spirituality – Page 2 – Southwest Conference Blog

Balancing Justice Work, Worship, and Spirituality: Being the Church

by Rev. Dr. Derrick Elliot

Twelve years ago, one of the things that drew me to the United Church of Christ was our commitment to justice work and the inspiring God Still Speaking campaign (spiritual and worship) on TV. This journey began as a member of Casas Adobes Congregational Church UCC, where I became a Member in Discernment. Now, I am the pastor of two UCC churches. Throughout this journey, I have seen the importance of balancing our call to justice work with our worship and spiritual life. In the United Church of Christ, we are deeply committed to all three. Our work for justice, our worship, and our spiritual practices are not mutually exclusive but rather three essential aspects of our mission of being the church in the world.

Biblical Foundations

The Bible offers us numerous examples of the inseparability of justice, worship, and spirituality. The prophet Micah summarizes this beautifully: “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” (Micah 6:8). This verse encapsulates the essence of our calling—justice, mercy, and humble devotion to God.

Jesus himself emphasized this balance. In Matthew 23:23, He rebukes the Pharisees, saying, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill, and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness.” Here, Jesus points out the necessity of both outward acts of justice and inner spiritual devotion, which includes worship.

The early church also embodied this balance. In Acts 2:42-47, we see the early Christians devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayers, while also sharing their possessions and ensuring that no one among them was in need. Their worship and communal life were deeply connected to their acts of justice and mercy.

The Consequences of Imbalance

When we heavily focus on justice work without nurturing our spiritual life and worship, we risk burnout and disillusionment. Justice work can be demanding and emotionally taxing. Without a solid spiritual foundation and regular worship, the relentless pursuit of justice can lead to feelings of frustration and exhaustion. For example, activists who neglect their spiritual practices and worship may find themselves overwhelmed by the enormity of the issues they are addressing, leading to a loss of hope and motivation.

Conversely, when we focus solely on spirituality and worship without engaging in justice work, our faith can become insular and disconnected from the world around us. Spiritual practices and worship that do not inspire action can lead to a form of complacency where we feel spiritually fulfilled but fail to address the pressing needs of our neighbors. This imbalance can result in a church that is rich in spiritual life and worship but poor in social impact, failing to live out the Gospel’s call to love and serve others.

Real-Life Applications (Evangelism)

Evangelism isn’t a dirty word; it’s a heartfelt invitation to share the love and hope found in our faith. I would like to write more about this in another article. However, balancing our call to justice work with worship and spiritual life is essential, as they are all integral aspects of our mission in the United Church of Christ.

Community Engagement, Prayer, and Worship: Many churches find that organizing regular food drives to support local food banks is an effective way to serve their community. These drives provide much-needed resources for food banks, which in turn help families in need. To integrate spirituality, each food drive can start and end with a short prayer, led by a volunteer or one of the participants. Incorporating moments of worship, such as singing a hymn together or sharing a scripture about generosity and caring for the hungry, can also deepen the connection between giving and faith. This practice grounds the act of giving in faith and emphasizes the importance of compassion and sharing God’s blessings with others. By intertwining justice work with moments of prayer and worship, churches reinforce the message that acts of service are expressions of spiritual commitment.

Education, Meditation, and Worship: Churches offer educational programs that address social justice issues, ensuring these sessions begin and end with meditation or prayer. Including moments of worship, such as reflective songs or responsive readings, can help participants connect their learning and activism with their spiritual growth. This practice, as seen in many series on racial justice, helps participants connect their learning and activism with their spiritual growth. This echoes the instruction in James 1:22, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” Education coupled with worship encourages us to be doers of the word.

Personal Balance: On a personal level, it’s crucial to integrate justice, worship, and spirituality into daily life. Many people find that setting aside time each morning for scripture reading, meditation, and worship helps them approach justice work with a spirit of compassion and humility. Additionally, engaging in justice work with a prayerful and worshipful heart transforms tasks from burdensome duties into acts of devotion. Colossians 3:17 reminds us, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” This scripture encourages us to integrate our faith into every action, making our justice work an extension of our worship.

The Wisdom of Spiritual Leaders

Howard Thurman, a prominent theologian and civil rights leader, often emphasized the critical need for maintaining a deep spiritual life while engaging in social activism. He believed that neglecting one’s spiritual foundations could lead to a disconnection from the very essence that drives meaningful and sustainable social change. Thurman’s writings, such as “Meditations of the Heart” and “Jesus and the Disinherited,” highlight how spiritual discipline and inner reflection are essential for those involved in justice work, ensuring their actions remain rooted in a profound sense of purpose and humanity.

Henri Nouwen, a Catholic priest and theologian, emphasized the necessity of balancing activism with times of prayer and reflection. He argues that without returning to a quiet place of contemplation, our actions risk losing their grounding in God’s love and can become self-serving and disconnected from their true purpose. Nouwen’s extensive writings, such as those found in “The Way of the Heart” and “Out of Solitude,” highlight the importance of integrating inner spiritual practices with outward actions to maintain a deep connection with God and ensure our activism remains aligned with divine love and purpose.

