Practical Midwifery for Shifting Paradigms by Sibyl Dana Reynolds ARCWP

Within the ensuing chaos of the past weeks, I hold fast to the belief that something “other” is being called forth. I believe that the Sacred Feminine is re-emerging through the creative efforts and wisdom of those called to fierce and conscious service for the greater good. 

Personally, I have recently spent frequent sleepless nights in discernment of my next right action. This morning during meditation, I found a nugget of clarity for my next steps on the path. I opened my journal, put pen to paper, and began to map my practical and spiritual responses to my current call to serve as a midwife for the paradigm shift. In some ways, it feels as if I’ve been in training my entire life for this mission.

I believe, as do many others, that we are living through a season of shifting paradigms. When I refer to the paradigm shift, I am referencing the energetic and very real shift from centuries of patriarchal power and abuse to a return to balance between the masculine and feminine. The Sacred Feminine is laboring to rebirth within the current chaos and resurgence of patriarchal havoc. As a woman, I feel a responsibility to carry forward the creative, generative, compassionate, life-giving, inclusive, and nurturing qualities of the feminine through fierce, organized, and dedicated resolve, service, and right action.

Today I feel called to share my personal outline for self-care and service as a midwife of the paradigm shift (the rebirth of the Sacred Feminine).  My spiritual guidebook, The Way of Belle Coeur: A Woman’s Vade Mecum, offers additional in depth practices for the feminine inner journey.

Like many women (and men), I have navigated the terrain of patriarchal abuse throughout my life’s journey in an up close and personal way. I spent twenty-two years exploring this them while writing Ink and Honey, the story of a medieval, spiritual sisterhood of women that lived by their wits and their prayers in the midst of patriarchal oppression. We too, live within the grasp of a dark age. To my mind this current moment in time offers me the invitation to step into radical service. Extreme self-care (for body, mind, and spirit) is crucial to the process as I foster my stamina and spiritual sustenance for the work at hand.

There are various facets to my current call to action that are practical, creative, spiritual, and service-oriented in nature. I share what I recorded in my journal this morning as my outline for midwifery…for the rebirth of the Sacred Feminine below. I offer this with the hope that you may find a piece of it to be useful in some way. I invite you to contemplate your specific call and to create your personal working plan for right action at this time in herstory and history.

Midwifery for Shifting Paradigms

1. 1. Practical preparation: As I enter into this new role of midwife for shifting paradigms I must prepare and maintain inner and outer balance as I….

• • assess my particular creative gifts and talents, intuitive wisdom, life-experience, and skills with regard to how I can best serve as a midwife for the paradigm shift.
• • simplify, clear, and organize my workspace and environment for the work at hand. I must create my inner and outer sanctuary for prayer, meditation, journaling, and deep listening for God’s guidance.
• • maintain order in my environment to help sustain a sense of inner calm so I may be centered to respond appropriately to the ever-evolving challenges and tasks at hand.
• • open my heart to embrace the pain and suffering surrounding me as I work with others to discover new pathways to understanding, acceptance, and resolution.
• • be attentive to the needs of my inner Mary and Martha, the contemplative and activist.

      2. Ongoing practical and essential daily practices: The practice of extreme self-care is essential. I must be fully conscious to ensure that each day I tend my body, mind, and spirit as God given instruments for the work of midwifery.  I will be gentle with myself in the process.  I know there will be days when I won’t follow this prescribed outline completely. There is no shame in this, but rather the knowledge that tomorrow I will begin again as best I can. The following outline is my personal prescription.

Extreme Self-Care

     Care for my body: I commit to conscious daily care for my physical body in the following ways:

• • Life-giving hydration (water nourishes my cells, neurons, and internal organs)
• • A daily walk in communion with nature
• • Healthy eating as much as possible (occasional chocolate is also good medicine)
• • Morning stretches and body movement for my circulatory system
• • Imagine my daily bath/shower as an energetic cleansing for negative thoughts
• • Incorporate essential oils for stress relief (lavender, frankincense, peppermint)
• • Choose an item of symbolic apparel (scarf, linen apron, piece of jewelry) each day to remind me I am shielded with God’s Love and Protection.
• • Sleep for renewal and enriched dream life.

