newsletter

Last week, I had the privilege of attending a conference at SMU about what faith looks like in our increasingly digital world. Part of the reason I went to the conference was that one of my favorite writers, Cole Arthur Riley, was a guest lecturer. She spoke about the importance of staying connected to our bodies as more and more of our lives happen in digital spaces or are mediated by digital tools. It was a really good reminder for me, especially right now, when I catch myself doom-scrolling and seeking comfort from online sources more than ever. Technology and social media are beautiful tools that can help us learn, build community, organize, and more. But connecting to the tangible and the material, to our bodies, to the created world, to the flesh and blood of other humans, is also important.

In her book, Black Liturgies, Cole Arthur Riley writes, "I wonder how this letter comes to you. Are you hunched over these pages, neck severed from shoulders that are rounded from the weight of you? Do they come to you through earphones or a laptop as you're wrist-deep in dish suds or driving a car you forgot you were driving at all?" I appreciate her starting her "Body" chapter in this book with a call to return to awareness of our own bodies - because this is not something that does not come to me naturally. I often feel super disconnected from my body, from my emotions, my hunger and thirst cues, my pain, all of it. So, if you can, maybe take a minute - how do these words come to you today? How does your body feel? Where are you holding tension? Where are you experiencing pain? How are you holding joy today? Do you need to stand up from your computer and take a walk around the block? Do you need to let yourself go lay down in a dark room and take a nap? How does your body feel today, and what are its needs? I'll close with a poem that Cole includes in Black Liturgies. May you honor your body today, whatever that might look like.
 
- Pastor Julia
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resurrection
by Cole Arthur Riley

Climb back inside
Your body
No more split selves
Minds without skulls
Thirst without tongues -
Flail and shake like a haunting
You are alive