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Archives for October 2014

Mirrors in Zumba. Mirrors in Church?

October 26, 2014 by Sybil Macbeth 3 Comments Leave a Comment

I love my Zumba® dance/exercise class. Zumba® class is one of the few places besides the shower where I stop worrying and just enjoy the moment. (This sometimes happens in prayer.) “Ditch the workout; join the party” are the intro words from the Zumba® website. The Latin and hip-hop moves and music send my mind and my body to a playful place.

My favorite Zumba® classes have mirrors. Like many women and most dancers, I have a mixed relationship with mirrors. In ballet class they help me to see whether my placement, technique, and movement are correct. But they also say to me, “You’re too old, too ugly, too fat…. Why are you still here?”

In Zumba® I don’t have time to stare at myself in the mirror. The class moves too quickly. Instructions are nonverbal; students learn the steps in a “follow-the-leader” manner. With the help of the mirror I can see all 360° of my instructor and catch the nuances of the steps. Even if I’m in the back of the room without a good view of the teacher, I can see the other dancers in the mirror and follow them. But besides the instructional benefits of the mirror, there are communal ones. The mirrors double the number of people in the room. They transmit a contagion of energy. When my instructor is bouncing and throwing his whole self into the movement, I want to join in. The entire class seems to be swept in by the corporate atmosphere of rhythm, movement, and fun.

So why don’t we hang mirrors in church? Mirrors at the front of the nave would double the number of people in the congregation. With all of those people facing me, the atmosphere would feel less like a lecture series and more like a gathering of disciples and seekers. If I’m confused about the liturgy in the church I’m attending, watching others could help me to feel comfortable and to learn the patterns of worship. (Churches built “in the round” experience some of these benefits.)

Seeing other people’s faces and bodies helps me to get in the spirit of worship and increases my energy. It only takes a few excited people to change the whole environment. Now, I’m not promoting a “happy-clappy,” perkier-than-thou congregation. I’m not interested in phony cheerfulness–just vitality and attention. My pew behavior would probably improve with mirrors. When I arrive, as I sometimes do, in my smug “I dare you to teach me something today” mode, I might notice my snotty facial attitude in the mirror and be appalled. The mirror could work as a corrective. It might also call my attention to the face of someone in the congregation who is looking distressed or sorrowful. Maybe mirrors would make the church feel more like the “Body of Christ” rather than just a collection of people waiting for the designated leaders in the front to impart their wisdom and knowledge.  Just a thought….

For an awesome Zumba® class in Memphis, visit deefitway. Deejay is a terrific teacher, energizer, and community builder. Thanks to the Monday/Wednesday 10 AM class for allowing me to photograph them.

Mirrors in ZumbaP.S. If you receive these posts as an email and want to share them, return to the prayingincolor blog page and choose the buttons at the bottom of the post.

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Filed Under: Praying in Color Tagged With: Body of Christ, church, deefitway, mirrors, Praying in Color, Zumba

Selfie Review of The Season of the Nativity

October 20, 2014 by Sybil Macbeth 3 Comments Leave a Comment

Just thought I’d be the first person to review the book. A little serious, a little snarky….

The Season of the Nativity: Confessions and Practices of an Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany Extremist by Sybil MacBeth

A Review by Sybil MacBeth

After four books about the doodling prayer form she calls Praying in Color, Sybil MacBeth is traveling on a new path to God. Besides prayer, MacBeth is passionate about the Nativity season. Her latest book, The Season of the Nativity: Confessions and Practices of an Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany Extremist, is an invitation to join the ancient journey of Christmas celebration via some fresh ideas and some extreme practices–both spiritual and earthy.

Sure, she wants the focus of Christmas to be less Santa and more Jesus, less consumerism and more transformation, but she is a realist. As in her previous books, MacBeth writes with wit and whimsy about her own meager efforts to stay focused in prayer and disciplined in Christian practice. She invites individuals and families to bring their whole irreverent/holy selves on the Christmas pilgrimage through the preparatory weeks of Advent, the twelve days of Christmas, and the nebulous time of Epiphany. “This is the season,” she proclaims, “when Christ is imagined; Christ is born; and Christ will spread like wildfire.”

