02.28.25 Weekly Sabbath Practice: LECTIO DIVINA

You're a wizard, Harry.

Well hello there you gorgeous people and welcome to the first official installment of our Weekly Sabbath Practice! If you missed last week’s announcement about this new weekly offering, the TL;DR is that in listening to our community, we hear that many of you are in liminal faith spaces, but looking to build sacred rhythms into your life. To that, we say start with Sabbath.
And this is our way of helping you do exactly that.

Today, we’re going to practice Lectio Divina. It’s a wizarding spell designed to render one’s enemies momentarily speechless.

JK (Rowling), it’s a Christian contemplative practice developed in the 300s CE. Becoming mindful (or - put a different way - paying attention to what we’re paying attention to) is a valuable skill for spiritual development and an essential component to REST. So let’s try it!

Lectio Divina was originally used on Bible passages but you can do this practice with just about any text. Rachel often uses lectio on poetry. We’re sharing a quote with you today that the two of us have been using as a North Star in our work, but feel free to insert any text of your choice, as you plan your practice this week.

Lectio Divina Steps:

1. Lectio: Read the passage once, slowly and mindfully

Biologically, adults produce children.
Spiritually, children produce adults.
Most of us have not grown up until we have helped children to do so.
Thus do generations form a braided cord.
-Author unknown

2. Meditatio: As you read through the passage a second time, notice what words or phrases stand out to you. Do they cause relief? Discomfort? Curiosity? Where do you feel that response in your body?

3. Oratio: Read again and this time, respond. In traditional Lectio Divina, this is a prayerful response. That can mean so many different things in a community like ours. You might have a full-on conversation with God. You might intentionally sit in gratitude for goodness you notice in the passage. You might acknowledge discomfort or grief that comes up and simply recognize “These are things I am unwilling to carry alone”.

4. Contemplatio: This final step is the act of resting in Divine Presence. Aka, the whole Sabbath vibe.

That’s it! That’s the whole practice! If you haven’t already created a Sabbath plan, you could see how it feels to set some time aside and practice Lectio Divina this week as a sacred rhythm. If you already have a Sabbath plan, experiment with building Lectio Divina into your rest time this week and see if it resonates. (Hot tip: if you’re practicing with kids, you can make some simple and silly adjustments…use a beloved story like Goodnight Moon or the lyrics to a family-favorite song. Let the kids wiggle their way through it and remember that your goal is not perfection or even participation…it’s modeling the importance of rest and creating family warmth :)

Here’s a few links to other passages we’re reflecting on recently:

In the Shelter by Pádraig ó Tuama
This quote from Dr. James Cone
This Bible verse

Lent

This email is coming to you a few days before the liturgical Christian tradition of Lent (the seven weeks between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday). Many of us don’t know much about Lent, except maybe that people tend to ‘fast from’ or ‘give up’ something during Lent.

This is your invitation to join us as we “give up” shame and striving and instead commit to restoration. Join us week-to-week as we practice Sabbath.

For our paid subscribers, we’re going to offer a much more robust resource you can follow during Lent. It is a seven-week guide written by Pastor Jenny Warner From Valley Presbyterian, reading through the entirety of The Book of Belonging and reflecting on the idea of learning from children as we pour into them. The first installment will be posted on Ash Wednesday next week.

Here’s a peek at the guide! Jenny is wicked smart. We’ve so enjoyed her perspective.

Thank you for subscribing to The Belonging Workshop. We’re excited to continue to grow and learn with you! A special thanks to our paid subscribers for taking this leap of faith as we collectively build Sabbath practices.

Are you a free subscriber but curious about what’s going on behind the curtain? Here’s what’s happening beyond the paywall this week:

• A custom bookmark with Lectio Divina guidance

• Access to Week 1 of The Book of Belonging Lent Study Guide

• Downloadable The Book of Belonging coloring page

• Rachel’s version of Lectio Divina for use on secular texts