Sunday Fellowship started working with our Lenten theme, the Body Remembers, way back on February 11th. After sharing the story of Jesus’ temptation and 40 day fast in the wilderness, we recognized the tendency to think of Lent as a time to deny or punish the Body. What would happen if, instead of denying our bodies, we trusted that we could draw closer to God by focusing more on our bodies and how they impact our spirituality?

Each week, we explore different scriptures and different embodied practices. We explored Paul’s discussion of the Body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12, the Feeding of the 5,000 and the Story of Holy Week. We did chair yoga, hand reflexology, hand/foot washing and made enough snacks for all out of a small amount of ingredients. Naturally You, a local salon, donated aromatherapy oils for us to use in our practices. Check out our photos!

As we traveled through Lent this year with the theme of “The Body Remembers”, adults were offered opportunities to try out a few embodied spiritual practices. The series opened with a session on various forms of meditation including a body scan and breathing techniques. Next, Ellie Horwitz led us in Qi Gong teaching us about body energy and deliberate movement and balancing practices. This was followed by Nan Gibbons who led us in a drum circle – the art of using our hands to make music together, basking in sound vibrations and building community. Next we tried some hand reflexology and chair yoga. And finally, we used our hands to create warmth and comfort for others making several fleece blankets for Project Linus to be distributed to children in hospitals, shelters, and foster care. You can read about this great organization here: https://www.bostonprojectlinus.com. We had such a good time feeling the Spirit in our bodies, learning some new practices, and being creative together for the sake of our neighbors.