Happy Summer! I hope you are having a joyous entrance into the season of gentle journeys & outdoor adventures. I have been wrapping up my projects for the year – so much to give thanks for! And I must admit, I am looking forward to letting go of my full schedule and embracing a more leisurely summer pace. I hope you have some sweetness and space to look forward to also! (Scroll to the bottom for my news about Bali!)
Meanwhile, I wanted to share that a couple weeks ago was Trinity Sunday, traditionally celebrated by Christian Churches on the first Sunday after Pentecost. At my parish, Dcn. Steve Wodzanowski (a dynamic leader in our community) told me he would be preaching on the Trinity, and he discovered some interesting theology. He writes –
“The very mystical Cappadocian Fathers of 4th Century eastern Turkey (Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory Nazianzen, and Basil of Caeserea) developed some highly sophisticated thinking on the TRINITY. It took three centuries of reflection on the Gospels to have the courage to say it, but they circled around to the best metaphor they could find, and the Greek word they daringly came up with was PERICHORESIS, or circle dance.
“They wrote: ‘Whatever is going on in God is a flow, a radical relatedness, a perfect communion between Three – a circle dance of love. And God is not just a dancer. God is the dance itself.'”
I love this dynamic expression of the movement of the Divine presence! With Steve’s invitation, this was the perfect opportunity to bring Trinity to life in a joyous embodied way. I was able to invite two of my dancing friends from our Thea Bowman production to be part of a dancing trio with me. (I love how Thea Bowman is continuing to bring new energy and collaboration to our community!)
In Steve’s homily he explained that the most common naming of persons in the Trinity is Father, Son, and Spirit. But throughout the centuries, there have been other ways of envisioning this dance within the Divine. Julian of Norwich, through her contemplation of the hazelnut, named the Trinity as: Maker, Lover, and Keeper. (At Abbey of the Arts, we have a wonderful Doxology with this imagery which you can enjoy here! ) Another of my favorite ways of naming Trinity is Source of All Being, Incarnate Word, and the Love that Flows Between. Makes me feel like dancing!
For our dance of Trinity, we chose to interpret a beautiful song entitled: How Wonderful the Three-in-One with lyrics by Brian Wren. In this song, the poet names the three persons as: Lover, Beloved, Empowering Friend. We thoroughly enjoyed responding to these qualities in the dance, and also drawing on the image & colors from the artwork by Mary Southard, CSJ, pictured above.
I give thanks to Dcn. Steve for bringing such beautiful imagery and invitation to our St. Joseph community! I hope you enjoy the dance, and scroll down for a few more celebratory stories from the season!
Thea Bowman Video Showing!
We had an awesome showing of our Thea Bowman video this past week here in Seattle! Catch a glimpse here of the joyous energy. We plan to do host a zoom showing in the fall – so stay tuned!
The Soul of a Pilgrim Prayer Cycle
Exciting news! Here at Abbey of the Arts we have just completed the launch of our new Prayer Cycle! In these 14 visual and audio podcasts, you can dive into the practice of pilgrimage through song, word, dance, gesture, & silence. Pray with a whole host of prayer/dance videos for free – woohoo! Such a blessing to share.
To partake of our morning & evening prayers click here.
We Have Got a Van!
My husband, Charlie and I have been supporting our friends in Tororo, Uganda in expanding their Dance, Music and Artistry for the children at Ma’s Junior School and beyond. This week, we helped our friend, Bernard Omuse purchase a van for their community. Enjoy this amazing outpouring of gratitude! May we all be filled with this spirit of gratitude for the gifts of life!
In Closing: Dancing in Bali!
One of my summer adventures coming soon is that I am heading to Bali! When I was in my senior year at Georgetown University, I was studying Sacred Dance as part of my BA in Theology. I wrote my senior thesis on the Dance in Bali as Religious Expression. Now, 45 years later, I get to actually travel to this beautiful Indonesian Island with a group of InterPlayers! We will be practicing InterPlay in the mornings and studying Balinese dance in the afternoon, so I will have lots to share in my next newsletter! Have a joyous summer and keep dancing!
Blessings of the dance,
Betsey
Betsey Beckman, MM
