I'm sitting in the Salt Lake City International airport, on my way home from joining the good people of the Episcopal Diocese of Utah for their 2024 discipleship conference: Rooted in Jesus, Vital in Worship. My husband Donnel I were invited to participate as leaders in this event, sharing paperless music practices on behalf of Music that Makes Community in hopes of empowering communities to tap more deeply into the well of vitality already present whenever God's people gather to worship.
In our Saturday afternoon workshop, we invited participants to share what they were noticing and wondering, after spending the morning experiencing the practice of singing together "MMC style." Some themes that emerged from the participants' observations included:
Why is it SO HARD for us to inhabit our BODIES (in worship, in leadership, in life) in ways that feel authentic, and strong, and safe, and free, and faithful, and true? This is a REALLY Important question, especially for those of us whose faith is rooted in the saving mystery of the Incarnation: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us... (John 1:14) I didn't have time during our workshop to adequately address this question. If I'd had more time, I would have liked to say to those gathered, especially those who expressed a simultaneous longing for and fear of/resistance towards more freely embodying their worship: "Don't blame yourself! It's not your fault!" Both religious and secular forces have been at work throughout your entire lifetime--and for centuries and millenia before that--to distort your self-perception and constrain your freedom as a human being, created in God's own image, redeemed by Christ's own body and blood, sanctified by God's own Holy Spirit. Empire and Church, alike, have colluded in this destructive deception. From early childhood we are bombarded by messages that tacitly and explicitly tell us that our bodies exist to consume, produce, and perform; to please or disappoint or dominate others. We are so hyper-aware of our bodies as objects of other people's gaze (and judgement) that we lose our sense of our bodies as a primary locus of God's self-revelation--the primary vessels by which we can receive, experience, and share God's love, liberation, and life. Do you not know that your body is a temple* of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? (1 Corinthians 6:19) Even when we know and believe, intellectually, that our bodies are temples of God's Holy Spirit, it can take a while for that knowing to sink into our hearts and transform our habits. If you long to embody your prayer and worship more whole heartedly, unselfconsciously, and unapologetically, but you find it a challenge, that's not because there's something wrong with you! That's because you are only human. You are holy and beloved and capable, but you are NOT more powerful than capitalism, or patriarchy, or religion, or empire! But do not despair! Because capitalism, and patriarchy, and religion, and empire, and fear, and shame, and anxiety may be more powerful than you are, but they are NOT more powerful than Jesus Christ, the Living Body in whom we all live and move and have our being (Act 17:28) No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (Romans 8:37) So take heart. Step up. Step out. Sing out. Lift up your hearts. Lift up your hands. Trust. Try. Be Patient. And remember, friends: For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1) With love, Sylvia+
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AuthorMy name is Sylvia Miller-Mutia, and I am a priest in the Episcopal Church. I have recently accepted an exciting call to serve as assisting clergy at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Albuquerque, NM with a focus on outreach, evangelism, and family ministry. I continue serving as "priest at large" for the larger church and wider world, assisting the people of God in whatever ways I can, and developing new resources for spiritual formation to share. Prior to my current call, I served as Rector (aka Pastor) of St. Thomas of Canterbury Episcopal Church in Albuquerque, NM (2015-2018), Assistant Rector at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco, CA (2010-2015) and Pastoral Associate for Youth & Families at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Belvedere, CA (2002-2009). I am married to Donnel (grief counselor, couples coach, artist, best dad ever), and we have three awesome kids, ranging in age from 8-14. Archives
November 2024
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