Honoring who you are

Submitted by Kathleen Owens (she/her),
Manager of Clergy Programming and Communications Center for Clergy Renewal at Holy Wisdom Monastery

Jennifer Shimota’s hope for the Contemplative Renewal Immersion experience was that the scaffolding of the extended immersions would create space for her brain to be quiet. In her experience, “A brain with strong ADHD is always scurrying even if the body is still.”

The Immersions met this need. The rhythm of the monastery gave her the scaffolding she sought to explore practices like Centering Prayer and silence that are very difficult for her. She was moved by practices such as statio. “To say we are going to take a minute to sit and breathe. That is meaningful for me.” More sustained practices of quiet, however, remained challenging. By being given the time and support to fully explore traditional contemplative practices, Jennifer learned she could release shame around what didn’t fit for her busy brain and begin to see and claim more deeply her own sacred ways of encountering God.

Jennifer has come to see her life as a disciple as her spiritual life. “My sporadic noticing of God’s presence in the garden or in a conversation is a way to be spiritually involved and aware.” Through her time in the Center for Clergy Renewal she learned that “If you have a groove and a way of encountering God in the world, you are probably not wrong. When I encounter and engage in the world, gratitude is forefront for me. That is not a discipline or a practice, it is just a gift. The way you engage in the world in Jesus’ name is according to the gifts you were given. You don’t need to spend your energy on the latest book or the latest practice. Assume you were designed that way and God is at work in that.” The Immersions helped Jennifer to honor who she is as a disciple and claim her gifts.

An unexpected gift of the Immersions led Jennifer to understand her congregation in a new light. The Benedictine value of stability and consistency of place she witnessed at Holy Wisdom Monastery helped her to see that value in the community she serves. “The people I live with here in rural North Carolina who never left, they are Benedictine. They love the land and the people and the places in this place. Their parents worked this land, their kids moved away, but they have not. They love Julian, North Carolina like they love their own child.” Jennifer’s own experience is very different; she has moved frequently throughout her life. “Consistency of place is a commitment you make to the people and the place. It is a holy commitment you have made to each other. That is gorgeous. I did not know that until I was at the Monastery.” Naming the desire to stay put among the people and land they know so deeply as a commitment and gift of stability is shaping the way that Jennifer and her congregation understand their ministry in their community.

Understanding and honoring who she is as a disciple helped Jennifer to honor the gifts and discipleship of her congregation and their commitment to stability. The small rural congregation Jennifer serves did not have funds to support her participation in the Contemplative Renewal Immersions, but thanks to your support we are able to still offer this opportunity to those who do not have continuing education funds. The seeds planted through Jennifer’s participation are growing in her and her congregation thanks to your support.

Please join us to hear more stories about the impact of the Center for Clergy Renewal at the Celebration of Ministry Dinner on Friday, September 26th from 5:30-7:30 pm. There is no charge for this dinner, but registration is required.