I heard my former professor and friend,
Diana Butler Bass, speak today at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia. She gave a summary of a bit of her work on Practicing Congregations, with some emphasis on the final parts of her study which lead her to find that the Christian Practices that "popped to the top" were Hospitality and Theological Reflection. She is a wonderful speaker, and loves and understands churches in a deep way. She challenged the hearers to practice some Discernment (another Christian Practice) to see what the Spirit might be calling us to spend our time and energy on at this point in our lives. I appreciated her reminder that what is so important is to develop depth and focus in our practices, rather than spreading us thin. She gave me a lot to think about both for my spiritual life, and also for my work as a priest and chaplain. I am spending some time re-reading her wonderful book, "Christianity for the Rest of Us," and I hope you will also check it out!
~ Rev. Peter M. Carey
