Welcome to our brand new blog!!
This is a place where we can share our growth as children of God through our rich, formative experiences.
Anecdotal stories of a growing faith, special memories, ideas to explore: bring it here and share. Submit your offerings to me any time! And comment if you're so inclined.
This image of Sanctuary Light at St. Paul's reminds us of the presence of Christ, alive in each one of us. So when we remind each other to Be the Light, we are calling each other to be Christ in the world. So. . .what does that mean? Here's my take on it, through the lens of formation.
Each and every experience in our lives from birth to death can be described as formative. Without any one of those events, good or bad, we would be different people.
The dictionary definition of formation brings a generalized understanding, describing formation as the manner in which things are formed. One strong example in nature is sedimentary rock. Many different bits and pieces combine, forming larger units.
Formation as applied to a human being would involve the many influences and experiences that have molded us into personhood. Spiritual formation, then, might be that which forms our souls. So MANY big questions arise: how do you separate mind, body and spirit? Does spiritual also mean religious? If you were formed without church, what are the chances of seeing you in the pews some day? Any of these points could be argued. But no need to split on philosophy when we're together in our faith. Back to the Light.
As Christian people who practice our faith, in part, by attending church, we have a common bond around what we believe. In particular, we are Episcopalians. We profess our beliefs each Sunday during worship. Here's just a snippet:
from The Nicene Creed, Book of Common Prayer
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ
the only son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light...
The Light is what leads a spiritually formative journey. For those of us that choose church as a learning path, it's that spark of recognition that we are reflections of God, through His Son, Jesus. We learn about our Light through Scripture, church history, prayer, ritual, sacraments, personal experiences and fellowship with other Lights. But that's not all. We fling open the doors and take our collective Light into the world. We are followers who lead by example, just as Jesus did. We are creative beings, like God, who learn that our world needs new life and we find ways to give birth to deeds that seed the future.
Learning about Christ and being like Christ: that is how I see Formation.
Just sayin' (grin).
~Jean
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