Parker Palmer, a noted Quaker author and educator, emphasizes the necessity of balancing activism with times of rest and reflection to maintain a connection with one’s inner light. He argues that true social change arises from a deep spiritual grounding. In his book “A Hidden Wholeness,” Palmer highlights that living with wholeheartedness requires integrating our inner spiritual practices with our outward actions. He states, “The power for authentic leadership is found not in external arrangements, but in the human heart” (Palmer, 2009). This underscores the importance of inner reflection and grounding in sustaining meaningful and effective social change.

Balancing justice work, worship, and spirituality requires intentionality. As members of the Southwest Conference, let us embrace this threefold calling. Let us act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God, knowing that our work for justice is deeply rooted in our spiritual life and worship. By doing so, we truly embody what it means to be the church in our world today.

Too Many Beets in the Bucket

by Rev. Lynne Hinton

“You got too many,” I tell him. “I know,” he replies, “that’s why I’m thinning them out.”

I watch my husband as he pulls out the tiny red threads from the bucket of soil. A few weeks ago, he threw a handful of beet seeds in a blue plastic bucket and now they’re all springing up. It’s kind of miraculous to bear witness to life bursting from seeds; but it’s also not very productive; it’s not good to plant that many seeds in such a tiny plot of earth.

Beets are one of several cultivated varieties of Beta vulgaris, plants grown for their edible taproots and leaves. We mostly just eat the roots; and if you want a good beet root, you got to give it space. In fact, you need as much, if not more space, to have the root grow into a delicious red ball as you need for the leaves to spread out on top of the ground. Thinning is required to grow this plant.

Author Wayne Muller writes about the need for thinning in his book, Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest. He writes about a friend sharing what she learned about thinning and pruning a garden in a letter she wrote him one spring.

In one of the Sabbath practices found at the end of every chapter, Muller tells the reader, “Frances writes to me: We have an abundance of growing vegetables…I couldn’t believe how you could plant seeds and then all this stuff would just come up with abandon. I knew I needed to thin those turnips and carrots – but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I thought maybe they’ll grow anyway. So I never did thin or prune… They also never did grow. Not one turnip did I get – although there were tons of greens.”

Muller goes on to say that “thinning is, as Francis says, making space for life. We plant so many seeds, and they seem so small, so benign, they take up hardly any space at all. But everything, as it grows, needs space.”

Spring is a great season for planting. It’s a wonderful time to throw out seeds and dream of a plot of land teeming with life. It’s the great season of growth.

But it’s also a great time to be intentional about what we’re hoping to accomplish, what we want growing in our gardens. It’s the season of plenty but it’s also the season of discernment.

As you enjoy the warming of the earth, the green bursting around you, the flowering trees, the blades and stems of bulbs breaking through ground, remember not to try and do too much, plant too many seeds, involve yourself in too many projects. Remember that thinning and pruning, discarding, letting go, is also a part of a healthy garden. Just remember and pay attention to everything you’re agreeing to do; and don’t plant too many beets in the bucket.

What kind of day is Palm Sunday?

by Rev. Paul A. Whitlock

It’s the observance of a tragedy. It’s not a day of simple optimism. We know all about optimism; we’ve tried to be optimistic while the various countries of the world, including our own, position for war. We’ve tried to be optimistic while our government is falling apart and lacks the moral leadership to dig us out of this hole.
Palm Sunday is the observance of a tragedy, but not a day of despair.

Palm Sunday is one bright and glorious moment in human history when we proclaim the courage and the integrity of God in Christ. Palm Sunday isn’t a day when we throw up our hands because Jesus was killed. It’s not a day of pessimism when we condemn the people of the first century, the crowds which later became ugly. It’s not a day when we get morose over the money changers in the temple and declare that nothing ever turns out well.

Palm Sunday, rather, is a day when knowing…

People are fickle and get tired of parades and go home
Religious leaders like things neat and tidy and kill reformers
The humble truth teller is walked upon
People will sell their souls for a handful of silver
Even good friends will sleep while we suffer

Knowing all of this, Jesus still came riding into town.

Palm Sunday is a bright and glorious day when love turned into courage and integrity and became a small parade headed for the gallows. It’s the day that Jesus the Christ, knowing the facts of life – the truth about our person, and the truth of what we do when we get together – knowing all this Jesus loving does what he is called to do, and does it without bitter and ill feeling towards us. It’s so tragic that it had to come to this. It’s so tragic that God had to do that for us.

Palm Sunday is a tragedy, but a tragedy worth celebrating.

photo credit: Rev. Paul A. Whitlock, Church of the Palms UCC

Put it to death

by Rev. Deb Beloved Church

“Sometimes things need to be destroyed so that something new can be created.” So my spiritual director said to me on the first occasion of our meeting–a meeting I had sought as I desperately tried to make sense of my growing understanding that my marriage was coming to an end.

