Making Space.

By Trish Patrick in All Sorts

everyone's faith journey is unique

Connections – Making Space
Last week Susan wrote about her connection with the Society of Friends
(Quakers) which I found really interesting and 'My heart was strangely warmed'
by the simplicity of their practice.
As I get older, what is important for me regarding theology and my spiritual
journey has become distilled into simple (not simplistic) core tenets, among
them 'finding good in everyone, finding God in everyone'...AND all creation. All
the strongly held finer points of theological discourse, while great topics for
discussion and endlessly interesting, aid in my distillation process.

In the September Touchstone an article written by Rev Prof Nasili Vaka'uta
entitled 'Who gets to name Theology?' is a topic speaking into the question
'whose culture gets to interpret the divine and how that will be expressed in
language, ritual and liturgy.' Each culture is rich in its own myths, legends,
wisdom and ritual which usually had to be abandoned with the introduction of
Christianity. Sadly, many well-intentioned missionaries contributed to the loss of
precious cultural and spiritual practices because they were functioning out of
their own cultural background with accompanying biases and prejudices.
Pluralism was not on the agenda.

I well remember going to hear Billy Graham in 1959 during his NZ crusade. This
had a profound effect on church attendance...for a while. I can remember being
very uneasy about the event and the build up to it. It was quite aggressive and
demanding. The alter calls at the main event were considered the pinnacle of the
crusade and, although only a teenager, I found it rather cringy, particularly the
emphasis on sin. Thirty years later it was a relief to discover Matthew Fox, a
theologian whose sense of God and the divine was one of Original Blessing and
Creation as opposed to the theology of sin and Atonement. For me this made
glorious sense and added balance to my faith journey.

Everyone's faith journey and spiritual experience is uniquely theirs and shaped
by their own life experience. Maybe it’s a function of getting older that a lot of
things I once considered of vital significance have quietly receded and I'm left
with way fewer 'bottom lines'. That's not to say I'm left with fewer
questions....indeed I have many more! But the questions are more important
than the answers...which possibly will never be revealed. But I'm okay with that.
For me, the quaker movement is onto something truly important, especially in
today's fractious and turbulent world.... a space of quiet acceptance where each
can allow the spirit to move in the stillness, where and when she sees fit, no
matter what faith one adheres to.
I love the hymn 'O Threefold God of Tender Unity', especially the last verse which
speaks to the mystery of God and creation:
Oh, threefold God of tender unity,
Life's great unknown that binds and sets us free
felt in our loving, greater than our thought,
You are the mystery found, the mystery sought.
Bill Wallace.
Trish Patrick