Activity: Attention to Diverse Contexts

Objective(s): a first experience in paying attention to another

Time: 2 minutes of thinking, 5 minutes of sharing per person in each pair, 10 minutes to debrief per person, final debrief in large group

Materials: none

One of the most important parts of a classroom exploration for chapter 4 is the discussion of diversity. Building upon our conversation around the fullness and aims of formation in the previous chapter (which gave us a forward look), we now explore the contexts from which our place of formation arises (a backward look). I usually have students of various genders, ages, races, and so on, so I open up the conversation by talking about how some of the aspects of Christian spiritual formation might be experienced differently from different cultural backgrounds. I draw examples from the literature on spiritual formation and cultural diversity (What does discernment feel like for an Asian? What does spiritual direction feel like for an African American?). But the point is actually for me to say as little as possible and let the other students tell their stories and ask their questions. This conversation can be exceptionally powerful.

Another option is simply to break students up in pairs (with as much difference between each member of the pairs as possible). Then I tell them that they will have five minutes to tell each other a “formation” story. It might be spiritual, or it might not. I give them a couple of minutes to think of a story to tell. Then each student gets five minutes to tell their story, after which the other student—with help from the storyteller—gets another ten minutes to identify elements of context that were relevant to the story. Are there aspects of the story that are what they are because of the context from which the student was formed? How did culture, family, church, etc. play a part in formation? How is agency viewed in different contexts? See what you learn. After each student has had the opportunity to share and explore, bring the group back together and see what insights might be highlighted for the entire class.

Assignment Set 1

Three Days of Monastic Rhythm

We all have our ups and downs. In fact, I will go one step further: we all ought to have our ups and downs. Rhythm is a part of life (see Eccles. 3:1–8). Rhythm has also been an important element of the formation of Christians over the centuries. There is a story of Saint Antony of Egypt that goes like this:

Once when Antony was living in the desert his soul was troubled by boredom and irritation. He said to God, “Lord, I want to be made whole and my thoughts do not let me. What am I to do about this trouble, how shall I be cured?” After a while he got up and went outside. He saw someone like himself sitting down and working, then standing up to pray; then sitting down again to make a plait of palm leaves, and standing up again to pray. It was an angel of the Lord sent to correct Antony and make him vigilant. He heard the voice of the angel saying, “Do this and you will be cured.”

Many Christian expressions through history—particularly Christian monasteries and convents—have developed some rhythmic relationship between the elements of prayer, work, study, and ministry (though some activities might be hard to categorize strictly with one label or another). The amount of time put to each will vary from group to group, but there is often some effort, for the most part, to structure time and to structure it with a rhythm in mind. This is a part of the endeavor to order our lives around Christ.

In one sense this is the easiest assignment of all. Depending on your life habits, you may not have to add anything to your workload except writing the report and preparing a bit. On the other hand, living a monastic rhythm might be the hardest assignment of this class. The point of this assignment is simply to arrange your day, pay attention, and notice what you experience. What you will have to do for this assignment is:

• Select. Choose to do this assignment and schedule your “rhythm days.”
• Prepare. Plan for those days. In order to fulfill this assignment you will need to include (and schedule)
  —at least four times of private or public prayer each day (no time restrictions, within reason);
  —some time of Bible reading, lectio divina, or formal study (schoolwork permitted);
  —some time of manual labor each day;
  —some expression of care or community at least once within the three days;
  —at least five meals eaten in silence.

• Participate. After you have scheduled and prepared for your rhythm days (do you have the tools for your manual labor ready?), then—when the time comes—you just do it. And you watch to see what happens. What is it like to eat in silence? What is it like to keep a schedule? (You might want to have someone ring a bell to call you in to prayer at the appropriate times.) Yes, you can fake this assignment, but I am asking you to give it sincere effort (and I can often tell when someone’s faking it).
• Report. Report on what happened. Tell me what you chose and why. Tell me what you did and how it felt. Relate all of this to the class material.

Assignment Set 2

See chapter 5.