This is an odd little book. Odd, because like MacBeth’s mind, The Season of the Nativity flits from room to room. There is a bit of memoir, a bit of faux brain science, some front-porch theology and lots of great hands-on ways to celebrate Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany. Like the mismatched patterns of a Matisse painting, vividly contrasting sections of the book meet like striped and polka-dot walls in an impressionist still life. The book moves from fun, almost frivolous holiday practices to reverent and contemplative devotions in just a couple of pages. Praying Scripture, sprinkling purple sugar on ice cream, creating a prayer wall, staring at the stars, doodling on Advent calendars, and sleeping under the Christmas tree are just some of the varied ways it honors both the playful and serious side of the human spirit.

Review collage 1

This is also an imperfect book. Imperfect, because MacBeth clearly has a preferential option for purple and more pages are dedicated to Advent practices than Christmas and Epiphany ones. But although it is a little purple-heavy, many of the suggested activities for Advent can be used during the other two seasons as well. And besides, MacBeth has been in love with Advent for a long time. She has only seriously courted Christmas and Epiphany in recent years.

Between the author’s menagerie of photos and doodles and the skill of the Paraclete Press design-team, Season of the Nativity is a 160-page treat for the eyes. This is not just a volume of words; it is a compelling visual journey. Readers will want to own the book and buy it for their family and friends as a holiday tool. In preparation for the first day of Advent (which falls on November 30 this year), Halloween or Thanksgiving might be the ideal occasion to give this book to others, especially to people who say, “I do not want a repeat of last year’s vapid and over-caffeinated Christmas.”

Review Collage 2 resizedPeople of deep faith will appreciate this book, but so will those who struggle with faith and are unsure whether they can actually have a relationship with God. People who want to explore the Christian story can study theology or read history, but The Season of the Nativity gives readers the chance to immerse themselves in some of the stories and practices of Christian faith. MacBeth invites the reader into participation rather than insisting on a set of dogmas.

Amazon ratings and Richter scale numbers aside, The Season of the Nativity is a book to shake and shift holiday celebrations. It does not promise to end the chaos of the season but offers to moderate it with meaningful and creative practices. Readers who follow the author’s suggestions for the three seasons just might make some new or revised affirmations of faith at the end, not because of coercion but because of lived experience. Or they may just have a one-of-a-kind, not-to-be-repeated Nativity season adventure.

 

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Filed Under: Praying in Color Tagged With: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Praying in Color, selfie, The Season of the Nativity: Confessions and Practices of an Advent Christmas & Epiphany Extremist

The Season of the Nativity: Confessions and Practices of an Advent, Christmas & Epiphany Extremist

October 13, 2014 by Sybil Macbeth 5 Comments Leave a Comment

My new book, the Season of the Nativity: Confessions and Practices of An Advent, Epiphany, and Christmas Extremist, is now available. For years I have wanted to write a book about Advent because it’s my favorite season of the year. But Advent, I realized, is not a stand alone season; it’s part of a bigger picture. It’s the left hand panel of the Nativity Season triptych with Christmas in the middle and Epiphany on the right. Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany witness to Jesus’s presence on earth, to his flesh and blood self.

“Christmas, in my opinion, gets short shrift. For some reason, Christians have made the death, atonement, and resurrection of the Easter season the most important focus of theology and worship. We seem to have forgotten the mystery and wonder of Jesus’s mere existence and life on earth. The concept of the Incarnation—God coming to “dwell among us” as flesh and blood—is so fanciful and so reckless, it deserves more attention.” (p. 10-11)

This new book aims to give the Nativity season the attention it deserves. It celebrates Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany with a little theology, a little memoir, and lots of hands-on, head-on, heart-on activities for an individual or a whole family to do at home.

Check out my new Home Page and the Season of the Nativity Page on this website. The Season of the Nativity Page has some mini reviews and links to where you can buy the book. Think Halloween and Thanksgiving gifts! Please Share with others via the Facebook, Twitter…buttons below. Thanks.

Season of the Nativity Cover resized

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Filed Under: Praying in Color Tagged With: Advent, Advent Extremist, Christmas, Epiphany, Incarnation, Praying in Color

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