This is a blog to explore the cycles of the liturgical year and how they feed our soul. I came to start this blog from an epiphany of a book within me, hoping to use this space to share my thoughts and get yours.
A little bit about me… I was born into a long Quaker heritage going back to William Penn, and my father is still a Quaker minister in Iowa. My mom was a minister in the United Church of Canada. My grandfather was also a Quaker minister. I went to Guilford College, a Quaker college, and Harvard Divinity School for grad school. While all this contributed to my spiritual journey, none of this really explains my deep appreciation and interest in the liturgical year, since Quakers shun the symbols and pagentry associated with the liturgical cycle.
Somewhere in the 90′s, I started working to improve the altar visuals at my church at the time, Foundry United Methodist Church, in downtown Washington, DC. Working with a handful of creative souls, we decided to update our formal altar and make a meaningful visual connection to the liturgical year through our offerings each week. In order to do this, I had to learn about the different seasons, colors, symbols, and also pay attention to the scripture to see how we could provide a visual focal point for the congregation. And I got hooked.
About the same time, I started writing liturgy and prayers for my church and singing in the choir. I find that singing and writing prayers is a lot easier than spending quiet time with God. My active participation helps me not stray to my to-do list or other things off topic, and the process of revising and rehearsing helps me perfect my thoughts. This year, I started sending prayers to my friends in need. Writing has become a wonderful means for me to be in worship with God more frequently, and explore the images and feelings in my heart.
My epiphany to write a book came to me on Epiphany in 2003, but the impetus to start the blog came from a writers group I just happened to attend on January 5, 2010. Sometimes God speaks through random messengers and we just have to be open to the possibilities, so here I go. I hope this will provide the impetus to collect my thoughts, share them with my friends, and be fed by your comments as we embark on this journey.
Blessings to you,
Jayne Mardock
January 6, 2010
