tons of fun comparing and contrasting our seminary experiences and lives. We also engaged in powerful conversations about race and class and the impact of inequitable social structures on our societies.

After class, we had lunch with Rev. Laurie Gaum, LGBTQ activist, and Dr. Lisel Joubert, Church History professor, both of whom were classmates of our professor. Afterwards we met with Dr. Julie Claassens, Professor of Old Testament, for a film screening on housing and land ownership in South Africa. 

Most of our group enjoyed dinner at a Lebanese restaurant and then some of us went to karaoke with one of our professors and a couple of the South African students. We were surprised that we knew every song that was sung and that they were all American.

Day 10

After another great class, we had lunch with two professors from the School of Theology. We enjoyed hearing their perspectives as women of color and learning from their wisdom. How lucky are we to be surrounded by strong, intelligent, passionate women theologians?!

This is the stained-glass window outside of the School of Theology's chapel. "Ubuntu" is at the top and means “A person is person through other persons." Ubuntu is a traditional African concept that emphasizes belonging to a community of people, and the corresponding idea that the path to authentic humanness lies in one’s relationship with others. Desmond Tutu said the way to exhibit Ubuntu is: “I participate, I share.” Tutu used Ubuntu in his anti-apartheid theology. Through Tutu’s Ubuntu theology, we see an authentic African Christian theology.

In the afternoon, my classmate and I ran 4 miles around the Stellenbosch University track. Check out that view!

Day 11

Stellenbosch United Church, which is the town's Presbyterian church

Part of the University of Stellenbosch campus

Visiting the Beyers Naude Centre for Public Theology at the School of Theology

Our classmate cooked on the braai while we socialized. The sausage, known as Boerewors, was my favorite!

On day 11, we had our last day of class, which we began by singing two worship songs. The unity of our voices is something I'll never forget. After class, we walked to our classmates' apartment where the South African students hosted a braai for us. A braai is a South African barbecue and includes a bunch of different meats + a cheese, tomato, onion sandwich also made on the braai.

After a wonderful time of fellowship, we all took off in separate directions. I enjoyed walking through town, picking up last-minute souvenirs, and eating dessert for dinner on the hotel's patio. After dinner, a few of us went to Stellenbosch United Church, which is the Presbyterian church in town. We attended the Ascension Day service with my new friend, Panda, from Angola. Panda is a Presbyterian minister, is married to a PhD student, and is getting his Masters in Theology currently. I'm always amazed how Presbyterian churches immediately feel like home.

As I reflect on the last 11 days, I am tired, humbled, full of new information, still processing all of the connections, and I feel incredibly grateful.

On Day 12, we'll spend time in Stellenbosch before heading to the airport in the afternoon. We'll fly overnight and arrive in the USA midday on Day 13 (technically day 14 but day 13 in terms of full days!) of our trip. Thank you all for the prayers, love, and support from a distance!

Much Love,

Caitlin

May 2024 - South Africa Part II - God's Creation

This post is about God's creation, specifically the land and the earth. The South Africa travel seminar has enabled me to see a whole different part of God's creation. I've found myself reflecting and making connections about God's creation.

"The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants too."

Psalm 24:1 from the Common English Bible

    In April 2024, St. Andrew Presbyterian Church hosted Dr. Nancy Stockdale, Associate Professor at the University of North Texas, for a lecture about Palestinian culture and identity. I was lucky enough to attend the lecture in-person and learned about the history of Palestinian people and about Palestinians in our modern world. One of my main takeaways from the lecture was the importance of land. As people who have been displaced for generations, Palestinians have a strong connection with creation. Olive trees and other plants are vital to families' histories and livelihoods. For the last 7 months, an ecocide (click here to learn more about ecocide) has been enacted on Palestinian land. Olive trees and indigenous plants that have been in families for hundreds of years are now destroyed. The Palestinian people have been on my heart and mind this week especially because of the many ways that Palestinians and South Africans relate to each other. Before this week, I had not though of South Africa's apartheid and the genocide in Palestine as being such strong points of solidarity for the Palestinian and South African peoples. So as I reflect on the lecture from Dr. Stockdale, my time learning in South Africa, and the importance of land to Palestinian peoples, I see the direct connection to Psalm 24:1. 

