I'm attending the annual conference of the Consortium of Endowed Episcopal Parishes this week. I was particularly struck by the different ways we prayed yesterday.
Curtis Almquist, the Superior of the Society of St. John the Evangelist led us in a simple breath prayer as we started the formal conference.
We celebrated the opening Eucharist at St. David's Church. It was a traditional, Prayer Book liturgy filled with the voices of many clergy and lay people who love the Episcopal Church (which means we were louder than most Sunday congregations with our enthusiastic responses -- "AND ALSO WITH YOU!" included an exclamation point).
Earlier in the afternoon I attended a workshop led by the leadership of the Wilderness, an alternative Eucharistic congregation based in the cathedral in Denver, CO. The worship was simple, yet profound. Prayer stations invited us to be active participants, to wander and experiment, before, during, and after the liturgy. We used alternative prayers, new arrangements for some traditional Lenten hymns, and a deep and holy silence.
In this worship, the most profound and moving of the three times of prayer yesterday, we entered the wilderness of Lent. On their website, the Wilderness describes the experience this way:
"The wilderness is a quiet place, free from the hectic bustle of life and free from distraction. It is a place of stillness, where mind and soul can wander, searching for meaning of life . . . and searching for God. It can be unsettling, a place of questions, but also of transformation. It can be a haven of peace and renewal, of nourishment and creativity. It is holy ground."
We need more of this, I think, more invitation into the wilderness, into a place in which open seeking is not only permitted but encouraged. How might this transform the church in the 21st century?
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