What possibilities are you pondering these days? How to make a difference in the world? How to bring your life energy to faith and family? How to grieve what’s gone? How to follow what brings you joy? How to be a peace-maker? How to balance life between resistance and rest?
It’s the sweetest thing when we are able to do what we love creatively in the world, and when we can move with a heart of service as well!
Advent & Christmas brought some special opportunities for joy and creativity, playfulness and service in my life. I’m sharing here a beautiful Advent service of waiting for rebirth. Perhaps this dance with candles can be viewed now as a celebration of the Feast of Candlemas (Feb. 2nd,) 40 days after Christmas, a time for blessing candles and honoring Christ as the light of the world!
With Candlemas in our rear view mirror, we begin to anticipate our journey with Jesus and his radical loving into the season of Lent. To honor this sacred pilgrimage, I have a variety of offerings that I’d love to share with you in the months ahead. Some are online and some are live … and each gives a chance to embody the dance of making a difference with the possibilities your life offers. Hope you can join me on the journey, and bless you in the seasons unfolding!
Show in St. Louis
Do you live in the midwest? Come join us in St. Louis for a brand new production!
I Will Live Until I Die
March 5-8th | St. Louis, MO
My dear dear friend, ValLimar Jansen has rewritten her musical on the life of Thea Bowman in a new & dynamic Broadway style, and St. Louis is the place to see it! We have a series of performances the first weekend in March. I will be playing (and dancing) the role of Sr. Thea’s closest friend in her last decade of life, Sr. Dorothy Kundinger. What an incredible honor! Sr. Thea is one of the handful of African Americans being considered for sainthood in the Catholic Church, and she was a powerful force for uniting folks from different walks of life.
Seeds for Hope: Stories for Lent
My longtime friend, Fr. Michael Sparough has a great commitment to making scripture relevant for our time, and I am delighted to join him in this creative venture! Each day for 40 days, you will receive a story to break open the daily scripture readings. The stories are enacted by
Fr. Michael Sparough SJ, ValLimar Jansen, Dev Kennedy, and me!
What a beautiful way to ponder the possibilities of how scripture is calling you this Lent.
A Look Behind the Scenes!
In Closing
Honoring the Peacemakers – “Twin Cities”
This week, I worked with the children of St. Joes to embody the Beatitudes. “Blessed are the peacemakers.” I have been so moved by the people of Minneapolis who are meeting extraordinary suffering with songs, actions, community connections, and courage. I see this as a dance of embodying the call to peacemaking. This weekend, my friend Bob McCaffery-Lent sent me a song that his band had recorded, an update of the 1970 protest song “Ohio” by Neil Young. As I listened, I immediately felt the call to create visuals to accompany the song. Please receive this video offering as our way of honoring the people of Minneapolis, and sharing a prayer for peace. Please pass it along, if you are able … And may peace prevail!
With love,
Betsey
Betsey Beckman, MM