"The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, too." 

    The connection to Psalm 24:1 resurfaced for me when our travel seminar group visited the District 6 Museum last week. In my previous blog post, I wrote a bit about District 6, but this is just a reminder that District 6 is one of the hundreds of neighborhoods in South Africa where people were forcibly removed from their homes during apartheid. At the District 6 Museum, we had a guided tour led by a woman named Faranaaz whose family was forcibly removed from their home when she was a teenager. Faranaaz began the tour by telling us the history of South Africa's Western Cape/Cape Point (which is the southwestern-most point of Africa). The Khoi people are the indigenous people to South Africa. They lived between the mountains and the ocean. The Khoi people used waterfalls/water passages in the mountains for drinking, cooking, etc. When the first colonizers stopped at Cape Point as their "pit stop" on a long journey, the Khoi people shared their drinking water with them. The Khoi people lived off the land and they passed this tradition to their descendants. The people who lived in District 6 had a connection to the land from their Khoi ancestors. So when the residents of District 6 were forcibly removed from their homes to places behind the mountains and away from the water, they lost this connection to their ancestors. Faranaaz said her family always felt connected to the mountains and the ocean and then suddenly, they lost that direct connection.

"The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, too." 

    Earlier this week we had the privilege to watch a 45min documentary about housing inequalities in South Africa. We learned about a resident of Langa, which is the Black township we visited last week, who has an organization in his neighborhood. The organization is mainly an art gallery but it also has a community garden and a tree-planting ministry. The founder of the organization emphasized the importance for all people to live in places with green spaces and trees. Green space, trees, and gardens improve the quality of life for people physically, mentally, and emotionally. The poorest areas of Cape Town do not have trees or green spaces; I think this is the same for urban areas in the USA, too. There is a noticeable difference between the number of trees in wealthier areas of cities than in poorer areas of cities and often this difference falls along the lines of race.

"The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, too." 

     We're taking a class this week with students at the University of Stellenbosch and it's about contemporary confessions. We are learning about the Barmen Declaration, The Belhar Confession, The Accra Confession, and the Kairos Document. The Accra Confession of 2004 is focused on the tension between economy and ecology. It's based on the theological conviction that economic and ecological injustices require the Reformed family to respond as a matter of faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our professor, Dr. Mahokoto, emphasizes that climate change threatens the environment, disrupts communities, and destroys livelihoods. Thus, climate change impacts the economy and vice versa. Wendell Berry describes the connection between ecology and economy this way: "Whether we and our politicians know it or not, Nature is party to all our deals and decisions and she has more votes, a longer memory, and a sterner sense of justice than we do." As God's people who are part of God's creation, we are called and required to treat God's creation with justice and respect. 

"The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, too." 

    The land of the Palestinian peoples is the Lord's. As Christians, we're called and required to treat the Palestinian people and their land justly and respectfully.

    The land of the Khoi people and the land of the residents of District 6 is the Lord's. As Christians, we're called and required to treat the land of District 6, the land of the Khoi people, and the people of District 6 (and all areas of the world) justly and respectfully.

    The land of Langa is the Lord's. As Christians, we're called and required to treat the land in Langa with justice and respect.

"The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, too." 

  Friends, I'm not exactly sure what my next steps are in relation to ecology, our earth, and our land. I don't have all the answers for what I can do next. But I plan to continue learning, praying, and finding ways to embody God's love and justice --- with people and with our whole earth. If there's one thing I've learned this week (beyond the original confession of the church, which is "Jesus is Lord"), it's that confessions serve not just as a a response to a particular crisis but as our beliefs that we are called and required to embody through our actions, not just our words.

With Love and Gratitude, 

Caitlin

    

May 2024 - South Africa Part I

Today is our 5th full day in South Africa and we've covered a lot of ground! We've done some touristy things as you can see in photos below. But we've also done a great deal of learning about South Africa --- the country's ancient history, its people, its languages, its more recent history of apartheid, its animals, and its ability to reconcile, converse, and pursue dignity for all people. We are staying in the West Cape so we're only seeing a small part of the country but we've met folks from all over. We're here with UPSem's Assistant Professor of Theology and Ethics and Director of the Master of Arts in Public Theology Program who is a South African feminist scholar. She is our guide alongside our tour guide, Ronald, who cared for us all week, and UPSem's Associate Professor of Bible and Director of the Center for Social Justice and Reconciliation. In addition to our two professors and tour guide, there are 8 students. We're all women and a mix students in the Master of Divinity, Master in Public Theology, Master in Christian Education, and Doctor of Ministry programs. 

