Reflection :: April 4
Below, Parishioner Andrew Gonzalez shares his experience with Sacred Ground and the Mens' Retreat at Waycross Camp and Conference Center.
How often do we squint to form a clearer picture of the world around us? In the years I spent searching for a new church home I think I squinted a lot. While narrowing the eyes helps to see better, squinting often conveys disgust at what you are scrutinizing – a person, an action, a situation. So many events of the past few years, and the collective reactions of people, kept me scrutinizing. If you squint enough your eyes will tire and emotional exhaustion sets in.
Once my partner and I joined an Ash Wednesday service at St. Paul’s, we knew we found our church home. Not long after, we explored opportunities to share Christ’s love. At two men’s retreats we exchanged stories, prayed, broke bread, deepened connections around a fire circle by the light of the moon, made music and explored nature together. It surprises me how many connections I made across the diocese, but especially with those from St. Paul’s. These men still shape and inform my sense of community, the responsibility we have to ourselves and to one another to grow.
A presentation about the indigenous peoples who settled Indiana challenged the version of history I learned in school. Our retreat’s theme explored walking in God’s creation and now here we were enjoying the very same space once inhabited by indigenous tribes, bonding and experiencing community in a way that those driven off the land could no longer do. My eyes widened as I took it in.
Several people talked about taking the Sacred Ground (SG) dialogue series on race grounded in faith and the effect it had on them. They suggested I should pursue it. The chance to study Indigenous, African-, Latino-, and Asian-/Pacific American histories as they intersect with European American histories with other members of the congregation appealed to me greatly, especially as these histories have contributed to the challenges and divisions of the present. Grounding this study in a call to faith, hope and love is what made this pursuit remarkable.
SG proved to be the single, most transformative experience on my faith journey. Through study, listening, praying and reflection we have encountered painful truths, engaged differences, and examined our own histories. Through the stories from those who suffered, historians, theological scholars, philosophers, and Episcopal church leaders, I have a new set of lenses.
Now that Easter has come, I behold how differently I see the world and my participation in it and wonder what is God’s dream for us? I am humbled by the collective effort it takes to create a sacred space to walk this ground together. One group at a time we explore the past, we lament, and we struggle with the reckoning within that may result from this journey. I invite you to walk together with a cohort of congregants. You may discover a substantive process that brings healing to some, transformation in others, and demonstrates St. Paul’s commitment to engaging in the critical discourse that will propel us forward.
Andrew Gonzalez, St. Paul's Parishioner
