Brave Spaces: Reflections on Wholeness and Beauty

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Reflections on Wholeness and Beauty in the Life of the Church!

wholeness | ˈhōlnəs | noun 1. The state of forming a complete and harmonious whole; unity: The work lacked a sense of wholeness and meaning. 2. The state of being unbroken or undamaged: The wholeness of the buildings is exceedingly well preserved.
beauty | ˈbyo͞odē | noun 1. A combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight: An area of outstanding natural beauty. 2. A combination of qualities that pleases the intellect or moral sense: The artistry and beauty of football.

Wholeness and beauty have an intriguing relationship with one another, particularly in the life of the Church.

To be whole is best encapsulated in the Scriptural narrative by the Hebrew word shalom, which is often translated 'peace.' According to the New Living Translation Word Study System in the Mosaic Holy Bible, shalom "means holistic peace and well-being. There can be associations of satisfaction, contentment, and feelings of wholeness. [Shalom] can apply to individuals as well as groups." To experience shalom in our world in its fullness is fleeting. It's both still to come (the Eschaton of God's Kingdom that we are all on a journey towards), and already here (we are called 'blessed' as we 'make peace' by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount).

By contrast, there isn't a singular, unanimous Hebrew or Greek word that defines beauty, at least in the holistic, integrated manner that shalom describes wholeness. For something to have beauty, as the English definition above describes, it needs to possess a mixture of qualities that please the senses – but those senses may be aesthetic, intellectual, and/or moral in nature, or some combination there of. What one person considers beautiful may be in stark contrast to what another finds pleasing in shape, color, or form. There are endless possibilities of beauty, in other words.

Thus, to consider the integrated relationship of wholeness and beauty is challenging enough, let alone how wholeness and beauty – two disparate terms, one (wholeness) describing a state of integrated unity, and the other (beauty) painting with a seemingly endless palette of colors – describe the current life found within the Church in the middle of the 2020s.

On September 16th, we were thrilled to publish our first-ever article in both English and Spanish in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. This marks a significant moment for us at Missio Alliance. Not only does it reflect our commitment to including minority voices in the theological conversations and spaces we host, it allows for these voices (alongside the communities and cultures they represent) to shape the content of these conversations. Links to both pieces can be found below. Join us in our celebración!

- Missio Alliance

"It is our Latinidad (a term referring to our shared histories and cultural attributes that unite us) that brings us together and allows us to offer a common gift – a shared offering – to our culture, our communities, and our churches in the US. Who we are and how we exist in the world, our various languages and customs, and the unique ways we reflect the image of God are all part of our Latino encanto."

"Nuestra Latinidad nos une y nos permite ofrecer nuestros dones como una ofrenda colectiva que es de bendición a otras comunidades e iglesias en Estados Unidos. Nuestra forma de ser, nuestras costumbres e idiomas, y nuestras formas tan únicas en las que reflejamos la imagen de Dios, todas son parte de nuestro encanto."

The Why Stay Retreat is designed as a safe, reflective space where you can rest, recharge, and wrestle with the deep questions of ministry in a supportive environment. It’s a chance to find new energy, clarity, and peace as you continue your journey in leadership.

Check out our webpage for more information. Registration closes October 11th. We keep this retreat limited to just 10 people, and spaces are filling up quickly!

Join us for another powerful, thought-provoking webinar. Pastor and author, David Swanson will unpack concepts from his new book Plundered: The Tangled Roots of Racial and Environmental Injustice. Together with host Lisa Rodriguez-Watson this webinar will spark an imagination for:

Understanding how racial and environmental injustice share the common roots of greed in the forms of extraction and exploitation.
Connecting a vision of our human caretaking vocation with the manifestations of systemic racism and environmental destruction.
Inspiring local congregations/communities to see their critical role in nurturing ecological and racial harmony in their particular places.
Exploring how congregations and leaders can take steps of repair in moving towards justice.

This webinar is free and a free recording will be sent to all who register.

Taking from her new book, Confessions of an Amateur Saint, Mandy Smith in this webinar invites you into the simple practice of raw and honest confession as an act of choosing reliance on God. Learn how to release unhealthy expectations of yourself and ministry. This is an invitation to join and participate with others who are wrestling and choosing to follow and find God at work in surprising ways.

Learn More!

On Sowing Seeds of New Life in Autumn

“Autumn is a season of great beauty, but it is also a season of decline: the days grow shorter, the light is suffused, and summer’s abundance decays towards winter’s death. Faced with this inevitable winter, what does nature do in autumn? It scatters the seeds that will bring new growth in the spring – and scatters them with amazing abandon.

In my own experience of autumn, I am rarely aware that seeds are being planted. Instead my mind is on the fact that the green growth of summer is browning and beginning to die. My delight in the autumn colors is always tinged with melancholy, a sense of impending loss that is only heightened by the beauty all around. I am drawn down by the prospect of death more than I am lifted by the hope of new life.

But as I explore autumn’s paradox of dying and seeding, I feel the power of metaphor. In the autumnal events of my own experience, I am easily fixated on surface appearances – on the decline of meaning, the decay of relationships, the death of a work. And yet if I look more deeply, I may see the myriad possibilities being planted to bear fruit in some season yet to come.

In retrospect, I can see in my own life what I could not see at the time – how the job I lost helped me find work I needed to do, how the “road closed” sign turned me toward terrain I needed to travel, how loses that felt irredeemable forced me to discern meaning I needed to know. On the surface, it seemed that life was lessening, but silently and lavishly the seeds of new life were always being sown.”

- Excerpted from Parker Palmer, Let Your Life Speak