Below are photos from the week with reflections listed below some of the photos.

Day 1

We got settled in our hotel and neighborhood and enjoyed the hotel's complimentary breakfast. Then, we headed out for a driving tour of the Stellenbosch area, which included a wine tour. Stellenbosch is known for a climate similar to Napa Valley, thus there are countless wineries. After a quick wine tour, we visited Cheetah Outreach, which is an organization that provides rehabilitation for cheetahs and other animals in addition to doing educational and conservation work. Our group loved learning from the employee who explained her relationships with each cheetah who lives at Cheetah Outreach and taught us about the beautiful, wild creatures. Day 1 was the perfect way to start our time in South Africa and included plenty of rest to help us get over the jetlag.

 

Day 2 

We rode in the van and passed through Khayelitsha, which is a Black township outside of the major city of Cape Town. Khayelitsha is known as a "shanty town" and consists of thousands of homes that are made from scrap materials. The homes look more like what we might call "shacks" in the USA. As we drove past the township, our tour guide and professor talked to us about the effects of not just apartheid but also poverty and racism more broadly. 5 million people live in Cape Town and that number includes 1 million people who live in Khayelitsha. We discussed the impacts of government, economy, lack of affordable housing, and racism.

The drive took us to Table Mountain National Park where we visited Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope, which are the Southwestern-most points of Africa. I hiked up to the top of Cape Point and had an incredible view of the point where the Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean meet each other. During our visit to Cape Point, we ran into a baboon along the side of the road! Then we headed to an area of Cape Town that's known for its penguins. We spent time watching the penguins and were in awe that we could be that close to them.

At the end of the day, we spent time together and engaged in group processing. We had tough conversations about how the day's experiences impacted each of us. We discussed liberation vs. equality, apartheid and its affect on South Africa but also the economy of the nation, and what we're observing and learning here and how we take that back home with us.

Day 3

We began our day at the District 6 Museum in Cape Town. District 6 was a thriving interracial community in Cape Town up until 1966 when the apartheid government of South Africa announced that they would force everyone out of the accessible, loving, diverse, and close-knit neighborhood of District 6 (they forced them to move out of their homes and used military vehicles to move them) to areas further from the city center where they were divided by the color of their skin (click here for information about how the apartheid government classified people). Not only were people forced to move further away but all non-white people were forced to move from places with views of the ocean, access to the mountains, and gorgeous views to places tucked behind the mountains and in areas with no pretty views. The neighbors of District 6 had been living together for decades when suddenly their own government forced them out. Today, the District 6 Museum is inside of a former-Methodist Church in District 6. District 6 sits mostly empty because even though the government forced everyone to move out, no private white people felt they could purchase land in District 6.

These are the street signs from the District 6 neighborhood.

This is our group with our tour guide, Ronald, at the District 6 Museum. We had a private tour of the museum from a woman who grew up in District 6 and was a teenager when her family was forced to move out of the neighborhood.

These tiles are people's stories that they wrote and they are now part of the floor at the District 6 Museum.

This room serves as a memorial to District 6 in hopes that a memorial will one day be constructed outside of the church building in the main area of District 6.

This plaque is mounted on the outside of the District 6 Museum and has been there for at least 40 years. The plaque was added to the building when it was the Methodist church in District 6 and it was the first monument to honor people impacted by apartheid in the country of South Africa.

The minister of the Methodist church at the time when this plaque was placed was Rev. Dr. Peter Storey. Dr. Storey is a South African Methodist minister, the former president of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA), and of the South African Council of Churches (SACC), and a  Professor Emeritus of the Practice of Christian Ministry at Duke University Divinity School. Dr. Storey was the minister at the Methodist church in the loving, diverse District 6 when the apartheid government announced their plans for forced displacement of all people living in District 6.