Care for my mind: I commit to conscious daily care for my mind and emotional well-being in the following ways:

• • Limit social media interaction and intake of news, television, etc. My absorption of too much information has the similar result of overeating…it creates indigestion and overwhelm in for my mind and emotions.
• • A Sabbath rest from technology: One day each week I choose to fast from all technological devices.
• • Selective reading for upliftment including: poetry, Scripture, literature.
• • Take an occasional ten-minute break during the day to color in one of my adult coloring books.
• • Stop what I’m doing when emotions arise and take time to journal about my feelings.
• • Ongoing, loving conversations with my husband for clarification, support, and varying points of view.
• • Support and wisdom from my Belle Coeur Sisters and beloved friends.
• • Support and guidance from my therapist and spiritual director.

Care for my creative heart and spirit: I commit to the daily tending of my creative heart and spirit as a living prayer through the following practices…

• • Prayer woven into daily tasks, as well as, morning devotion and meditation.
• • Slow stitching (embroidery in free form)
• • Weaving
• • Mandala making
• • Frequent periods of silence and re-centering.
• • The prayerful dedication of my daily work to a global prayer need (such as: world hunger, world peace, protection for children, etc.).
• • Pray the Rosary.
• • Sacred reading (lectio divina).
• • Listen to uplifting music for spiritual enrichment/insight (audio divina).
• • Peruse artwork, images, photographs for creative inspiration (visio divina).
• • Sacred art-making and craft as a prayer form (knit a prayer shawl, craft prayer beads/Rosaries, create a visual prayer collage, prepare of a meal with prayer and sacred intention).
• • Light candles with prayer.
• • Sacramental observances.

Service for the greater good: It’s taken a lifetime for me to be able to name the offerings of self, service and creativity that I feel called to share. As a midwife for the paradigm shift and rebirth of the Sacred Feminine, I offer myself in service in the following ways to the best of my abilities as…

• • A hope-bringer who practices inclusivity and loving kindness to the best of my ability.
• • A compassionate listener.
• • A sacred artisan, creator of beauty and inspiration.
• • A spiritual writer.
• • A co-creator with circles of other midwives as we find our way together in this time of transformation.

To be continued…

The work of midwives for shifting paradigms is ancient, yet, new terrain. Most days I don’t know where I’m going with all of this. It’s truly a “one day at a time” experience. I wake up and pray to be attentive and ready, I listen for God’s guidance, then respond as best I can. My introverted nature is being stretched. There are distractions at every turn. Stepping out of my much preferred, cloistered life is my current growing edge. It’s uncomfortable and the pull to do what I must do is demanding that I step out of my comfort zone.

In the days, weeks, months, and dare I say…years to come…sacred midwifery will no doubt evolve, grow, and eventually the rebirth will be facilitated. The Sacred Feminine will return and the balance of feminine and masculine will be restored for the benefit of humankind...eventually. Women will once again be honored for our wisdom, creativity, and contribution to the whole. This is the vision I must hold dear in this time of darkness, chaos, and challenge.

I know many of you are also feeling called and you, too, are responding to the role of midwife for shifting paradigms. Let us join our hearts and minds to pray, co-create, and collaborate as we assist the rebirth of Sacred Feminine. Her delivery is past due, but the midwives have arrived…

Inauguration of a New Age by Rev. Richard S. Vosko

Photo-BBC News

There are times when it seems our sacred texts cannot readily help us examine what is going on in our lives right now. Sometimes, rather than starting with the narratives found in scripture books, it can be more productive to begin with the wisdom of contemporary voices. 

The inauguration of Joseph Biden as the 46th President of the United States was one of those uplifting times when the prose, prayers, poetry and songs help us gain a new perspective on our biblical texts.. Many of the words heard at the inaugural echoed what we often hear in churches, synagogues, mosques and shrines every week — unity, service, justice, and peace. The inaugural twist was that these terms are the keys to preserve a republic built upon democracy.

