Dear Friends,
Let me tell you something about myself: I am nervous by nature.
Not wild spirals of panicked thoughts or deep dives into worst case scenarios nervous so much as living in an over-sensitive body with intrusive thoughts. Small things scare or upset me - the car paused on the street or the neighbor down the block, having an appointment in a different room than usual or when someone sits in “my seat” in a classroom. My brain glitches, thinking the worst, or forgets what to do, even in familiar situations. I can’t even begin to imagine how I would have managed the terrifying, unfamiliarity of Biblical events. Then again, so many have compared the current state of the world to the plagues of Egypt that maybe I’m a little more acquainted with those anxieties than I’m inclined to believe.
So here’s what I know about anxiety. When your body-mind is moving too fast, you. need to slow down, and I learned this lesson - at least in part - in church. While I’ve recently started using biofeedback practices, there’s nothing like liturgical chant to help me feel grounded, something I learned when I absorbed every word of the Holden Evening Prayer setting my church was when I was 14. Half a lifetime later, my body still conjures the Magnificat from this setting.
So, as things pick back up in the world right now - as schools reopen, as (against all logic) NYC prepares to reopen indoor dining at the end of the month, as people begin to let their guards down despite thousands of new cases each day - I think we need to back up, to slow down, and Christian tradition gives us a number of ways to do that.
While church bells are used in many ways, some congregations (across a number of denominations), ring the bells corresponding with the Angelus - Gospel verses interspersed with the Hail Mary. You can do this at home with any bell you have on hand; the paced ringing can help you slow your breathing and quiet your minds as they focus on these devotional words.
Of course, our smallest folks may not be ready to pray the Angelus, but they need a way to quiet themselves too. One of our favorite tools for this, at least in many of my past Sunday School classrooms, is a singing bowl. Another take on the church bell, trying to find the end of its sound forces us to listen with our whole bodies - and I found that same singing bowl in a fun, early childhood ready place recently: Sesame Street. In the Sesame Street Slow Down, you’ll find several digital takes on sensory experiences, including our beloved singing bowl.
One of the glorious things about slowing down is that it gives us a chance to notice things. As the Episcopal Church and ELCA celebrate a season of creation and, at least here in the Northeast, the weather slowly cools, it’s a good time to come closer to the earth in wonder. Look at the changing trees, watch the breeze filter through the grass, find different textures to explore throughout your neighborhood. God made all of these things - and God made us.
Which reminds me - I have a special story for your this week, “God Created” by my friend Fr. Mark Francisco Bozzuti-Jones. Make sure you watch because there’s a special guest!
Rejoice in God’s Creation - I’m rejoicing in you!
A. Bird