In this episode, we discuss spiritual practices–things we do that ground us in the presence of God and that contribute to our well-being. We start by discussing the state of the world right now, how we often feel burnt out and helpless with the news of Russia (though it is not the Russian people’s will but Vladimir Putin’s) invading Ukraine and the news of anti-trans legislation in Texas and other states, on top of what we’re facing in our personal lives. We think that this, in itself, is a spiritual practice, naming and lamenting the evil in our world; this happens in many of the Psalms and there’s a whole book of the Bible called Lamentations.
We talk about other spiritual practices that have been helpful for us during these past few weeks–reading prophetic scripture that speaks to empires falling, reading books that feature the hope of change and goodness in the world and the church (see said books below), tarot card reading, liturgical written prayer (April loves the Book of Common Prayer!), and also practices that allow us to be embodied, such as holding things while praying (crystals, prayer beads), and corporate practices like communion. We discuss what spiritual practices were available to us under evangelicalism–not many, really, besides prayer, Bible reading, and journaling, and for the former two there were pretty rigid expectations about how you were supposed to do it (even though prayer was supposed to be freeform, you weren’t allowed to get mad at God or ask too many questions, etc). As our beliefs have shifted, we have allowed ourselves to find the Divine in more places and practices, knowing that the Holy Spirit is always with us. And we know now that God is not afraid of our doubts or our anger or our sadness, God actually desires that we bring our full selves to prayer, scripture reading, or whatever other way we encounter God.
Resources mentioned:
Books April just read:
Dear Church by Lenny Duncan
Outdoing Jesus by Doug Pagitt
(and now she is reading To Bless the Space Between Us, a book of blessings by the late Irish poet John O'Donohue, and that has been spiritually enriching as well)
Want a Bible app that offers LGBTQ+ affirming devotionals? We recommend Our Bible App (it’s literally the only one that does, unfortunately)! https://www.ourbibleapp.com/
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Our social media: @reclaimingthegarden on Insta, @RtGardenPodcast on Twitter, and Reclaiming the Garden on Facebook. Our personal accounts: @thatpunchabletheaternerd, @April_TheWriter (April is on Twitter and Insta). Also, our podcast account follows a bunch of awesome folks + podcasts in the exvangelical/deconstruction world and progressive Christian world, so if you’re looking for more resources, that’s a great place to start!