Our group had the pleasure to meet with Dr. Storey on the 4th day of our trip which is when he preached to us over dinner --- really, it was just a conversation. But, it was a prophetic conversation and one which I am continuing to process. I'll post more on that later but you can purchase his memoir here if you're interested in learning more about this incredible man.

We ended our day in Cape Town by visiting the Bo-Kaap neighborhood, which is formerly known as the Malay Quarter. It's a former racially segregated area and is a historical center of Cape Malay culture in Cape Town. Bo-Kaap is known for its brightly colored homes and cobblestoned streets. The area is traditionally a multicultural neighborhood, and 56.9% of its population identify as Muslim. Bo-Kaap has brightly colored houses, which signify an expression of freedom by the new homeowners because all the houses were painted white while on lease. 

Day 4 

Our first stop of the day was Table Mountain, which is located within Table Mountain National Park in Cape Town (we visited the opposite side of the national park on day 2 when we went to Cape Point). We took a cable car up the mountain, took photos quickly, and went right back down the mountain because we had to make it to the next item on our agenda, which was a ferry ride to Robben Island.

We took the ferry, via the Nelson Mandela Gateway, to Robben Island. Robben Island is a World Heritage Site. Robben Island is where Nelson Mandela, Robert Sobukwe, and dozens of other political prisoners were held for years during the apartheid government. We toured the island and learned about the conditions of the prison for the political protesters of the apartheid government. It was a powerful experience that made me curious about our prisons in the USA. Ministry with folks who are imprisoned is something about which I'd like to learn more.

We had the BEST end to our day at dinner with Dr. Peter Storey. As I wrote in the day 3 post, I am still gathering my notes from our conversation with Dr. Storey. I'll ruminate on those and put together a separate post (or maybe a sermon!) at some point. I felt God's Spirit moving among us and felt God calling me to more immediate action as a member of a mainline church in the USA. Dr. Storey is the embodiment of public theology and prophetic protesting and proclamation/preaching.

Day 5

Today was a slower day than the last 4 days. We only visited one place and it was the Langa township, which is the first Black township in South Africa. We had a local guide who taught us about the history of Langa and the surrounding "mixed race/colored" townships. We supported the local economy by purchasing all sorts of souvenirs and artwork from local artists!

I find myself constantly thinking about the USA and our big cities, and even small ones, that are often still segregated like many of our churches, because of intentional things like urbanization and gentrification which South Africa has experienced, too. 

Today marked the end of our tours around the West Cape, South Africa. For the next week we'll be staying in the university area (besides when we go to church in Cape Town on Sunday) because we have class and meetings from Monday-Thursday of this coming week. I'll spend tomorrow doing the last of my homework for class and journaling some more about my learnings on this trip so far. I'm grateful for UPSem and the opportunity to travel to South Africa where we're able to learn about and experience public theology.

Blessings to each of you from the complex, reconciling, and beautiful country of South Africa. Email me if you have any questions, thoughts, concerns, or anything that you'd like me to check out for you while I'm here.

Peace, 

Caitlin

April 2024

The Spring semester ended last week and I cannot believe how fast time flies. Since I last posted, I have preached my final sermon at Ginter Park Presbyterian Church (sermon linked here) and led a fellowship activity as part of my final project. I have also co-led a Chapel service at Union Presbyterian Seminary's Richmond campus. The service was called Sow & Serve and was hosted by the Richmond Student Government Association's Service Deacon (me!) and Reap & Sow Ministries, which is a student-led, student-fed, student-bred ministry on UPSem's Richmond campus. I serve as a the Worship Coordinator for Reap & Sow Ministries and hope to make this "worship-through-work" experience an annual service. For Sow & Serve, we brought in local organizations and ministries to share their work with our UPSem community. I prayed this prayer, which is written by John van de Laar on the Sacredise website, and it summed up our worship service perfectly:

God of Justice,

We may not be able to confront queens,

or challenge presidents;

We may not have the capacity to divert resources,

or uplift communities;

We may not have the voice to silence the noise of war,

or the words to negotiate peace between armies;

But, as we follow you, O Christ, our firm foundation, we are able to do something.