When the Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman recited, “We’ve braved the belly of the beast,” she provided a fortuitous segue into the biblical texts for today. While in the belly of the whale, Jonah (3:1-5, 10), full of fear and doubt, is transformed. He emerges to take up his prophetic job. He boldly tells the Ninevites it is time for them to change the way they have been living.

Like Nineveh¹ our nation has been swallowed up by the lack of attention to what is true. While many Americans live rather comfortably millions more continue to suffer from various inequities and prejudices. Jonah did not want to be the one to tell the Ninevites they needed to change their ways. We, too, are often remiss in our prophetic role to challenge the status quo, to foster a common good.

Having been tested, now we are summoned to be united in an effort to restore our nation. If the poet Gorman is right that we are “a nation that isn’t broken but simply unfinished” we still have work to do together.

Our identity as a Catholic church, a sacrament of unity, has also been weakened. In fact, many Christian religions and their leaders are divided over grave issues that affect American lives. Jonah’s experience nudges all of us to find ways to transform the religions we belong to, the societies we live in. This is what Jesus also taught his followers.

In today’s gospel (Mark 1:14-20) Jesus tells his listeners a new kingdom is near and that repentance is required to embrace it. A biblical definition of “repentance" is to have a change of mind, heart, and action. Jesus recruited disciples to build up his coalition, to spread his message.

The term “new kingdom” is not a reference to the end of the world or to a heavenly place but to the realization of God as the primary and powerful wellspring for living here and now. It is in this sense that a change of heart is a necessary first step to make things right in our lives. How do we actually do this?

In commenting on the socio-political situation when Mark’s gospel was written, theologian Walter Brueggemann wrote it was a time to “de-script” from empirical and religious exploitation. This direction suggests a movement away from any ideology that blocks the out the presence of a holy Spirit among us. But Brueggemann also warned, “We have forgotten what has been entrusted to us.” 

According to Osvaido Vena² Jesus recruited disciples not to leave a “hostile world” but to create an environment where the word of God abides in all of us. Bluntly, Jesus is calling us “to join him in his struggle to overturn the existing order of power and privilege.”³ The damage done by the defeated president is very deep leaving rifts for us to repair in our country, our religions and ourselves. We are not finished.

While we can continue to celebrate the passage from a failed presidency to a more civil, kind, and hopeful one, each of us must do our part like Jonah, Jesus and others working in the vineyard.

In speaking about the American aspiration on the eve of the inauguration, Vice President Kamala Harris reminded us, “Even in dark times, we not only dream, we do. We not only see what has been, we see what can be. We shoot for the moon, and then we plant our flag on it. We are bold, fearless, and ambitious. We are undaunted in our belief that we shall overcome; that we will rise up.”

_______

¹ Ancient Nineveh is now modern day Mosul, Iraq. Once in history the region around Nineveh, with its hanging gardens, was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

² Profesor de Nuevo Testamento, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, Evanston, Ill., USA

³ Ched Myers, quoted by Osvaido Vena. In the Bible catching fish represents judgement upon extremely wealthy power brokers. See Jeremiah 16:16, Amos 4:2.

Upper Room Inclusive Catholic Community - Liturgy for Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, January 24, 2021 - Presiders: Terri Kersch and Jim Marsh, ARCWP

Welcome/Theme: Jim M

Good morning and welcome to the Upper Room!

For those of you who may be joining us for the first time, we are an intentional Eucharistic Community without walls, thanks to the technology of Zoom. While you will be muted for most of our prayer time together, please sing out loud, and pray alongside those whose voices we will hear today. If you have a speaking part, “unmute” yourself and remember to re-mute. At the homily time, there will be an opportunity to share a brief reflection on the Word proclaimed. Please save the “kudos” and “atta-girls” for the end when our formal prayer and worship is over.

Today is the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time; Terri and I have entitled today’s liturgy: The Call to Serve.  Today’s Gospel may sound like a repeat of last week, however there are differences due simply to authorship. This week was certainly historic with the Inauguration of Joe Biden, as President, and Kamala Harris, as Vice President. Our second reading is a blending of their words from last August that share their vision and call.

