One of my colleagues at the Phoenix Center for Spiritual Direction, Reverend Kelly Murphy Mason, has been called upon to foster dialogue among the conflicting and polarized people and factions in this country. Reverend Mason published this article. “Us in Their Absence” He currently works at the Berkeley Center on Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University.
In this article, she talks about her experience at a recent conference. The Mission of the Church in a Polarized World: Finding a Place Beyond Divides.
This is an important topic for those of us who want the church to play a role in the public sphere and ease tensions between warring groups. To quote from her article:
Before we can block out the echo chambers of others, we must first block out our own. In the Gospels, Jesus teaches his disciples, “First remove the log from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your neighbor’s eye.” Thankfully, spiritual disciplines and liturgical elements in various Christian traditions can help us understand more clearly the role we play in othering our enemies.
For more details, please read on: “Us in Their Absence” By Kelly Murphy Mason.
Reverend Kelly Murphy Mason is a spiritual leader, educator, psychotherapist, and author who serves as the Community Minister of Spiritual Direction at Arlington Street Church in Boston, Massachusetts. She also teaches in the Phoenix Spiritual Direction Center’s Apprenticeship Program and In front ofthe quarterly publication of Spiritual Directors International. In 2022, she convened and currently co-chairs the Spirituality & Thrive Interest Group within the Harvard Thrive Network. She has been blogging at TheReverendDr.com about what heals our souls for over a decade.
Source: Spiritual Direction 101 – www.patheos.com