And so, we pray that you would inspire us

to commit to and act on

the small difference we can make:

May we bring peace

through small acts of blessing

and reconciliation;

May we bring wealth

through small contributions

and collaborations;

May we bring safety

through small acts of consideration

and acceptance;

May we bring wholeness

through small acts of care

and service.

And in the small ways, O God,

may our difference make a big contribution

to your saving work in our world.

Amen.

In addition to these two worship services, I attended (and helped with) Tulip Fest, which is UPSem Richmond's annual spring festival. I had my yearly evaluation with Grace Presbytery's Committee on Preparation for Ministry (CPM) via Zoom and they voted to continue to have me under care of Grace Presbytery (yay!). As I prepared for the end of the semester, I wrapped up most final projects/papers/sermons early because I traveled to Texas for 10 days to attend my cousin's wedding and my sister's bachelorette party. Between those two events, I had a great time in Denton for a few days! I am grateful for lunch with my Session liaison, Julie, and for the opportunity to attend Super Wednesday at St. Andrew Pres. After Super Wednesday dinner and programming, I attended the Session meeting as a guest. I love attending Session meetings because I learn so much about church life and administration (I attend Session regularly at my internship site and I visited another church's Session meeting as an assignment for my Polity class this Spring). I enjoyed witnessing how St. Andrew enacts PCUSA polity as I prepare for the Polity Ordination Exam, which is this Thursday.

I have a ton to do in preparation for both the exam and my trip to South Africa, which begins April 27th. This morning our family experienced an unexpected car accident, which involved my sister who is pregnant. It was a terrifying experience for her and for all of us who love her (she's safe now). In the midst of the fear and worry, my sister's friends enveloped us in love, a kind couple cared for my sister by helping her out of the totaled car and calling EMS, and friends and family offered prayers, love, and support from all places. It wasn't the end to the bachelorette weekend that we were expecting and it's still unnerving and frightening, but we feel God's love through the love of our friends and family. We appreciate all of the prayers and care.

I am thankful for the constant support & encouragement from my church families. I hope to post updates to this blog at least a few times during my travel seminar to South Africa!

Blessings and Gratitude,

Caitlin

Hiking at a Virginia State Park

Ethiopian food with Mengistu, my friend, tutor, and mentor.

A little time for fun in RVA!

Ginter Park Presbyterian Church's Parish Intern, Pastor, and Youth Leader Intern

Christ is risen!

March 2024

In honor of approaching Holy Week, a group of folks gathered to create crosses after worship last Sunday at my internship. One of the church’s members is a wood-worker so he and his wife made a bunch of wood crosses from scrap wood. They brought all sorts of art supplies for us to use to decorate the handmade crosses. We had a beautiful time of fellowship with each other. We flexed our creative muscles as we reflected on the cross, Christ's boundary-breaking ministry, and his brutal death that saved all of us from our sins. What a wonderful experience, especially because I had just preached a sermon on Philippians 2:1-11! 

As part of Lent, my husband and I have read a devotional or prayer from Cole Arthur Riley’s book "Black Liturgies: Prayers, Poems, and Meditations for Staying Human" a few times each week. If you have not heard of this book, I’d highly recommend you check it out from your local library or purchase it. It’s a beautiful book of prayers, devotionals, and thought-provoking messages all based in Scripture. My Confirmation Mentor (from 2008) bought the book for me as a gift (isn't that neat?!).

After our Cross-Making Workshop

A few of our crosses.

February 2024

I find it hard to believe that February is already drawing to a close. It feels like I just wrote my January blog post yet as I reflect on the last month, a lot has happened! This post is more informational than engaging, but I want to share these updates with y'all. 

- At the end of January, I took 2 of the PCUSA ordination exams (Worship & Sacraments and Bible Exegesis). I spent over 50 hours on the exams in a period of 6 days. Months of preparation for both of the exams helped me to pass both of them (and I passed the Bible Content Exam last August), which is something for which I am grateful and of which I am very proud.

- As part of my internship, I attend Care Team (we do not have Deacons and instead have Ruling Elders and the Care Team) meetings monthly and I engage in pastoral care. At the February Care Team meeting, I experienced the joy of crafting with the Care Team. We made Valentine gifts (a pearl and lace Valentine decoration) for members of the church who are homebound. I loved delivering the gifts to a few members of the church and seeing the delight in their eyes. 