Let’s begin our prayer in song, envisioning a better world and our call to serve!  

Opening Song We’ll Build a World by David Lohman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOtHBYiX8nQ

We are different, you and I, yet together, fates entwine.

Now we gather in this space, joined in spirit, filled with grace;

bring your fullness, I'll bring mine, and together we will shine.

Refrain: Together, we'll build a world where there's room for all to be;

a world where we'll live our lives liberated, strong, and free!

This glorious future –build it now with me.

As we labor toward that day, don't let difference fall away.

Your uniqueness I will see, and the same, please, see in me.

Thus we're valued, known and named, honored, cherished, loved and claimed. Ref

In this varied universe all existence so diverse.

Filled with wonder, life so queer, steeped in mystery, oft unclear.

Yet together, hand in hand, we'll create that Promised Land. Ref

Liturgy of Word

First Reading Mark (1:14-18) Sandy D

After John’s arrest, Jesus appeared in Galilee proclaiming the Good News of God:
“This is the time of fulfillment. The reign of God is at hand! Change your hearts and minds and believe this Good News!”

While walking by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw the brothers Simon and Andrew casting their nets into the sea, since they fished by trade. Jesus said to them, “Follow me: I will make you fishers of humankind.” They immediately abandoned their nets and followed Jesus.

These are inspired words from the evangelist named Mark, and the community responds: AMEN!

Second Reading A Message from Joe & Kamala Bridget B-S and Rudy S

I accept your nomination for vice president of the United States of America.

I do so committed to the values my mother taught me. To the Word that teaches me to walk by faith, and not by sight. And to a vision passed on through generations of Americans. A vision of our nation as a Beloved Community — where all are welcome, no matter what we look like, where we come from, or who we love.  [KH]

"Give people light"…are words for our time. It is time for us to come together. United, we can and will overcome this season of darkness in America. So it's with great honor and humility, I accept this nomination for president of the United States of America. 

America is at an inflection point, a time of real peril but also extraordinary possibilities. We can choose a path of becoming angrier, less hopeful, more divided, a path of shadow and suspicion or we can choose a … path of hope and light.  [JB]

We can build that Beloved Community, one that is strong and decent, just and kind. One in which we all can see ourselves.  [KH]

No generation ever knows what history will ask of it. All we can ever know is whether we're ready when that moment arrives. As God's children, each of us have a purpose in our lives. We have a great purpose as a nation to open the doors of opportunity to all Americans, … to be a light to the world once again, and finally to live up to and make real the words written in the sacred documents that founded this nation: “that all men and women are created equal, endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, among them life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”  [JB]

Make no mistake, the road ahead will not be not easy. We will stumble. We may fall short. But I pledge that we will act boldly and deal with our challenges honestly. We will speak truths. And we will act with the same faith in you that we ask you to place in us.  [KH]

American history tells us that it has been in our darkest moments that we've made our greatest progress, that we found the light. I believe we can find the light once more.  [JB]

There’s something happening, all across the country. It’s about you. It’s about us. People of all ages and colors and creeds are pushing us to realize the ideals of our nation, pushing us to live the values we share: decency and fairness, justice and love.  [KH]

I believe there's only one way forward: as a united America. This is our moment to make hope and history rhyme with passion and purpose. Love is more powerful than hate. Hope is more powerful than fear, and light is more powerful than dark.  [JB]

What an awesome responsibility. What an awesome privilege.  [KH]

This is our moment. This is our mission. Are you ready? Let us begin.  [JB]

These words are excerpted from the speeches addressed to all US Citizens by Jospeh R Biden and Kamala Harris at the DNC in August 2020; let the community respond: may it be so, AMEN!

Third Reading from the prophet Isaiah (11:2-4, 5-6, 9-10)   Phillis S

The Spirit of YHWH will rest upon you—

a spirit of wisdom and understanding,

a spirit of counsel and strength,

a spirit of knowledge and reverence for YHWH.

You will delight in obeying YHWH,

and you won’t judge by appearances, or make decisions by hearsay.

