Avenues
to Christian Spirituality: An Intergenerational and Family Day of Exploration
The Wider
Parishes of Southern Cayuga County invite everyone to experience Christian
spirituality again this year. Building on last year’s offering, the experiences
will be facilitated through a series of independent workshops on Sunday, September
10th from 1 P.M. – 5 P.M. at the United Ministry of Aurora, 337 Main
St., Aurora, NY 13026. This Family Day of
Exploration is geared for those who are interested in delving into
different avenues of spirituality. The afternoon also speaks to those who feel
a sense of spirituality, but shy away from religion, by having them engage in
practical spiritual explorations.
The
independent workshops will be repeated throughout the afternoon from 1:00 P.M. –
4:00 P.M. Six individual experiences will be offered. One experience is Walking the Labyrinth – both physically
and figuratively. This offers an opportunity to follow the ancient discipline
of walking with God toward the center of self as a way to focus personal prayer
and meditation. This will be complemented with the opportunity to explore
various forms of labyrinths by making your own labyrinth to take home with you
to use in your intentional closeness to God.
Another
experience will be song and silence in Taizé
worship. The quieting, mystical, prayer of Taizé is developed through song, silence, and spiritual intersection. A
third experience will be Religious Art
through Rubbings which will enable the participant to discover the mindful
connection with God through the deliberate transference of religious objects
onto rice paper. Another experience will allow individuals to participate in Liturgical Dance either through direct
involvement, that is by physically dancing, or by observing others before
entering into the experience themselves. Remembering that Miriam, Moses’
sister, danced with her friends on the shore of the Red Sea after completing
their exodus from Egypt, the participant is invited to capture the spiritual
excitement of dancing in praise to God.
The fifth
experience will be Avenues to Personal
Prayer in which the adventurer is invited to take home personal prayers for
use in their family and personal prayer life. The plans are to allow
participants to explore the prayers as they look out from the shoreline of
Cayuga Lake. The last experience that will be offered is Queries in which the participant is led through a series of
questions (queries) with an invitation to reflect on these questions for the
goal of relating them to their personal experience. It is based upon the
understanding that the deeper realities of Christian spirituality can also be
found beyond precise verbal formulations such as those found in formal
liturgies, rituals, rites, and collected formularies.
The
afternoon will be capped off with music provided by The Harvesters, from 4:15 P.M. – 5:00 P.M., in the shoreline
amphitheater or inside the sanctuary in case of inclement weather. The
Harvesters are a local gospel quartet who have been performing for over ten
years in the Cayuga area.
The Wider
Parish invite everyone to this afternoon of inspiration. Participants are invited
to come and go as they like, to experience any or all of the workshops, with
all ages being welcome!
