watershed: a community church

I hope you can join us as we celebrate summer by gathering at the Hipkes' farm (map) this Sunday, June 22. The festivities start at 10am, and go until we're done. We'll have games for the kids and lots of time to hangout and enjoy being together. Please bring meat to grill and a dish to share. Beverages, plates, etc. will be provided. Please contact me if you need a ride to Hipkes.

Here are some notes from our discussion about Sabbath on June 8.  Thanks, Jeff W. !

Sabbath Notes (PDF)

The funny thing is, I can't say for sure why thes practices work. I know they work because they have for me, but I'm still confounded by their effectiveness. Maybe it's because the ancient spiritual disciplines cause us to slow down and shut up, something at which most of us are not very good. Maybe it's that there's something mystical and mysterious about these ancient rites...like we're finding a special way to tap into the treasury of the spirit.

But, I think they work because of Jesus. I'm afraid you're not going to get much more explanation than that from me. I think that something about Jesus - who he was and who he is - inspiried the pople who developed these practices long ago. He led them on this quest. They believed in his promise: God wants to meet with us.

Again, I think it's because of Jesus. In the end, there is something so compelling about the person of Jesus and the way of life he offeres that it causes people to commit everything to the pursuit of him and his way. It is the way to live in the sacredness of God.

Henri Nouwen said,

In the spiritual life, the word "discipline" means "the effort to create some space in which God can act." Discipline means to prevent everything in your life from being filled up. Discipline means that somewhere you're not occupied, and certainly not preoccupied. In the spiritual life, discipline means to create that space in which something can happen that you hadn't planned or counted on.