Remember the Sabbath day and treat it as holy. - Exodus 20:8
A troop of monkeys gathered in the trees above our heads as we wandered the jungle sidewalks this morning. We were looking for a yoga studio where we could practice at 11 a.m. I said, “Hello, friends!” [to the monkeys] and thanked them for joining the community of saints this morning—all the critters that live among the varieties of palm trees, sweet-smelling flowers, and veiled in a heavy dew. I was so delighted to see these monkeys. They made the ride from Liberia, Costa Rica, to Nosara in a fifteen-passenger van on “developing” roads, worth every nauseous moment the day before. Last fall, I began planning this continuing education week a few months after I finished an academic program at Ilff. My postgraduate work spanned from 2010 to 2023, give or take a few years of break. I wanted a different type of education. I signed up for a yoga and meditation retreat in Costa Rica, not knowing anyone but knowing that my sacred body and mind needed this work to ground my ministry with the sacred bodies and souls of all of you. In the Fall of 2023, I learned that Plymouth’s personnel committee reviews a continuing education proposal from pastors before approving the time away. This is a great way to ensure accountability and a connection to the work. I decided to call the proposal Rest is Resistance. Soon after I decided on this excursion, Rev. Thandiwe Dale-Ferguson, the pastor of First Congregational in Loveland, said she would like to join me. A few days later, her long-time friend Nikki [whom I met during that time period] also wanted to join us! A few months later, I met Allison at the yoga studio in Fort Collins, where she became my traveling companion. Her friend Meg joined us from Delaware. I practiced yoga at Yoga Pod in Fort Collins approximately four times a week and got to know the beautiful instructor, Joy, who is facilitating this retreat in Costa Rica. All of a sudden, it’s monkey business! And I feel like I am hanging in a monkey tree with a barrel of monkeys in the middle of a Costa Rica jungle. Perhaps this is a tiny miracle if you believe in those. I thought I was going alone, but I now have new friends. I knew what my body needed, I knew what my soul needed, and God knew what I needed. Here is what Thandiwe and I worked on together as our continuing education proposal: Rest and sabbath are foundational concepts in scripture. Our creation story includes a full day of rest -- and it’s God resting. If God needs rest, so do we! Jesus regularly retreats and rests. Gospel stories tell us of wilderness and mountain excursions; water turned into wine, and naps in boats. If I have learned nothing this past year, it is that rest and sabbath are necessary and life-sustaining spiritual practices. The practices of rest and sabbath stand in sharp contrast to our culture’s focus on productivity and doing, doing, doing. Occasionally, our “self-care” practices are escapes rather than rest -- watching television, scrolling through our social media feeds, or going on a shopping spree (just to name a few that I enjoy). Do these activities really rest our bodies, minds, and souls? I can’t speak for you, but for me, they don’t. If we are to take scripture seriously, rest is most often characterized by activities that engage our body, mind, and spirit:
More than just a beautiful place to escape, this is an opportunity to rediscover and renew my energy: mind, body, and spirit. It is an opportunity to explore the idea of rest as resistance -- not just as theory but as embodied practice. It is also an opportunity for me to invite our congregation to this mindset. Given my first year at Plymouth and what we know about ministry, this will be an opportunity that I can take to stave off burnout and ensure I am spiritually well as we continue our shared ministry. And, of course, this kind of “rest as resistance” learning must involve more than just a yoga retreat. I listed some books in the original proposal. But I was recently given some new books that feel more relevant to the church and me. My retreat reading will include:
In my original proposal, I suggested regularly journaling. Instead, I plan to write several blog posts about this time to share with all of you this week. Your connection to me and this work is important. Tricia Hersey writes about rest as a form of protest against production. She writes about her lived experience as a melanated person. She says, “Rest supports our grieving by allowing space, and with space, we can begin healing from the trauma of grind culture [or healing from the trauma of anything]. Grieving is a sacred act and one of the ways we can begin to reconnect with our bodies as we craft a rest practice.” What is your “rest practice” going to be this week? How do we transform grief into power? Lay and rest in these questions. ~ Marta |
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