This One's for the Women in the Church

Sacred Attention and St. Phoebe

This week I was invited to give an opening prayer at a St. Phoebe celebration sponsored by Discerning Deacons and the Intercommunity Peace and Justice Center. (That’s Gracie Morbitzer’s lovely St. Phoebe icon.) As I thought about how to begin, two words came to mind:

Sacred Attention.

After I apologized to the introverts in the room (I am one! I get it!), I invited everyone to take a moment to just…look around. To see each other. To consider the magnitude of the stories present in the room. To consider the wild wealth of gifts present in the room, no two alike. To consider the exquisite expression of God present in each person’s face, in each person’s life, right there in the room.

We’re not used to focusing our attention in that way. It can be a bit awkward, a bit uncomfortable. But it’s our entryway into a contemplative seeing that binds our hearts together in a way nothing else can.

So many incredible people were there, giving voice to the experience of women in the church and bearing witness to St. Phoebe’s inspiring example. And preparing, in hope and in trepidation, for the Synod that starts in October.

I wanted to share with you the prayer I wrote, the one that followed from that sacred attention. And I wanted to tell you, women in the church, that I see you, I appreciate you, and I celebrate you.

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“We Are Here”

We knew the Holy Spirit first through wind, through fire—
The wind blew past us, the fire rested above our heads—
And the text doesn’t say that we were there, but we were there.

We know the Holy Spirit now as it echoes through our own voices,
As it is embodied in our own ministries,
Just like it was in St. Phoebe’s.

Holy Spirit, help us to hear.
Holy Spirit, help us to see.

When the magi came and brought their gifts to the manger,
The frankincense, the gold, the myrrh,
The text doesn’t say that we were there,
But we are here.
We are here.

We, wise ones too, we bring our gifts.
We bring our knowledge, our commitment.
We bring our vision, our voices.

Let’s not forget, as we approach Bethlehem,
To look to each other for encouragement.
To witness each other’s gifts.
To welcome each other’s stories.

Holy Spirit, help us to see.
Holy Spirit, help us to hear.

Amen.

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A Few Hopeful Things

-Patrice Gopo has a new book out called Autumn Song: Essays on Absence, and, my goodness, the cover will take your breath away. Patrice is a gorgeous, thoughtful writer, and I’m so happy to have a new collection of her work out in the world. I also want to let you know that, out of what I can only describe as wild generosity, Patrice’s website houses the most magnificently comprehensive writing resource roundup I think I’ve ever seen. Conferences! Editors! Grants! Residencies! Go ye forth and explore it.

-My very cool and funny friend John Dougherty writes a lot about spirituality and film, and he’s on the AMDG podcast this week talking about cinema divina (think lectio divina for film).

-I realized last week that it was twenty years ago that I was 21. Twenty years! I feel so compassionate and tender toward my younger self, so I wrote a little letter to her on Instagram. It was so nice to see what kind and loving things everyone had to say to their younger selves. Thank you for sharing them.

Walking alongside you as we bear our gifts,
Cameron