[RivCompanions] [Rivendell] it's all about relationship

[Ladelle Hyman]

Barbi,

Thank you for sharing and for adding this reflection to my Morning Prayer
time.  I have just completed my second reading.

Simply,
Ladelle

On Thu, Nov 12, 2015 at 9:28 AM, Barbi Click <bgclick at gmail.com> wrote:

> for what it is worth...I wrote the name of Ecclesia incorrectly. :-)
>
> It is Ecclesia Ministries Mission and more information for those who are
> interested may be found at http://www.ecclesiaministriesmission.org/.
>
> *Barbi Click*
> *www.linkedin.com/in/barbiclick/* <http://www.linkedin.com/in/barbiclick/>
> *http://feathersandfaith.blogspot.com
> <http://feathersandfaith.blogspot.com> *
> *http://facebook.com/bgclick <http://facebook.com/bgclick>*
>
> * He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require
> of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.*
>
>
>
>
> On Thu, Nov 12, 2015 at 8:24 AM, Barbi Click <bgclick at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Dear beloveds,
>>
>>
>> Here is a bit of highlight from my time at Ecclesia Mission Ministries
>> conference.
>>
>>
>> Everything is about Relationship. It is all about relationship.
>>
>>
>>
>> A story about Relationship:
>>
>> Gennie from Trinity Church in Boston:
>>
>> She has been sight-impaired since birth. She walks with a sight cane as
>> she ministers to the homeless who are around Trinity Church.
>>
>> She told of one man who made sexual advances towards her. It was all
>> innuendo but clearly pointed. She leaned towards him and asked, “Is this
>> about sexual intimacy?” Boom. There it was, blatantly laid out on the
>> table. He began stuttering and clambering for words to back out of what had
>> become an uncomfortable conversation for him. But she continued to
>> converse. He finally said, “I have not been touched in 12 years. I just
>> want someone to touch me.” She asked him, “May I give you a hug?” As tears
>> streamed down his face, he said, “Yes.” And she did. She said she is not a
>> hugger but that she hugs him every time she sees him.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> People hunger for more than simply food. Poverty isolates.
>>
>>
>>
>> Bob Flick+ on Francis:
>>
>>    - Francis stripped naked – to become obedient (to hear)
>>    - He heard the word of God tell him to rebuild San Domiano – to build
>>    community
>>    - He began to work as a minister in a leper colony.—he wanted to be
>>    able to embrace the leper.
>>
>> Embracing the leper became a metaphor for following his deepest desire.
>> The leper was within him.
>>
>>
>>
>> Emptying/letting go – we have to strip naked before being filled, being
>> able to embrace our own leper.
>>
>>
>>
>> Bonaventure wrote about Francis. For Francis, the world was the
>> monastery. Francis asked: How can I be a contemplative in the world
>> around me?
>>
>>
>>
>> Bonaventure used the example of the Temple.
>>
>>    - The court as the outer ring – world outside of the self, creation.
>>    It’s about relationship between the outside and me.
>>
>> God is in the crap as well as in the roses. Nobody needs fixing by me.
>> There is no good change without relationship. Developing relationship is
>> about being open to the presence of God in one another.
>>
>>
>>
>>    - Sanctuary – inside the self – conscious, memories, imagination –
>>    WHO AM I?
>>
>> Memory is the IS of eternity. We have a past, a future – but the NOW –
>> present to the stuff inside of us.
>>
>> In touch with self- memories need to be contemplative.
>>
>> Eucharist is being present to the Now and the remembering of the Holy
>> Spirit on these gifts.
>>
>> Jesus told us to remember him. We rob ourselves of the contemplative life
>> if we do not spend time in our memories, good and bad.
>>
>>
>>
>> We are called into something much more profound than just getting the job
>> done. We are working to learn/feel compassion. For ourselves, towards
>> others, for God.
>>
>>
>>
>> God made flesh in Jesus was to show us that all of this is doable.
>>
>>    - Holy of Holies – Beyond self. God as God. Godness, Trinity, Mystery.
>>
>> To be present to God in mystery. Bring in relationship with a God that is
>> beyond our knowing.
>>
>> God is most essentially relationship: Love changes. God is love. God
>> changes. God is constantly creating new things which means change.
>>
>> Love – God is relentless.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> I knew I had to change my narrative. In the midst of this talk, I felt
>> the tears begin. It became a flood and I had to get up and go to the back
>> of the room. I knew something really big was happening. I didn't know what
>> at the moment but I knew it was important.
>>
>>
>>
>> As the tears flowed, I felt the resentment, anger, bitterness flow out of
>> me. It was a profound moment and I knew I was different. The understanding
>> didn’t all happen quite so quickly but soon after it became apparent. I
>> felt changed. I felt a calm that I have never felt before in my life. And
>> it remains.
>>
>>
>>
>> God *is* relentless.
>>
>>
>>
>> *Barbi *
>>
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Rivendell mailing list
> Rivendell at justus.anglican.org
> http://justus.anglican.org/mailman/listinfo/rivendell.justus
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://justus.anglican.org/pipermail/rivcompanions.justus/attachments/20151112/15047184/attachment.html>