You will treat poor people with fairness and will uphold the rights of the downtrodden.

Justice will be the belt around your waist—faithfulness will gird you up.

Then the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat; 

the calf and the lion cub will graze together, and a little child will lead them.

There will be no harm, no destruction anywhere in my holy mountain. On that day, the Root of Jesse will serve as a symbol to the peoples of the world, and your home will be a place of honor.

These are inspired words from the Hebrew prophet Isaiah, and the community responds: AMEN!

Shared Homily 

Homily starter – Jim M

The story from Mark’s Gospel is certainly about a call. It begins by placing Jesus in Galilee, not Jerusalem the city that represented power, both political and religious. Unlike the version we heard last week, John the Baptizer is no longer on the scene—he’s been arrested. Jesus, who probably was a disciple of John since he sought to be baptized, picks up the mantle, so to speak, and proclaims a message similar to John’s: “this is the time of fulfillment … God’s reign, God’s kin-dom is at hand!” And who does he call to follow him and make it happen? He calls folks who are busy working; working to provide for their children and families. There must have been a real sense of urgency because we are told they immediately followed him…. no questions. Did they even know where they were going?

Fast forward nearly two millennia and we have the appearance of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on the American stage. They each heard a call that shaped a vision of what could be, as we heard from them in our second reading today.

Our third reading is comforting and challenging at the same time. The prophet tells us that God’s Spirit of wisdom, understanding, knowledge and reverence will rest upon us and will give us strength to not make decisions by hearsay or judge by appearances, but to act with justice, treat people fairly and uphold the rights of all those held down. The result is a powerful image of peaceful co-existence—the wolf will lie down with the lamb …. no more harm, destruction or divisiveness!

My friends, perhaps we once had the notion that a call (vocation) was a one-time happening like a call to religious life, ordination or marriage or that hard-earned career. If we’re honest, we have to admit that there have been several calls as we look back over our lives ... calls within callings that give our lives’ purpose and direction. 

Joe and Kamala have issued a call for each of us to ‘build back better.’ The moment has arrived … it’s happening! Are we ready to once again be a nation where all are welcome? What do we need to leave behind? Do we, you and I, have a part to play in re-creating God’s vision as the Beloved Community. In Kamala’s own words “what an awesome privilege and responsibility!”

What did you hear? How will you respond?

Liturgy of Eucharist

Statement of Faith Mary Skelly

We believe in the Holy One, 

a divine mystery beyond all definition and rational understanding, 

the heart of all that has ever existed, that exists now, or that ever will exist.

We believe in Jesus, messenger of the Divine Word, 
bringer of healing, heart of Divine compassion, 
bright star in the firmament of the Holy One's prophets, mystics, and saints.

We believe that We are called to follow Jesus as a vehicle of divine love, 
a source of wisdom and truth, and an instrument of peace in the world.

We believe in the Spirit of the Holy One, the life that is our innermost life, 

the breath moving in our being, the depth living in each of us.

We believe that the Divine kin-dom is here and now, 
stretched out all around us for those with eyes to see it, 

hearts to receive it, and hands to make it happen.

Terri K: As we prepare for the sacred meal, Dennis will give voice to all the blessings,

cares, and concerns we bring to our tables. Dennis will end with:

O Holy One, you know our needs before we even speak. Yet, we must speak, if only to remind ourselves of our call to care for the least among us. With your grace, may we act justly and love tenderly in addressing the needs of our world, and may we walk humbly on the Earth all the days of our lives. Amen

Jim M: Let us pray the Eucharistic prayer together:  

God beyond our words, we gather to give thanks and open our awareness to 

the goodness of all creation. You invite us to co-create with you and we 

remember our responsibility to serve.

We open this circle to the memory of all of the joyful troubadours and faithful 

servants who have gone before us. Joined with them and all creation, we lift our voices and sing: Here in This Place by Christopher Grundy    

https://youtu.be/sgkWXOSGmO

HOLY ONE, may your presence here open our minds 

may your Spirit among us help us to find you are rising up now 

like a fountain of grace from the holy ground 

here in this place, here in this place. 

