{"id":24364,"date":"2019-09-20T09:38:13","date_gmt":"2019-09-20T13:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/?p=24364"},"modified":"2022-11-11T14:36:29","modified_gmt":"2022-11-11T19:36:29","slug":"rest-nature-coloring-lectio-divina-sabbath-in-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/2019\/09\/rest-nature-coloring-lectio-divina-sabbath-in-practice\/","title":{"rendered":"Students Explore Sabbath Practices for Chapel"},"content":{"rendered":"

A walk in Park Woods, a nap on the floor, time alone with a Bible or journal, coloring and meditating\u2026 these were some of the Sabbath practices that students in grade six to 12 tried out as part of Spiritual Renewal Week, Sept. 16 to 20, at Eastern Mennonite School.<\/p>\n

Each fall and spring the school sets aside a week for \u201cspiritual renewal,\u201d a tradition dating back decades that involves extended chapel times, focus on a theme and, often, an outside resource speaker.<\/p>\n

With this year\u2019s K-12 theme of Sabbath<\/a> for chapel and gathering (elementary), it made sense to spend the fall Spiritual Renewal Week actually experiencing some common Sabbath practices.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents on the planning committee got enthused about the idea of figuring out how we could actually DO some of the things we\u2019ve already been talking about this year as ways to make time to rest and restore ourselves in busy times,\u201d said Shannon Roth<\/a>, government teacher and Chapel Planning Committee chair.<\/p>\n

The logistics of dividing up the 260 students in grades six to 12 to move around was a bit daunting. But, by using the Los Grupos de Vecinos<\/a> already established, having grace for each other on the first day of movement between options, and making sure instructions were clear, the process went relatively smoothly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is, we\u2019ve got insightful students who make wise choices,\u201d said Justin King, high school principal, about the unconventional week. \u201cThey mingled by age groups, followed instructions, and made the most of this unique opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Monday, everyone gathered in the auditorium in their usual chapel seats for a worship service planned by students and faculty that incorporated music and a slide show of school-related photos that accompanied the Genesis creation story. Faculty members then introduced the three themes the students would explore the rest of the week: Time in Nature; Time in Rest and Renewal; Time with Scripture through Lectio Divina.<\/p>\n

Students in the \u201cTime in Nature\u201d group walked across Park Road to Park Woods, a 13-acre wooded property owned and maintained by Eastern Mennonite University (EMU). Options there included walking silently and individually on the paths, sitting in one space to journal or reflect, or \u2014 for those who find renewal in talking with friends \u2014 to walk the adjacent EMU track and talk.<\/p>\n

Students in the \u201cTime in Rest and Reflect\u201d group divided into classrooms to color silently, lie down to nap or just lie quietly in a darkened room, or to read the Bible.<\/p>\n

During Monday\u2019s chapel, Curt Stutzman pointed out to students \u2014 after a moment of silence \u2014 that we are often uncomfortable with silence. \u201cJesus withdrew from others and spent time in silence before he made big decisions,\u201d said Stutzman, Bible, English and social sciences teacher. \u201cMy hope this week is that you can grow more comfortable with silence. Remember the words of Psalm 46:10. \u2018Be still and know that I am God.'\u201d<\/p>\n

The Lectio Divina group gathered in the auditorium where Shannon Roth led them through a time of reflecting on Matthew 11:25-30<\/a>. Lectio Divina is practice of scriptural reading, meditation and prayer that encourages quiet reflection on a passage.<\/p>\n

Friday, students met in their regular Neighbor Groups to talk about the week. A majority of students reported appreciating the week and feeling more rested and focused after taking part in the Sabbath practices.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the best Spiritual Renewal Week I can remember\u201d said a sophomore, who has been at the school since sixth grade. \u201cI hope we do more things like this. It\u2019s hard to sit and listen to speakers. It was great to actually do things that helped us learn new ideas for taking care of ourselves when we are so busy.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A walk in Park Woods, a nap on the floor, time alone with a Bible or journal, coloring and meditating\u2026 these were some of the Sabbath practices that students in grade six to 12 tried out as part of Spiritual Renewal Week, Sept. 16 to 20, at Eastern Mennonite School. Each fall and spring the\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":24373,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[323],"tags":[312,83],"class_list":["post-24364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faith-formation","tag-chapel","tag-experiential-learning"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24364"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24364\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24364"}],"curies":[{"name":"gracias","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}