Tag Archives: Ramah Faith

January 2013 Soul and Solace

Creativity/Spirituality, , , , , , ,

God Magic

Into a season of expectancy and joy intruded an act of devastating violence. What can we, small and distant as we are, do for the parents, the brothers, the sisters, the friends and fellow teachers, the bewildered student survivors of Sandy Hook Elementary?

A Spacious Place takes violence and its consequences seriously. What happened in Connecticut will forever change lives in that community, but also, the very fabric of the universe. We also believe creativity and love bear a deeper, more powerful magic than violence. So we invite you to join us in taking these people into our hearts and placing them in God’s hands (to paraphrase of Madeleine L’Engle’s definition of prayer).

Our Ramah Faith site was created in response to an event which has come to be called the Slaughter of the Innocents (Matthew 2:1-18). Leading up to the anniversary of the nativity celebration, we witnessed the aftermath of a second Slaughter of Innocents.

Our invitation? Begin the new year by putting your powerful magic to work. Read the news stories of those who died—including those who died seeking to shield children—and those who mourn them, then create a prayer—be it a word, a sentence, a poem, a drawing, a photo, or whatever else your faith and your faith tradition prompts you to offer. Email us your prayer (contact@aspaciousplace.com) to post on the Ramah Faith site (www.ramahfaith.com) alongside other responders, thus forming a potent circle of God magic.

They have asked for prayer; let us answer. While our prayers will not minimize or erase what has happened, they will flood a devastated community with love. And that is a needful thing, for, in the end, love alone has muscle enough to bear us up through tragedy.

February 2012 Soul and Solace

Creativity/Spirituality, , , , , , , ,

Ramah Faith

       “A voice was heard in Ramah,
              wailing and loud lamentation,
                      Rachel weeping for her children;
                             she refused to be consoled, 
                                   because they are no more.” 
                                             (Matthew 2:18 NRSV)

The above passage, drawn from the book of Jeremiah by the writer of Matthew’s Gospel, takes us to the bone. Transported to Ramah, we feel Rachel’s loss and suffering. We stand with her in the timelessness of her grief.

Perhaps you, too, know inconsolable loss
              of loved ones,
                     of health,
                            of relationships,
                                   of childhood,
                                          of dreams,
                                                 of innocence,
                                                        of job,
                                                               of....

Standing in the truth of loss and choosing faith is a hard thing. A Ramah Faith is one baptized in tears—and in fire. It is a gritty, hard-edged faith that has moved beyond politeness and into fierce-eyed determination. It is a faith that asks questions that may never, in this lifetime, meet their answers. It’s a faith that gets us out of bed in the morning when we want only to curl our knees into our chest, close our eyes, and sink into unknowing. It’s feeling that…and getting up anyway.

A Ramah faith lives with its scars.

Do you stand alongside Rachel? Have you have survived or are you dwelling this moment in Ramah? Then please consider joining our online community. Beginning next week, visit our site at www.RamahFaith.com, where you can express the truth of your loss in a variety of creative forms. Also, you can suggest ways we can serve as your supportive community in your Ramah season. Have questions?