Meaning and Authenticity

I went to an afternoon of Interplay yesterday. It's an amazing experience. The leader for the afternoon, Rebecca, explained that the whole idea of Interplay is play --to have some fun with movement, rhythm, voice and vocalizing....And it IS fun--I had a great time. As we move and let go, however, some deep emotions may come forth. People find themselves crying or angry or sullen for reasons they might be conscious of, or not. Our bodies carry unexpressed emotion. Our cells have their own kind of wisdom. I knew everyone there, except Rebecca the leader, [Jan, your dear friend JT was there] so I felt safe from the get-go. Interplay has four basic movements: swing, thrust, hang and...4th--oops, can't remember. Anyway, one of the most interesting moments came when we were doing hand movements with a partner. As the music played we were touching hand to hand, and moving, dancing--at some points I led, and at other times, my friend K led. Much of the time we had our eyes closed, but...

I am introducing Companions in Christ: The Way of Grace to my new congregation. Nine folks signed up for this small group, and the introductory meeting last Sunday gave me confidence that it will be an enriching group for all. If you've done this study, you may remember the first chapter. It contains Walter Brueggemann's intriguing description of grace as: God's transforming disposition towards the whole world. Then the text says: Divine grace is expressed as a creative will for dynamic life and goodness, full of ongoing possibilities for transformation and renewal. God bestows on human beings the risky gift of freedom of divine love, a risk extended for the sake of transformation, for greater wholeness, for fullness of life. ... Jesus calls his disciples who will shortly misunderstand as much as they understand. Why? For the hope of transformation. Advocacy is risked by Jesus for a woman who has been caught dead-to-right in sin. Why? For the potential of transforma...