I recently came upon that same idea in the book we’re discussing in our Sunday morning Adult Education class, [Where We Meet: A Lenten Study of Systems, Stories, and Hope, by Rachel Gilmore, Candace Lewis, Tyler Sit, and Matt Temple]: “Sometimes things must die so that something more in harmony with the (kin)dom of God can emerge.” (Where We Meet, p. 50)

Certainly, that idea is not new, nor is it limited to those two occurrences! Indeed, those statements encapsulate a central tenet of the Christian faith: that resurrection comes only after death. That new life comes only after something dies. That rebirth into a new way of being comes only after the old way of being is no more.

And while we might long for that resurrection while it’s still far off, and welcome that new life once it comes, and celebrate that new way of being once we’re in it–we generally do not like the prospect of “it” [the thing that needs to die, whatever it is] being no more; we’re typically quite resistant to the process of it dying; we’re quite uncomfortable with the reality of its death…

And yet…it is only through death that we get to resurrection.

And so, in these remaining two weeks of Lent, I invite you to join me in considering, what is it that needs to die in our lives so that something new–and more in alignment with God’s desires for peace, for healing, for joy, for reconciliation, for wholeness, for justice, for abundance–and all of that for all of God’s creation!–might be born?

Perhaps we need to put to death a grudge, or a desperately-held, long-harbored hurt. Or our certainty about what’s right and who’s right. Or a hurtful relationship or a self-destructive habit.

Perhaps we need to put to death a diminished view of ourselves or others, or possibly, a grandiose view of ourselves or others. Or the lens through which we look, that judges others as less than–or more than–based on their education or ethnicity or religious affiliation or lack thereof. Or our blindness to our privilege or our secret and subtle self-righteousness.

Perhaps we need to put to death our secret, soul-sucking excesses–alcohol, shopping, fault-finding, Facebook, working, gambling, people-pleasing, eating, or simply endlessly comparing ourselves to others.

What would you add? What needs to die in our lives, both individually and collectively, right here and right now, so that something new and more in alignment with God’s desires for each of us and all of us and for all of God’s creation might be born?

Where do we need death, so that we might prepare for and truly experience resurrection??

Peace and courage be with us all.

Pastor Deb

Return to the deep sources

by Rev. Talitha Arnold, Senior Pastor, United Church of Santa Fe

Return to the deep sources, nothing less
Will nourish the torn spirit, the bewildered heart. . .
Will teach the stiff hands a new way to serve,
To carve into our lives the forms of tenderness.

“Return to the deep sources,” wrote poet May Sarton. “Nothing less will nourish the torn spirit, the bewildered heart.” The seasons of the Christian calendar—Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, and Pentecost—Lent can lead us back to such deep sources. Whether we live in New Mexico or elsewhere, the Christian seasons call us to particular places—a stable in Bethlehem, a wedding in Cana, the courts of Herod, and a hill called Calvary. Sometimes the journey to such places can be hard. But, it also holds the promise of healing and strength, even new life.

In the Middle Ages, Christians went on pilgrimages to the holy places of the Christian story, like Jerusalem or Rome. For those who couldn’t undertake such treks, cathedrals had labyrinths as a way to go on pilgrimage without leaving home.

The liturgical year of the Christian church offers us a “pilgrimage in time.” Like those medieval journeys to Jerusalem or the labyrinth’s path to the sacred center, the Christian year calls us time and again to find our place alongside people like Moses in the Sinai wilderness or Mary at Calvary. With them, we find our way home to God, be it from the slavery of Egypt or the grief of the cross.

Lent in particular calls us to return to the deep sources. Step into the sanctuary and you know you’re in a different world from the week just past. Gone are the colors and candles of Epiphany and Mardi Gras, replaced with a purple banner with a thin red cross in its center. Just as we give up things for Lent, the sanctuary itself is stripped-down to its essence this season.

The same is true musically. For six weeks, we neither sing nor say “Alleluia” or “Hallelujah.” Monastic chants, spirituals from a time of suffering, hymns from the heart—the music is often in a minor key, sometimes a cappella. Services end with no postlude.

We use ancient prayers of confession, with phrases like “lost and strayed” or “erred from thy ways.” They sound harsh and unfamiliar, just like the barrenness of the sanctuary and the dissonance of the music.

And that’s the point. When we come to worship in Lent, we know we are in the wilderness and we’re going to be there for a while.

But when we come to this Lenten wilderness, we also know we’re not alone. Lent begins with Jesus in the desert, where he wrestles with his demons, faces his temptations, and finds his angels. He also finds the deep sources of his courage and hope. May we find the same this Lent.

As writer Frederick Buechner says about Lent, “if sackcloth and ashes are at the start of it, something like Easter may be at the end.”

This Lent, let us take that life-giving journey together.