- At the beginning of February I taught Sunday School at Ginter Park Presbyterian Church. I led a discussion about Aging & Spirituality, which was informed by seminars that I have attended at Westminster Canterbury in Richmond, VA. On that same Sunday, I co-led worship with my supervisor, Pastor Carla, and the President of Union Presbyterian Seminary, Dr. Jacqueline Lapsley. What a privilege and joy it was to co-lead worship alongside these two women ministers (Dr. Jacq is the first female president of Union Presbyterian Seminary & Pastor Carla is the first female minister of Ginter Park Presbyterian Church!).

- My husband and I traveled to Maryland on a Saturday to visit family and attend the Iowa Women's Basketball game versus University of Maryland. We loved watching the famous Caitlin Clark play basketball and seeing all of the University of Iowa fans who traveled in from so many places. Among the immense knowledge I have gained at my internship, I have learned the challenge of working on Sundays. Of course I knew about this challenge since I am a preacher's kid. But it is different when you are the one who is waking up early Sunday morning for a full day of work! I am grateful to my husband who drove us home from MD at 11pm on that Saturday so that I could sleep and be prepared for church in the morning. We are continuously learning what this balance looks like. 

- I applied for and was selected to be a part of a Public Theology travel seminar to South Africa in May 2024 with my seminary. We will focus on public theology in South Africa, particularly as it relates to the work of justice and reconciliation in the aftermath of apartheid. The travel seminar will take place in collaboration with the School of Theology at the University of Stellenbosch, which houses the Beyers Naudé Center for Public Theology. We will visit sites of significance in the South African church struggle and participate in a class at the University of Stellenbosch on contemporary confessions, including the South African Kairos Document and the Belhar Confession. I am incredibly excited for this opportunity!

- Lent began at my internship with an Ash Wednesday Supper Church service. We fellowshipped over soup and bread, invited each other into a practice of Lenten discipleship, chatted with folks at our dinner tables about our spiritual practices, and then we received ashes (and I had the opportunity to impose ashes, which was a very powerful experience). As I reflected on the conversations with folks during Ash Wednesday Supper Church, I decided to add a spiritual practice to my life during this season of Lent. So far, my daily spiritual practice addition is either 5-10 minutes of centering prayer or doing "homework for life," which I learned about in my Introduction to Preaching class when we watched this TEDx video from Matthew Dicks.

I am grateful for the love, support, and prayers from my family, friends and church communities. May you feel God's constant love and boundless grace around you each day.

Peace and blessings,

Caitlin

Ruach

    For the last 6 months I have struggled with chronic hoarseness. As a parish intern who co-leads worship weekly and engages in many pastoral care visits, this has been difficult. Additionally, not being able to speak much in classes and not talking on the phone with family and friends has been an adjustment. In November, I was diagnosed with nodules on my vocal cords and muscle strain as a result of the nodules. I have been in speech therapy for the last six weeks. My biggest takeaway from speech therapy is the reminder to breathe --- and not just to breathe but to breathe properly; slowly, deeply, from the diaphragm, and often.

    The deep breathing, which I now try to practice each time I speak, forces me to slow down and to speak intentionally. The practice of deep breathing enables me to pay close attention when I read scripture, to emphasize pauses between sentences while I preach, and to honor silence that comes between sentences, words, and deep breaths. My breath is a sign of my being alive and it is what helps my voice be unique and clear. The breath work that I am engaged in reminds me of the Hebrew word ruach, which means "breath" or "wind" or "spirit." When I breathe deeply, I invite myself to feel God's Spirit to move through and around me. Ruach dances, stretches, and blows in and around each of us. Sometimes, God's Spirit even stirs us in ways we never imagined. I am grateful for the gift of breath and for God's boundless Spirit who works in and among us. May we each find time to breathe deeply, to create space for God's spirit, and to be aware of how the Spirit might be guiding us.

    Below is a copy of a breathing exercise that folks of Ginter Park Presbyterian Church (GPPC) engaged in when I preached and led worship on January 7th:

Breathe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Let Her stir within you.

And breathe out the light that your gifts bring to illuminate our world.