New Faith Practices in the New Year
For most of my life, my faith practices revolved around the activities connected to my church community. Attending worship services each week, meeting with a small group, social events, picnics, potlucks, and other special celebrations gave me a strong nucleus of positive energy connected to my faith in God. Along the way I also developed my own personal practices of devotion, reading, prayer, and serving that grew from my love of God. Together these spiritual disciplines fed my soul and nurtured my passion to know God, know myself, and know others more intimately.
That was before the ongoing pandemic life crept into our lives. Like most people, the closure of churches, or limited access or activities connected to the larger faith community, called me to reassess the role of church, the meaning of liturgy, and the invitations to new faith practices. How do I worship without the facilitated presence of a congregation? What role does community play for me and what is my role to a community that is limited in its ability to physically come together?
I’m not here to set out specific suggestions for how to deal with it all, but I am using the start of this new year to consider new faith practices that may help me in my continued spiritual journey. How do I move forward with intention and commitment to loving God with my whole heart, mind, and soul? It’s a question we all must answer individually, prayerfully, and frequently.
For me, I recommit myself to meeting regularly with my spiritual director either virtually or in person to pay attention to the movement of the Divine Spirit in my daily life. I’ve also scheduled monthly days of quiet solitude and silence for personal retreat. And finally, I offer myself to serve others in one-on-one spiritual direction virtually or in person. or in small group spiritual direction.
For Spiritual Direction Conversation:
Have I taken time to assess my own faith practices for this new year?
What role does a faith community have for me especially when church may be limited in activities?
How has my personal spiritual practices worked in unison with corporate practices? How might this be changing? What does this feel like to me?
If I am experiencing changes in my faith practices, what is God inviting me to explore, experience, or facilitate for me and for others?
