Delight of the Devoted Soul

When I arrived at the Seminary the first week in May, the first thing I noticed was a group gathered in the foyer of the church. Their faces were alight with the effervescence of the meeting of “heart friends.” Their joyful conversations floated into the air around them, spilling out to fill the space with light and warmth. I later discovered that these were the members of the DLP “One” class.

Seeing the character of their class community, I began to reflect, “What is the character of our DLP “Two” class? Our joy had a different color. It seemed to be birthed from the fount that is the deep well of walking with, and transforming suffering. Our conversations were filled with earnest sincerity, quietness and vulnerability.

We soon met the On-Site students, our shepherds throughout the week. They folded us into the already strongly knit garment of community they had woven together throughout the year. The Ordinands shone upon us with their emerging priesthood. And also vibrated in the quiet separation of inwardness that accompanies an approaching turning point of a “before and after” moment of life.

In the midst of all of us, came the DLP “Presentation Only” participants. From the periphery of our workings together, they arrived as a palette of individuals, sharing with all of us the insights that can arise in solitude.

Together, we discovered our deepest gratitude for the vessel of the Christian Community in Toronto, which willingly received human beings from all over the world. For us, they opened the doors to their congregation, their homes, and their hearts.

Out of these circles we met those whose hearts overflowed from personal encounters with Christ Jesus. And those whose thinking was set aflame by their love of scripture. We met those full of loving devotion, and those who had the courage to ask hard questions. We met those gifted in speech, conversation and poetry, in music and movement. We met those who had lived a lifetime in our congregations, and those who were experiencing The Consecration of the Human Being for the first time. And in the background, always the quiet workers. The ones who made the coffee, swept the floors and organized the zoom calls. And of course, we had our dear teachers, selflessly offering the fruit of their long and authentic paths with Life in Christ.

At the center was the One we have all chosen to look toward and follow.

We delighted in the forming of this momentary community, shining in the multi-faceted countenances of Him. There was no end of laughter, except in the bittersweet joy of departing from dear friends.

A group picture of DLP students and seminary students

Here in North America, none of us need look back very far in our heritage to remember that our ancestors were strangers in a foreign land. As we say in Maine, we were actually all, once upon a time, “from away.” Together, as we begin to learn again about the Great Spirit of this land from our First Nations brothers and sisters, we navigate a place on earth that is so filled with diverse individual human experiences, that is unlike any other.

It is into this unique place on the earth that we once received the beautiful Sacraments and traditions that are the Ground of our beloved movement. For our founders, these were the forms one walked within to come near to Christ Jesus. We too, know this to be true. And also, we are wondering, “how can we receive these beautiful traditions from our founders and transform them into something that truly represents the hearts of those who are walking with Him now, and in this time and place?”

This journey begins always in seeking Him, and seeking Him in the other. It unfolds in the sensitive discernment of recognizing His true voice. And it begins to open in possibility when we long to devote our hearts to the mind of God, and unite our will offerings with His hopes for His greatest project and deepest love: ourselves. In the heart of our vast region, and in relationship with our world wide friends who have joined us in our working, the widening circle of the North American Seminary has become a place that cherishes the traditions offered to us from our founders, and a place where deepening individual relationships with Christ Jesus are bearing new traditions that reflect the human rainbow that is our heritage. May this always be so.

A Prayer for the Seminary

May we grow our roots evermore deeply into our Sacraments,

Vowing always to honor the Ground upon which we walk.

May we seek the Spirit working in this land

Listening always to the voice that leads us into a future of new creations.

May our hearts ever widen in devotion to His heart,

Delighting always in His light in others.

May we be the forming and re-forming of his Beloved Community.

Amen

Our Author:

Nicole Reinhart is a second year Distance Learning student.  She first encountered the Christian Community in Denver in 2007, and is now a member of the Maine affiliate of the Boston Congregation.  As a Nursing Assistant in a large hospital, she has the great gift of carrying the Light of Christ into some of the darkest moments in human lives.