Copy
View this email in your browser
Dear Friends in the Journey School,

As I reflect on my experience in The Journey School this year, I realize how grateful I am simply for its online accessibility.  I am at a place in life, where even if Journey School participation was available in person, my participation would be severely limited.  I have a profound respect and appreciation for our church board, staff, Journey School faculty, and Peter for ensuring that the teachings of The Church of Conscious Harmony are not only made available to us, but that they are well-presented.  As a classical violin teacher accustomed to teaching a centuries-old art form in person, it has been a year of gargantuan hurdles learning how to do that same job via modern technology. I can therefore only imagine the tremendous efforts made by our church leadership to ensure that now even more than ever we have access to The Journey School curriculum.
 
A phrase that often speaks to me is prayed at the beginning of Sunday Lectio Divina services:  “May we become the Word, the living Word” but I often hear it as: “May we become the Work, the living Work” – and each week I am blessed to witness our collective intention in our Work together to become more receptive vessels for embodying the living Work; because ultimately, the Work of Inner Christianity is given substance by our wish and will to live it out. 
 
Although my personality tends toward introverted and intellectual, I am surprised to realize that the most meaningful component of The Journey School for me this year has been the people who willingly put on Work principles and share their weekly experience with the application of these holy ideas on Thursday nights and in my Journey Group.  The opportunity to see faces and hear voices that are here for the Aim of continued transformation into Christ encourages me to do the exact opposite of my personality’s introverted preferences – and that is first and foremost, to show up and then to be fully present, listening deeply, while holding center for my sisters and brothers as they share. 
 
On a Thursday evening this past September I had the opportunity to serve as a presenter for The Journey School. The preparation and presentation offered a glimpse into the quality of effort made by faculty who prepare curriculum for us weekly, including emails and teaching on Thursday evenings. Our community is blessed by those who prioritize these teachings and put much into communicating them to us. To all the Work teachers I’d like to take this opportunity to say something I don’t believe I have ever said to any of you – with every fiber of my being – thank you!
 
One of my favorite things to do with the weekly emails is to mine them for a word, phrase, or paragraph that speaks to my spiritual journey.  During the week I repeat it to myself, in the manner of Lectio Divina. I sit with it, pray with it, and anticipate its coming to meet me in relationship to the homework invitation during the week. 
 
I would also like to make a shameless plug for The Journey School archive.  When I would like to revisit something that may have been said on Thursday night or perhaps locate a visual that was shared, those resources are to my delight, readily available. 
 
One of many ways I work for the sake of the Work is through tithing to the church that facilitates my spiritual journey.  I see tithing to our spiritual community as a way of giving more meaning to my day job where I work for a living. To know that a portion of my “day job” earnings support the work of The Church of Conscious Harmony elevates my daily routine to the level of conscious labor.   Now, I am no longer “going to work” just for my own security and survival or “belief in life” but for the increase of consciousness in our church community and on our planet.  One way I remember that is to keep the Theosis Chapel icons on my desk while I am working at my day job.  I glance at them and remember that what I am doing has more meaning beyond simply completing a day’s work. I first learned to tithe from my parents when I was a child and decided to tithe 10% percent of my monthly allowance.  For the most part there has not been the question in my life of whether or not I would tithe, it is something I have almost always done. However, there have been difficult times when I have not lived up to my own expectations in that regard. What I can say is that tithing is a more liberating experience than not tithing. 
 
I have participated in many churches, but I first heard the terms reciprocal maintenance and valuation from Tim Cook in relation to tithing. I wasn’t really sure what he meant until one day I realized that several years of saying Yes to the practice of Centering Prayer and to putting on the ideas of the Work of inner Christianity have literally given me my life, a brand new life that I could never have imagined, both inwardly and outwardly. In no other church community have I been provided the tools and kind support for spiritual development like I have at CCH. 
 
I invite others in the community to reflect on your year’s experience and how you might express gratitude in word and resources as a form of reciprocal maintenance.  How is your heart responding to what you have just read?
 
 
Frances Franklin
 
If you already have a tithing relationship with The Church of Conscious Harmony, we thank you.  If your spiritual journey has been enriched by The Journey School, we invite you to donate here as a way of expressing your gratitude and participating in the great law of Reciprocal Maintenance.
Website
Copyright © 2020 The Church of Conscious Harmony, All rights reserved.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.