A New Image for the New Year
In November, Marilyn and I spent four days at
Yellow Point Lodge near Ladysmith on Vancouver Island.
While there we visited the Barton Leier Gallery nearby. Nixi Barton and Grant Leier are wonderful and colorful painters who have created a fantasy garden around their gallery and home. It is a must visit for us. This year we decided to make a Christmas gift to each other of one of Grant's paintings.
A few weeks later I met with the Committee on Ministry of the Pacific Northwest Comnference of the United Church of Christ. This group is charged with maintaining clergy standing for ministers in this area. They have embarked upon a new program of inviting one or two clergy to their meeting to engage in a conversation about their ministry and church.
I spent an hour in conversation with five members of the committee including clergy and laity. After a wonderful time of sharing back and forth they invited me to stand while they circled around me. Laying hands on me, each shared a prayer. It was a rich experence for me. I especially remember that Susan prayed that I "keep dancing".
I mentioned the image to Gail who told me about a frind of hers who is a cancer survivor. As part of her supportive therapy the friend was invited to imagine bad cancer cells and good white cells in battle, with the white cells winning. She said that war imagery wasn't comfortable for her so she meditated on a dance of her body's cells, sometimes the white cells led and sometimes the cancer cells led the dance.
I found the prayer and the image of dancing to be especially fitting because this is the painting we bought.
Posted by Donel at December 27, 2004 10:16 PM
A few weeks later I met with the Committee on Ministry of the Pacific Northwest Comnference of the United Church of Christ. This group is charged with maintaining clergy standing for ministers in this area. They have embarked upon a new program of inviting one or two clergy to their meeting to engage in a conversation about their ministry and church.
I spent an hour in conversation with five members of the committee including clergy and laity. After a wonderful time of sharing back and forth they invited me to stand while they circled around me. Laying hands on me, each shared a prayer. It was a rich experence for me. I especially remember that Susan prayed that I "keep dancing".
I mentioned the image to Gail who told me about a frind of hers who is a cancer survivor. As part of her supportive therapy the friend was invited to imagine bad cancer cells and good white cells in battle, with the white cells winning. She said that war imagery wasn't comfortable for her so she meditated on a dance of her body's cells, sometimes the white cells led and sometimes the cancer cells led the dance.
I found the prayer and the image of dancing to be especially fitting because this is the painting we bought.
Posted by Donel at December 27, 2004 10:16 PM