EPIPHANY:VISIO
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Lent  |  A Retreat Guide

3/3/2016

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Raised in the evangelical tradition I was more familiar with Easter than this season called "Lent." I was comfortable with somber Good Friday services, and celebratory Easter Sundays. Then I learned about Lent, and how it is a time to reflect on our longings, our losses, in a way that leads us to confession at the feet of Jesus. Sometimes getting to his feet I found I needed a little help, a gentle push to move forward. I needed someone to remind me of the love of God amidst all this grief. 

From these experiences, and through gathering materials I've found helpful, we're offering this half-day Lenten retreat guide. It's filled with prayer practices, journaling prompts, and reflective invitations. It can be used individually, or with your community group. It can used on a half-day away at a museum or over a weekend up on the mountain. It was created with flexibility in mind.

It was also created to remind you how much God loves you. Using Scripture, art, and thought provoking journaling experiences this PDF guide offers you the opportunity to open your heart to God through these practices and to prepare to celebrate the hope we have in Christ Easter Sunday morning.
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If this idea excites you, or feels like the last thing you want to do but you feel invited by God to do it anyway, click below to learn a bit more and view a sample page. The PDF guide is designed to be flexible in use and time, so feel free to take a half-day to yourself or a weekend away with your community group. 

If you have any questions about this retreat guide, or how to best use it, feel free to contact us anytime. We'd love to hear from you.
Lenten Retreat Guide
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Lenten Photo + Poetry  |  Contemplative Photography Reflection

2/13/2016

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Photograph by Christine Lee Smith : Contemplative Photographer
and you held me and there were no words
and there was no time and you held me
and there was only wanting and
being held and being filled with wanting
and I was nothing but letting go
and being held
and there were no words and there
needed to be no words
and there was no terror only stillness
and I was wanting nothing and
it was fullness and it was like aching for God
and it was touch and warmth and
darkness and no time and no words and we flowed
and I flowed and I was not empty
and I was given up to the dark and
in the darkness I was not lost
and the wanting was like fullness and I could
hardly hold it and I was held and
you were dark and warm and without time and
without words and you held me

"And You Held Me," by Janet Morley
printed in All Desires Known
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Lent  |  Contemplative Photography Reflection

2/7/2016

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Wednesday marks the beginning of a new liturgical season: Lent. It is a season of waiting, of longing, of loss. It is a season of lament. Lent gives us space to grieve, to let go, to exist of the tension of already and not yet with Jesus. 

Below is an image, followed by instructions, to help you engage and process and connect prayerfully with Jesus as you open to the places of your heart and life where you feel tugs of grief and yearning.

Peace as you enter this sacred space.
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Begin in a quiet place...

  • Begin to slow your breath, and ask Jesus to open your heart, mind, and eyes to see where he is leading you today. Settle in here for 2-3 minutes.
  • Observe the photo for a about 5-minutes. Notice what stands out to you. See the colors, textures, patterns, rhythms.
  • Notice for about 10-minutes, with the image, while you ask yourself and Jesus: Where are you drawn, or resistant in this image? 
  • Reflect on what comes up. It may be a relationship you're in, a situation you're apart of, or a feeling. Jesus may be leading you to any part of your life or heart, so don't quickly disregard something as "too small" or "irrelevant." Journal what comes up.
  • Respond to Jesus from what he has revealed for the next 5-minutes. Express how you feel about what came up (perhaps excited, or scared, or angry) until there are no more words or feelings left to express.
  • As you conclude, take the last 5-minutes to breathe and exhale deeply. As you exhale relax your shoulders, your neck, your arms and legs. You may also pray with each breath a short prayer, like: "Lord Jesus (inhale), have mercy on me (exhale)."

How did it go? What surprised you? Where were you led?

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Who is Jesus?  |  Contemplative Photography Project

9/22/2014

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In this project you're exploring who Jesus is to you, today, in this moment. Not necessarily what you believe about Jesus, but how do you experience him? This project helps us look at our relationship with Jesus and explore it more deeply. Who do you see when you picture Christ? It's only through the place of truth of our perception (this is how I really experience Jesus) that we can accept the truth of who he actually is. We move through perception and experience to truth.

Recommendations for this Contemplative Photography Project:

  • Take some time to journal or write down some of your experiences of Jesus - positive, negative, or in between. As you do, try not to place judgement or evaluate each experience, simply put it down on paper, noting how that experience made you feel.
  • Doing a little lectio divina prior to your shooting may be helpful for those exploring contemplative photography for the first time. I recommend John 1:1-5 for this project.
  • Venture out to photograph, allow your mind to wander on what metaphors or objects may represent what came up for you in your prep time. Allow your mind to think outside of the box for how to represent your experience of Jesus (e.g., maybe no people will be in your photograph).
  • Allow yourself to be in-process. The goal is not to rush through, come to a new conclusion or realization about who Jesus is...then photograph the outcome. The goal is to photograph in process. It will be probably be messy. It may be uncomfortable. This is good. Stay with the process.
  • Give yourself (ideally) 2-3 hours to photograph.
  • Share your favorite 1-3 photographs with people you trust. If you're comfortable, I invite you to share them here in the comments, or on our Facebook page. If not, please do share them with at least one person in your community who can listen well to your story of shooting your self-portrait.

Share with me in the comments:

If you did this project, or are thinking of doing it:
  • What was the experience like? Or how do you imagine it will be?
  • How is it to think of Jesus in this context?
  • What was the most surprising, or uncomfortable, part of the project?
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Who Am I?  |  Contemplative Photography Project

6/4/2014

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The topic: Identity
The project: Self-portrait

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Christine's self-portrait from 2009.
Sometimes we get lost in our daily lives, forgetting piece by piece who we are. In this contemplative photography project the goal is to examine where we're at today, in this moment. Who do we see when we look in the proverbial mirror? Because it's only through the place of truth of our perception (this is how I really see myself) that we can accept the truth of who we actually are (our identity).

If you'd like a little more conversation on the subject of identity, check out my blog, "Being Named  |  And the Importance of Those Who've Named You."

Recommendations for this Project:

  • Self-portraits are more than our mug in the frame (of the camera). Although they can include our faces, many times meaningful self-portraits are like a great auto-biography: they give us a snapshot of who we are at the soul level. So allow yourself to think outside the box.
  • Before you begin shooting, take some time to sit with the questions, and perhaps journal through them: Who am I? How do I see myself? Where have I come from?
  • Allow yourself to be in-process. The goal is not to rush through, come to a new conclusion or realization about your identity...then photograph the outcome. The goal is to photograph in process. It will be messy. It may be uncomfortable. This is good.
  • Give yourself (ideally) 2-3 hours to photograph your portrait.
  • Share your favorite 1-3 photographs with people you trust. If you're comfortable, I invite you to share them here in the comments, or on our Facebook page. If not, please do share them with at least one person in your community who can listen well to your story of shooting your self-portrait.

Talk with me:

If you did this project, or are thinking of doing it:
  • What was the experience like?
  • How was it to think of yourself in the context of this self-portrait?
  • What was the most surprising, or uncomfortable, part of the project?
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