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In her sermon last Sunday, RiverKids Director Amelia Cunard spoke about how embracing unconditional love of self can help us to become more fully alive. She said this: "Many people seek to be big, bold, and influential, but true fulfillment comes when we look inward, accepting our limitations, embracing our smallness, and discover the Agape, the unconditional and divine love within us. Aligning with this love leads to a love of self — not in a narcissistic way, but in a healthy and genuine appreciation of our whole self, true, imperfect, uniquely wonderful and peculiar — our true identity. Loving and caring for God’s sheep is a way of participating in divine love — our calling. The commandments: 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength’ and ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’– are interconnected! When you can see your whole self truthfully and love what you see — this is being fully alive! And out of that fullness — love spills out, expanding the Kingdom of God." Amelia shared about how extending compassion to her self and being her own best friend — as modeled by Jesus and the friends in her life — has been transformative for her. She shared that: "One dark night, I was stuck in self-criticism, unable to let go of guilt and regret over a mistake. Then, a voice inside asked, 'Is this how you would speak to your best friend?' I paused. From that moment on, whenever I felt the urge to be harsh with myself, I stopped and imagined speaking to myself as a best friend would. My tone softened, my words changed — just like how Jesus spoke to Peter, with truth and kindness, not condemnation. I also realized I could be my own best friend because I had wonderful friends who reflect Divine Love and exemplify this for me!" To help us practice this kind of healthy self-love and self-compassion, we've included some information and tips below. We'd love to hear from you. In what ways will you practice being kind to yourself this week? Let us know in the comment section. 
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This year, during "40 Days of Faith," one of the spiritual practices we are exploring together is called The Examen. The Examen is a reflective prayer practice created by St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits. It involves prayerfully reviewing the events of our days in order to become more aware of God’s presence in and direction for our lives. St. Ignatius “expected that God would speak through our deepest feelings and yearnings, what he called ‘consolation’ and ‘desolation.’ Consolation is whatever helps us to connect with ourselves, others, God and the universe. Desolation is whatever disconnects us.” (from Sleeping with Bread by Dennis Linn, Sheila Fabricant Linn, and Matthew Linn) On the "40 Days of Faith" Prayer Bracelet, the green bead will help us to remember that God is with us in our "consolations" and our "desolations" and will remind us to practice The Examen. Instructions on how to practice The Examen are included below (and in the "40 Days of Faith" Guide). The Examen is especially powerful as we begin to notice trends over time. And so, it will be important to track your insights somewhere like a journal or a calendar, like the ones from Praying in Color (by Sybil MacBeth) included in the Guide.
This year, during "40 Days of Faith," one of the spiritual practices we are exploring together is called Breath Prayer. Breath Prayer is an ancient form of prayer that connects short, memorable phrases with deep breathing. This embodied practice can help us to connect with the Spirit, to release tension and stress, and to ground ourselves in the present moment. On the "40 Days of Faith" Prayer Bracelet, the blue bead will help us to remember that God's presence is as near as the air we breathe and will remind us to practice Breath Prayer. Instructions on how to practice Breath Prayer are included below (and in the "40 Days of Faith" Guide). Also included in the Guide is a calendar with a different Breath Prayer for each day of “40 Days of Faith.” These prayers have been drawn from Bible verses, @blackliturgies (Cole Arthur Riley), and @liturgiesforparents (Kayla Craig). You are welcome to use these Breath Prayers in whatever way resonates with you. You may want to follow our daily calendar, to skip around to the prayers that stand out to you, to use the same prayer for multiple days, or even to write your own!
Last Sunday, Pastor Alison led us through Conversation Church — a special service format we use from time to time on Sundays to help facilitate connection through guided conversation. During the service, Pastor Alison helped us begin to think about the season of "40 Days of Faith" (the River's name for Lent) and shared about the River's tradition of creating Prayer Bracelets. Each bead on the bracelet symbolizes something and serves as a reminder of a truth about God, a spiritual practice, or something we are praying for.
As part of this year's "40 Days of Faith" Guide we have included a page with reflection questions connected to each bead on the Prayer Bracelet. (You may recognize some of these questions from Conversation Church!) We hope that they will be a helpful tool as you begin to think about the sermon series theme and your personal prayer practices and requests. The guide is available on our website as a PDF and we will also have some printed copies available at the church on Sundays.  |
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