July 9, 2023
WORDS OF GREETING AND NOMOFOMO
Chris Zepp
RISE NIGHT OUT - THIS TUESDAY (July 11) 7:30 pm at Veterans Memorial Park (JMU’s baseball field)
Join with RISE friends to cheer on the Harrisonburg Turks at a Valley League baseball game! General Admission tickets are $5; Seniors (65+) and college students (with ID) are $3; Kids 12 and under are FREE! Even if baseball isn’t normally your “thing”, a night with friends at the park is always a good time! DM us to let us know you are coming and we'll watch for you. Or just look for Adam at the park!Other RISE events coming soon:
The 2nd Annual Hungry Games! Don't you just love an evening spent with good people, good food, and good games? We do too! That's why "The Hungry Games" will be back again this summer! There will be food, there will be fun, and you won’t want to miss them! The first one will happen on Friday, July 28, 6 pm (location TBD)!
SUMMER CONCERT SERIES - Wednesdays 6-8 pm at Turner Pavilion starting July 12
Conveniently playing right across the street from our Homebase, the 2023 Levitt AMP Harrisonburg Music Series features an exciting line-up for the upcoming season. Join with RISE friends on Wednesday evenings and get in on the fun, especially on 8/16 and 9/13! More info on the full line-up can be found here: https://downtownharrisonburg.org/levitt-amp-harrisonburg/
We’ll be gathering for worship on Sunday mornings at 10ish in the Arboretum all summer long, with a weekly variety of spiritual practices and experiences to connect us with God, one another, and the natural world! We will begin each week on the terrace by the Welcome and Education Center (on the hill) - Bring lawn chairs, blankets, etc as you desire. For more information about the Arboretum, visit www.jmu.edu/arboretum/index.shtml
(In the event of rain, watch our socials and text line for updates - any day-of weather related calls will be made by 9 am)If you would like to connect more deeply with RISE, you can start by submitting this short form to Get Connected!
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Requests for care and/or prayer can always be sent via e-mail to cares@riseharrisonburg.org, texted to 833-803-0868, or submitted online via our RISE Cares form.
Check out the latest edition of the RISE Report - Your bimonthly(ish) source of information for all things RISE!
WELCOMING STATEMENT
RISE believes that God has open arms, and so should we. Our Creator wants us to love, accept and affirm every human being, including persons of every age, race, ethnic background, nationality, gender identity, sexual orientation, family or socioeconomic status, educational background, religion or creed, and physical or mental ability. We celebrate our diversity and recognize the sacred worth and dignity of all. Everyone is invited and encouraged to join us as we seek to follow Jesus with mutual respect, understanding, and love.
*Read more about “Why Pronouns Matter” HERE.
SONG
“Teresa’s Prayer”
Christ be in my mind, and in my thinking
Christ be in my eyes, in everything I see
Christ be in my ears, and in my hearing
Christ be in my mouth, in every word I speak
Christ be in my heart, and in my loving
Christ be in my life, each moment that I live…
Spiritual Practice and THEOLOGICAL EXPLORATION
Ignatian Examen
HISTORY:
Comes from the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola (16th Century, Spain, founder of the Jesuits) - a month-long set of meditations, prayers, and mental exercises which formed the central component of training for Jesuits
St. Ignatius emerged as a leader in the “counter-reformation” of the Catholic church. One of his well know quotes is “The glory of God is [the human being] fully alive.”
At its most basic, Examen is a practice of “Spiritual self-review.” Ignatius considered it the most important way to continue to live out the experience of the exercises
Originally intended as a solo practice, it can also be modified to use in a small group setting, as we will be doing today.
PROCESS:
*For a PDF version of instructions for individual practice, click HERE
Center and prepare yourself for the process. Get into a comfortable position. Light a candle, if desired. Invite the Spirit’s guidance in your meditations.
Read or listen to an appropriate scripture, if desired.
Psalm 139:1-18,23-24 (CEB)
1 Lord, you have examined me.
You know me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up.
Even from far away, you comprehend my plans.
3 You study my traveling and resting.
You are thoroughly familiar with all my ways.
4 There isn’t a word on my tongue, Lord,
that you don’t already know completely.
5 You surround me—front and back.
You put your hand on me.
6 That kind of knowledge is too much for me;
it’s so high above me that I can’t reach it.7 Where could I go to get away from your spirit?
Where could I go to escape your presence?
8 If I went up to heaven, you would be there.
If I went down to the grave, you would be there too!
9 If I could fly on the wings of dawn,
stopping to rest only on the far side of the ocean—
10 even there your hand would guide me;
even there your strong hand would hold me tight!
11 If I said, “The darkness will definitely hide me;
the light will become night around me,”
12 even then the darkness isn’t too dark for you!
Nighttime would shine bright as day,
because darkness is the same as light to you!13 You are the one who created my innermost parts;
you knit me together while I was still in my mother’s womb.
14 I give thanks to you that I was marvelously set apart.
Your works are wonderful—I know that very well.
15 My bones weren’t hidden from you
when I was being put together in a secret place,
when I was being woven together in the deep parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my embryo,
and on your scroll every day was written that was being formed for me,
before any one of them had yet happened.
17 God, your plans are incomprehensible to me!
Their total number is countless!
18 If I tried to count them—they outnumber grains of sand!
If I came to the very end—I’d still be with you.23 Examine me, God! Look at my heart!
Put me to the test! Know my anxious thoughts!
24 Look to see if there is any idolatrous way in me,
then lead me on the eternal path!
Take a few minutes of silence to individually examine (review and reflect on) the past week(ish), paying particular attention to those times/moments/experiences in which you felt most alive, in which you felt God’s presence and/or blessing, and/or in which you felt the spirit moving in your life. Silently thank God for those moments/experiences as they are recalled.
Go around the circle, sharing those moments.
Take another few minutes of silence to examine (review and reflect on) that same period of time, this time paying particular attention to those times/moments/experiences in which you felt most burdened/worried/angry/etc, in which you felt most distant from God’s presence and/or blessing, and/or in which you found yourself working at cross-currents with the spirit. Silently ask God for forgiveness and release from the burdens of those moments/experiences as they are recalled.
Go around the circle, sharing those moments.
Close with prayer of thanks and for guidance, wisdom, and blessing for the coming days.
SONG
“Take, O Take Me aS I am”
Take, O take me as I am
Summon out what I shall be
Set your seal upon my heart
And live in me…
FINAL BLESSING
Go now, in the hope and peace and love of God.
May the God of all hope open your eyes.
May the God of all peace still your anxious mind.
May the God of all love fill your heart to fullness beyond measure.
And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you…