Remembering Confluence’s Celebration Gathering Sunday 19th
Music for Contemplation
“Prayer of Good Courage” by Kent Gustafson
O God, you have called us
To ventures where we cannot see the end
By paths never yet taken
Through perils unknown
Give us good courage
Not knowing where we go
To know that your hand is leading us
Wherever we might go
Amen.
Image of the Confluence logo featuring a birthday hat and confetti.
Remembering the Gathering
By Karin Craven
Celebration! Some of us lean into celebration; others tolerate festivities. How does celebration function in your life? Do you take pleasure in marking events and milestones in your life? Do you gather with others to honor and observe an important occasion? What happens when you celebrate? Does anything change?
Celebration is an intentional activity and as such, is a human endeavor that differentiates us uniquely even as it is a common ground of unity. Each of us has our own tolerance for making merry as we mark special events in our own lives. We live within family traditions of birthdays and holidays; our faith communities enfold us with their local customs of religious observances.
We look forward to certain celebrations, even plan and prepare for them with rigor and attention to detail. Other celebrations seem to matter less to us; we might forgo or even forget them. Sometimes we just show up to celebrations, content to be there, but not otherwise engage emotionally or practically in the event and its people.
Every week Christian communities celebrate the Lord’s Supper. In the Roman Catholic tradition, the priest who presides over the celebration of the Eucharist is called the celebrant. Celebration has to do with honor and memory, thanksgiving and transformation. There is an implicit assumption of noticing that is at work (or play?!) in and among us when we gather to celebrate.
As individuals and as communities, celebration marks us as people who reflect upon their place in time and space. Celebration prompts us to look backward in memory and forward in anticipation. Celebration is dynamic, and engenders a depth of understanding or meaning, because it is when the past meets the future in the present moment, holding memory and imagination in the social energy of people gathered together intentionally.
On Sunday, Confluence celebrated its third year of gathering as a creative contemplative community in Missoula. A series of questions engaged us in spirited conversation. We invite you to consider these questions and respond to them:
Questions to Ponder
What are the gifts that Confluence offers to its participants and the larger community?
With those gifts in mind, what can you imagine that is emerging for Confluence in the near future and the far away future?
Describe the spiritual community you long for. What sensations, images, feelings and thoughts are held by community?
What questions and paradoxes do you want the Confluence community to hold and engage this year?
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