Plymouth Magazine-Spring26-DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 7
Now that you’ve been at Plymouth for
a few months, what have you learned
about our church and/or our community
that has surprised you the most?
It’s been a delight to get to know the
people of Plymouth and to witness the
quiet and extraordinary ways that this
community is living into its faith. I’ve
loved getting to know the Plymouth
staff, office volunteers, Stephen ministers,
quilters, church youth, 80 & Energetic
members, the community at Scottish
Rite... the list goes on and on! Every
week, I am meeting someone new,
getting to hear their stories and discover
the imago dei shining within them. It’s
been an honor and delight, and I look
forward to meeting more and more of
the people who make up this church in
the days and years to come.
As we enter the Lenten season, is
there a reflection, reading, meditation,
scripture, or something special you do
leading up to Easter?
There’s a practice I’ve learned through my
contemplative renewal clergy cohort that
I’m hoping to practice during the season
of Lent. It’s called statio. Statio translates
from the Latin as “station,” “position,”
and “watch,” as well as “I remain” or
“I stand.” It’s a common practice for
Benedictines as they enter chapel, but
they also include it in other moments
throughout the day. It’s often described
as “a holy pause.”
Joan Chittister, a Benedictine nun,
explained it like this: “’Statio’ is stopping
to collect our hearts and minds before we
begin something new – is the sign that we
know we are about to do the will of God
for the world. We know that we must not
go at it when we are scattered of heart.”
For myself, my days can get so full and
I can end up running from one item to
another as I try to fit everything in. Statio
invites me to pause in the transitions
between the events of my day, to breathe
in the Spirit, and reconnect with the
Holy as I approach whatever comes next.
Pause. Breathe. Reconnect… and repeat.
Plymouth Magazine 7
