Sunday, March 26, 2006
passionate practice of pilgrimage
We kicked off another passionate practice for the next 5 weeks of Digestion, our evening service. (The passionate practice for last month was discernment of music.)
I told the stories of two pilgrimages that inspire me; Celtic peregrini and walking the Camino de Santiago. We then offered a number of stations; communion, praying for Easter camp and plaster casting our feet (which will evolve over the next weeks). The passionate practice of pilgrimage, could be embraced in the the following concrete practices;
1.Go for a walk each day for the next 5 weeks. As you walk, pray the same pilgrim prayer. See what you learn.
God be with me in every pass,
Jesus be with me on every hill,
Spirit be with me in every stream,
Each step of the journey I goest
2. Go to Easter camp.
3. Do an internet pilgrimage. Go here twice a week for the next 6 weeks.
)
Surfed over here having googled the phrase “Easter Friday”. I was fascinated to see that you refer to “Good Friday” as “Easter Friday” in an entry for last March.
Why? Is it an effort to re-frame Good Friday for so-called post-moderns? Or are you simply unaware that most of Christendom thinks of Easter Friday as, well, Easter Friday?
This isn’t a troll and I am not trying to insult you; I am simply and genuinely baffled by your nomenclature.
Comment by Patricia Tryon — March 27, 2006 @ 11:01 am
Patricia,
Are you able to clarify how you use “christendom.” are you saying that throughout history the Christendom church has called the Friday of Holy Week “Easter” and not “Good”? cos I thought it was the other way around. It is my understanding that historically the church has called the Friday “Good.”
As I prepared publicity for Easter last year I thought heck, i don’t think many people in new zealand would know what “Good Friday” was. searching for a more helpful descriptor, i thought “easter friday” would be better. The post was simply me reflecting my our easter publicity.
Does that make sense? I’m not sure I’m fully grasping what you are saying.
( and for blog readers wondering what this has to do with pilgrimage, the answer is nothing- patricia is commenting on this post here – http://www.emergentkiwi.org.nz/archives/the_monday_of_easter_week.php- which she couldn’t do on the actual post because comments are closed – round one to spammers)
Comment by steve — March 28, 2006 @ 9:43 am
Steve
I am enjoying your postings on passionate practices. I have mentioned before our family is going through a tough time which has resulted in tremendous losses, financially, and emotionally, the most hurtful being the loss of the home we built and loved for 6 years in a neighbourhood where for the first time in my life I was happy and settled.
Our family of six is undergoing a pilgrimage of its own learning to trust God in times of trial and suffering and to reach out and help other sacrificially. My children have recently done the famine as part of our journey.
We are striving to hold our heads high admist what essentially is a spiritual battle of good and evil, all the time believing God will use our struggle to help others.
I am sharing our journey so that other faced with similar adversity can be encouraged and strengthened in their faith.
We have confronted sin in our long distant past and know we have nothing to hide or be ashamed of.
Below is a quote I have found in my journey ( unsure of who wrote it, but it has been helpful ).
Suffering often occurs at the hand of others. But it has a way of revealing what is in our own hearts. Capacities for love, mercy, anger, envy, and pride can lie dormant until awakened by circumstances. Strength and weakness of heart is found not when everything is going our way but when flames of suffering and temptation test the mettle of our character. As gold and silver are refined by fire, and as coal needs time and pressure to become a diamond, the human heart is revealed and developed by enduring the pressure and heat of time and circumstance. Strength of character is shown not when all is well with our world but in the presence of human pain and suffering.
Comment by Paula Weir — March 28, 2006 @ 9:56 am
Nope, Easter Friday is, well, Easter Friday. Throughout Christendom (which I define as the catholic church, distinct from the Roman Catholic Church in which I practice), Easter begins in the dark before sunrise on Easter morning. Apparently your expression is not unique; it appears to be colloquial for some Australians, too. Who knew? 🙂
This is not a question to which I am requesting your response (I do thank you for telling me what informed your thinking above), I wonder whether you would advocate translating Easter to a consistent date on the calendar, so that it would people unfamiliar with Christian practices would know when to expect it. Might it then be easier to “market” Easter?
Comment by Patricia Tryon — March 28, 2006 @ 3:10 pm
actually, if you want to get technical, historically Easter wasn’t even called Easter and the observance of “Easter” is thought not to have started until about the 2nd century 🙂
but anyway…I love these passionate practices you’re doing, very cool and inspiring!
Comment by Makeesha — March 29, 2006 @ 11:28 am
Well, Makeesha, my question wasn’t a technical one, and your information doesn’t actually make my explanation wrong 🙂
Comment by Patricia Tryon — March 29, 2006 @ 12:38 pm
patricia –
I guess I don’t understand your point then, probably because you’re using rhetorical questions and sarcastic comments.
Comment by Makeesha — March 31, 2006 @ 4:41 am