In today’s post, we will look at maintaining the discipline of Study. Even in times of isolation, it is important to continue to grow in our knowledge and understanding of God, faith, and one another. We will also consider the importance of studying with others and ways we can continue to do this even as we maintain physical separation.
Christian spirituality is a lifelong process. It is not a diploma or a merit badge. It is not a once and done retreat. It is something you continually practice throughout your life.
The different spiritual practices we participate in provide a framework for this ongoing work. While most people think of prayer or worship or maybe music when they consider spiritual practices, there are numerous ways in which we maintain our spiritual connection to God and one another.
One of the ways that many of us grow spiritually is through times of study with our fellow Christians. These studies may follow the lectionary readings, look at specific books of the Bible one at a time, cover topics that trace a thread through the Bible, or introduce other theological or religious topics meant to support Christian faith.
These times of study are important for any number of reasons. It is important to learn about the Bible -- the people who wrote it, the world they lived in, their relationship to God, and what that means for us today. It is important to learn about the history of God’s relationship with humanity and the way that God has been interpreted through the ages. It is important to learn practices we may be unfamiliar with. And it is important to learn from one another.
This is what makes the times of study we participate in together so vital to our growth. While we can and should read and study materials on our own, we must also hear the voices of other people. Other people have had different experiences in their lives and may therefore read the same story with different eyes. We learn from the experiences of others; maybe we learn something we never knew before, and maybe we learn that our assumptions have been wrong.
Whatever the reason, it is in engaging with one another that we are able to learn and to grow. We use our reason and experience together to learn from each other and to reduce the possibility that we have misunderstood something.
This is part of what makes times of crisis and isolation so difficult for maintaining our times of study. How do you continue to learn from others when it is potentially unhealthy to be in the same room together? How do we maintain the fellowship that grows when a group studies together when we cannot actually be together?
Explore New Ideas
Of course, it is possible to still learn from others even when we are unable to gather together. One of the ways we can do this is to choose to read points of view that differ from our own experiences. For most of us, intentionally or not, our church culture is dominated by a Euro-centric, primarily male point of view. While the Biblical writers and some of the early theologians of the church were from southwest Asia and northern Africa, most mainline Protestant traditions trace their roots to Northern Europe.
One way to stretch our thinking, then, is to intentionally read writers steeped in other traditions. How has the experience of Black women in the church been different from yours? What can you learn from them? How has the experience of European colonialism affected faith in Africa or Southeast Asia? What could we learn about Jesus from reading stories out of African Christianity that has existed since before most of the countries in modern day Europe even existed?
While heavy academic texts may not be accessible for everyone, there are works that can still be used to get a taste of other points of view. Find works that reflect on faith by people different from you. Find works that reflect on faith by people that have had different experiences from you. For those of us that are white, hetero, and cisgender, there are any number of available writings that can help us experience faith from the point of view of others. In doing so, our eyes can be opened to fresh experiences of God’s love for us and new ideas for what it means to love God and love others.
Boston University School of Theology has a book list from a recent course that could be a good starting point here: https://www.bu.edu/sth/dismantling-white-privilege-power-and-supremacy-reading-list/. And because any such list is limited in scope and always a work in progress, you might also consider some of these other resources:
- Austen Hartke, Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians (https://www.wjkbooks.com/Products/0664263100/transforming.aspx)
- MiHee Kim-Kort, Outside the Lines: How Embracing Queerness Will Enhance Your Faith (https://www.augsburgfortress.org/store/productgroup/1301/Outside-the-Lines)
- Pamela Lightsey, Our Lives Matter: A Womanist Queer Theology (https://wipfandstock.com/our-lives-matter.html)
Study in the Wild
While intentionally reading works that stretch our comfort zone is one way to learn from others (and should really be practiced regardless of crisis and isolation), participation with other people is still important. As our current health crisis continues to evolve, we learn more about safe practices. One way that people appear to be able to safely gather is outside. While appropriate distance protocols are still needed, spending time outside around other people appears to be the safest way for people to gather in person.
For those that are missing times of study and fellowship, meeting others outside somewhere may be a healthy compromise. In some cases, gathering at or close to the church buildings may be possible. My current church has an outdoor pavilion, essentially a long roofed structure with no walls. On a nice day, this could make for a possible location to gather for a time of study.
For those that may not have such a facility available on their church property, perhaps there is a park nearby. A former congregation had a city park across the street from the church buildings. The park has a shaded area with several tables and room for people to bring their own chairs to gather close enough for conversation.
Other park facilities, such as state parks, often include outdoor pavilions. These can often be reserved for special use. Again, this provides an outdoor space where people can gather close enough to have a discussion together while maintaining safe distances.
Use Technology
Of course, for those that either do not have access to outdoor facilities, or who cannot gather with others even when available, technology is another option available to many of us. From the simple technology of a group phone call to video classes, there are options available to meet many needs.
As discussed in previous posts, the ability to use video meeting technologies to virtually gather, see one another's faces, and have a conversation on a topic of mutual interest is important during times when people feel isolated and in need of fellowship. The ability to continue to grow and learn from one another is almost an added bonus.
With the proliferation of laptop computers, tablets, and mobile phones with cameras, continuing to gather for studies does not have to end with physical gatherings are not possible. In fact, the use of technology may make it possible for persons to be better participants. In a recent class, members who were out of town for vacation or other trips were still able to participate in class through technology in ways that would not have been possible had we been meeting physically in a single location. The classroom became portable such that they could connect wherever they were.
Of course, even technology has its limits. This is again a place we must acknowledge that there are areas that have little or no reliable internet or mobile phone access. This disconnect cuts down on the ability of those that live in such areas to participate in online gatherings. This becomes another place for us to be aware of these separations, the assumptions that cause this lack of availability, and the need for those with better access to speak up on the behalf of those in need.
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Times of study where we learn from other people, whether it is people we know or people who don’t, is an important part of our life together with others. In the church, this is a time to learn more about God, about our relationship with God, and to grow in our fellowship with one another. During times when gathering physically together is impossible or unsafe, it puts a strain on this part of our spiritual growth. Thankfully there are ways we can maintain the discipline.
Next time we will explore the concept of Communion. Communion is about more than our celebrations at the table, it is about the body of Christ gathered together. How can we remember our connection not only to Christ but to one another in times like this when it is unsafe to physically gather in the same space?