Holy, holy, holy God of love and majesty 

the whole universe speaks of your glory 

from the holy ground here in this place, here in this place.

Dotty S:    We thank you for Jesus, simple servant, lifting up the lowly, 

revealing you as God-With-Us, 

and revealing us as one with you and all of creation.

[extend hands in blessing]

We are ever aware of your Spirit in creation. Intensify your Spirit anew in these simple gifts of bread and wine and in us, that we might truly be the Christ presence in our world.

On the night before he faced betrayal and death, Jesus shared supper with the people closest to him. He reminded them of all that he taught them, and to fix that memory clearly, he bent down and washed their feet like the least household servant. 

[lifting bread]

Terri K: When he returned to his place at the table, Jesus took bread, gave thanks, and offered it to them saying: Take and eat, this is my very self. [pause] 

[lifting cup]

Then Jesus took the cup of the covenant, spoke the grace and offered it to them saying: Take and drink; whenever you remember me like this, I am among you. [pause]

Jim M: Let us eat and drink; mindful of our call to proclaim and live the gospel of peace and justice. Be nourished!

Communion Song Morning Prayer: I Will Surrender  by Karen Drucker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zjamx4MtAYw&list=PLxpMz9ImDYa-5q7leDRCpkbebFTfBzxR3&index=7

I will surrender to my greatest highest good.
I will release any fear that blocks my way.
For every step I take is taken in pure faith,
And I am stronger every moment every day.

I will surrender to my greatest highest good.
I will release any fear that blocks my way.
For every step I take is taken in pure faith,
And I am grateful every moment every day.

I will surrender to my greatest highest good.
I will release any fear that blocks my way.
For every step I take is taken in pure faith,
And I am kinder every moment every day.

My mind is willing and my heart is open wide.
I trust my instincts and let Spirit be my guide.
I vow to live a life that's real and true and free,
As I continue walking in this mystery.

There may be walls there may be roadblocks in my way,
But I can choose to take a higher path each day.
And now I know that what I thought was safe and sound,
Was only habit and regret that held me down.

Katie N: Let us pray as Jesus taught us:

O Holy one who is within, around and among us.

We celebrate your many names.

Your wisdom come; your will be done,

unfolding from the depths within us.

Each day you give us all that we need.

You remind us of our limits and we let go.

You support us in our power, and we act with courage.

For you are the dwelling place within us, the empowerment around us,

and the celebration among us, now and forever, Amen.     

(Adapted by Miriam Therese Winter)

Dotty S: Recognizing our call, we are willing to do everything Jesus did.

By your own in-dwelling Spirit, may we re-create the living presence of a love that does justice, 

of a compassion that heals and liberates, 

of a joy that generates hope and a light that illumines people and confronts the darkness of every injustice and inequity.

All honor and glory are yours, O Holy One, forever and ever. Amen!

Terri K: Let us raise our hands and bless each other, as we pray:

May we continue to be the face of God to each other. 

May we call each other to extravagant generosity. 

May we walk with an awareness of our call as companions on the journey, knowing we are not alone. 

Like Jesus, may we be a shining light and a blessing in our time! AMEN.

Closing Song Make A Difference  by Denise Gagne

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGjlkIkQiVs&list=RDfll8f0gUNNE&index=2  

-sung by the Red Deer Children's Choir (directed by Lisa Ward.)

We can make a difference in our world today

Together we can make our world a better place.

When we work together, so much can be done.

If all the children in the world would sing in unison.

We know what’s right, and we know what to do.

The future can be brighter. It’s up to me and you.

Take my hand and join me. Sing along with me.

When all the children join us there will be a change you’ll see.

Do you have the courage? Do you have the pride?

Do you have a vision of a world where all is right?

We know what’s right, and we know what to do.

The future can be brighter. It’s up to me and you.

We can make a difference in our world today

Together we can make our world a better place.

When we work together, so much can be done.

If all the children in the world would sing in unison.

We know what’s right, and we know what to do.

The future can be brighter. It’s up to me and you.