10/06/2022

10/06/2022

Dear Friends in Christ,

Last week I attended diocesan clergy retreat at the Bishop’s Ranch in Healdsburg. The Bishop’s Ranch is not only beautiful and peaceful, but also a deeply spiritual place. Just stepping out of my car onto the ground is like taking a deep, cleansing breath. The familiar sights, sounds, and smells coupled with the expectation of rest and renewal create a profoundly liminal place; a space between the cares and concerns of this world and the hope and promises of the God’s Kingdom. It is a place that invites you to sit quietly with a cup of coffee in your hand contemplating the view, to rest surrounded by flowers and watch the birds and butterflies, or to take a gentle hike out into the hills and woods or immerse yourself in the cool cleansing baptismal waters of the (unheated) swimming pool. This year’s retreat was led by Anne and Terry Symens-Bucher from Canticle Farm in Oakland. Canticle Farm is an intentional community experimenting at the intersection of faith, social justice, and Earth-based nonviolent activism, loosely grounded in Franciscan spirituality. They invited us into the sacred spiral of gratitude, honoring our pain, seeing with new eyes, and going forth, represented by four different and beautifully decorated altars. At the end of our first session on Tuesday evening we were invited to walk the spiral and place a candle on the altar which most described where we were. At the beginning and end of each subsequent session we were invited to move our candles to another altar that reflected how we might have changed. During the retreat I moved from gratitude through honoring my pain and suffering, to seeing with new eyes, ending appropriately on going forth. I was able to end there due to the Canticle Farm five vows which I offer to you wherever you are on your journey, and I invite you to remember that we constantly move around the spiral, and if you find y0uself in a difficult place right now, you can know with assurance that eventually you will find yourself in a better place.

I vow to myself and to each of you:

v To commit myself daily to the healing of our world and the welfare of all beings

v To live on earth more lightly and less violently in the food, products, and energy I consume

v To draw strength and guidance form the living earth, the ancestors, the future beings, and my brothers and sisters of all species.

v To support others in their work for the world and to ask for help when I feel the need.

v To pursue a daily spiritual practice that clarifies my mind, strengthens my heart, and supports me in observing these vows.

The pain of the world sometimes feels overwhelming, and it is tempting and completely understandable to protect ourselves by detaching ourselves from our feelings and vulnerabilities. Over the two days of the retreat, I was able to be vulnerable because these vows became a tangible reminder that my pain was not all there was, that God’s love is greater than the world’s suffering. I discovered that it was when I allowed myself to be vulnerable and acknowledge and feel my pain that I became more closely connected with God. I hope this help you as it helped me.

Yours in Christ,

Rev. Jane